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During the 2012 season, the Oakland A’s found a creative solution to their designated hitter woes. Manager Bob Melvin platooned Seth Smith and Jonny Gomes at DH, starting Smith against right-handers, and Gomes against lefties. Smith hit .259 with 12 homers against righties, while Gomes batted .299 versus southpaws.
However, with Gomes unlikely to return following the acquisition of Chris Young, Oakland must rethink its strategy at DH.
Smith was the weak link of the platoon last year, as he was not nearly as effective against right-handers as Gomes was against left-handers. Furthermore, Smith cannot hit southpaws at all, notching an ugly .157 batting average against them in 2012.
Clearly, Smith is not a great option as a full-time DH, which leaves Melvin a couple of choices. The first is to find Smith a new platoon partner, assuming Gomes leaves. Alternatively, Melvin can take the top four outfielders – Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick and Young – and have all of them hit every night, one of them as a DH.
But is there a better, permanent option at the DH slot? The answer might be staring Oakland in the face in the form of Chris Carter.
After years of tormenting A’s fans by excelling at Triple-A and then struggling in the majors, Carter finally put things together last year when he got significant playing time.
Sharing first base duties with Brandon Moss, Carter hit only .239 but posted a strong on-base-percentage of .350. More importantly, he hit 16 home runs.
That raw power is the main reason why he should be the frontrunner for the DH role headed into Spring Training. Among players with at least 250 at-bats, Carter ranked seventh in the majors with a home run once every 13.6 at-bats. To give some context to that stat, Carter hit more home runs per at-bat than Curtis Granderson and Miguel Cabrera.
That is not to say that Carter would hit more home runs than either of those players if they all had the same number of at-bats, but it would be great to see what sort of stats he could post as a regular in the lineup.
Given the way Moss hit during the season’s stretch run, he likely has the first base job locked up, as well he should. But that does not mean Carter should not get a spot in the lineup.
In fact, there is evidence that Carter’s hitting improves when he is not encumbered with the worries of playing defense. In nine games as a DH last year, Carter hit .300, reached base at a clip of .405 and crushed 3 home runs. Granted, the sample size is extremely small, but that production is remarkably better than Carter’s offensive output when he played at first. Perhaps it comes as no surprise since he struggled sometimes defensively, possibly lessening his focus at the plate.
The one argument against Carter is that he faded during the regular season’s final month. After hitting .254 in July and .275 in August, he posted an abysmal average of .148 in September, becoming a strikeout machine.
However, even as he struggled to make contact, Carter’s power remained consistent, as did his ability to draw walks. He actually hit home runs and drew walks at a faster clip in September than in August, despite the low batting average.
At this point, it is probably a safe bet to assume that Carter will never be one of baseball’s best all-around hitters, but how many designated hitters are? Aside from Billy Butler and David Ortiz, no full-time DH hit over .300 this season. Adam Dunn hit a paltry .204 and yet he will continue to DH next year.
Why would a team tolerate Dunn’s low average? It is because he draws more walks than anybody in the game and hits baseballs farther than most guys. That is what the stereotypical designated hitter is can do. That is what Chris Carter can do.
Carter showed that he has the talent to be a player similar to Dunn. Perhaps he will not hit as many homers or draw as many walks, but then again, maybe he can hit for better average. Until he is given the chance to be a regular in the lineup, the A’s will never know.
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