With the White Sox idle on Thursday, it's as good a time as any to check in and see how old friends are faring with their new teams.
Alejandro De Aza: .327/.377/.612, 2 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 7 K in 54 PA
I was surprised that De Aza didn't garner more interest around the trade deadline(s), because he had proven his worth to a major league team time and time again over a four-year stretch on the South Side. Even though his 2014 season was largely considered a disappointment, he hit .301/.361/.417 over his last 67 games in a White Sox uniform.
The Orioles swooped in before it was too late, and Buck Showalter said it's partially because Jeff Manto, the former Sox hitting coach who now serves as the Orioles' minor-league hitting instructor, gave De Aza positive reviews:
"You never really know," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He's had his success in the big leagues [in Chicago]. Anytime you kind of change atmosphere, so to speak, you're never 100 percent sure. But we talked to a lot of people, Jeff Manto, his hitting coach last year. We felt like we had a good chance to get lucky with him and we have so far."
Orioles fans are appreciating him the way White Sox fans once did. He's hit in 11 of 12 games in Baltimore, including a two-homer game on Sept. 9, and a two-triple game on Sept. 12.
He's also doing some De Aza-ish things:
The Orioles clinched the AL East on Tuesday, but they still have a shot at the best record in the AL, keeping the heat on the Los Angeles Angels by winning nine out of their last 10.
Adam Dunn: .250/.318/.425, 1 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 15 K over 44 PA
Dunn couldn't have started his Oakland career much better. The Athletics opened with a series against the contending Mariners and delivered a homer in the first game, a pinch-hit RBI single in the second, and a homer in the third -- off Felix Hernandez to boot.
One problem: The A's lost two of three, which is par for the course during their 5-11 September. Dunn has since cooled down, going just 6-for-32 with two walks and 12 strikeouts over his last 12 games, including a silver sombrero against Texas on Thursday.
Their latest loss drops them to the second wild card spot, a half-game back of Kansas City and a game ahead of Seattle. Dunn came to Oakland looking to end baseball's longest active postseason drought, and with Oakland holding the first wild-card spot by four games, that looked like a near-lock. Now, not so much.
Gordon Beckham: .243/.333/.378, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RB, 3 BB, 6 K over 43 PA
Dunn might be the odd man out, because like De Aza, Beckham is also going to the playoffs. Unlike De Aza, Beckham doesn't have all that much to do with the Angels' torrid, 12-5 September.
He's exceeded his production from his White Sox days, albeit unevenly (he has two hits in his last 14 at-bats). However, the Angels don't need him to hit much more than he has, because they're using him like a true utility infielder. Since joining the Angels, he's made three starts at third base, two at second, and, on Thursday, he made his first big-league start at shortstop.
Beckham couldn't escape it error-free, but he earned the hell out of it by maxing out his range and The Strong Arm:
While I'm keeping an eye on our old friends, Beckham's is the only one that could turn out be instructive in some way. We know De Aza is a credible hitter -- especially against righties -- who can get hot. We're well aware of the best Dunn can do at this point in his career. For that matter, we're pretty sure Beckham's bat is what it is.
Beckham did have untapped potential with his glove -- not enough to usurp Alexei Ramirez at shortstop, but enough to explore different configurations with the roster. Instead, they chiseled his name into the lineup card at second base, tolerated the extended slumps for the defensive highights and waited for his salary to exceed his worth. If the Sox had to do Beckham's career over again, I don't think re-managing the start of it would've made much of a difference, but the Sox might've been able to extract more marginal value during the second half by seeing where else his above-average second-base defense could play.