The Athletics traded backup outfielder Daz Cameron to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations, the team announced.
After making his Oakland debut this past season, Cameron assumed the right-handed side of a platoon with Seth Brown for much of the second half. With Brent Rooker limited to DH duties and Miguel Andujar out for the last month-and-a-half, the 27-year-old started most games against lefties.
The son of former big leaguer Mike Cameron, he succeeded in his primary role, hitting .253/.337/.480 with four homeruns in 86 plate appearances facing southpaws. However, outside of the platoon, he didn’t fare very well, flailing to a paltry .158/.190/.211 line in exactly 100 PAs against righties. That added up to a well below average 70 OPS+ and -0.5 WAR for the season. He filled in all around the outfield, DRS didn’t like his work at any of those stations, indicating that he cost the team 4 runs.
The A’s could’ve used him again this season and restricted him to a more strict platoon role to maximize his success and minimize his faults, but the A’s have Andjuar returning. David Forst also stated that Rooker will be used in the outfield next season once he’s recovered from his previously unknown forearm injury.
It’s definitely not a good look for the franchise to be trading away potential major league contributors for straight cash, especially given owner John Fisher’s well-known cheapness and Vegas financial conundrum. But with at least five outfielders still on the roster and exciting prospects like Colby Thomas on the way, as well as a need to open up offseason 40-man roster spots for Rule-5-eligible players, Cameron was a redundancy who didn’t perform well enough to be considered a keeper. I love blaming Fisher as much as the next A’s fan, but it was either get cash back now or likely waive him for nothing in the future.