Kevin

Cron

Cron signed a minor league contract with the Athletics last November and has been released after batting just .133 (6-for-45) with six RBI across 10 games for Triple-A Las Vegas.

Cron spent the last two years overseas with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization and the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The 29-year-old slugger will compete for a roster spot with the rebuilding Athletics this spring. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Diamondbacks during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign and holds a .170/.245/.420 triple-slash line with six homers in 98 plate appearances over 47 games in the majors.

Cron, the younger brother of Rockies slugger C.J. Cron spent the 2021 campaign with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and will remain overseas for 2022 as well. The 28-year-old first baseman/outfielder appeared in 47 games with the Diamondbacks from 2019 to 2020.

Man. Cron is just a year removed from hitting .331/.449/.777 with an incredible 38 homers and 105 RBI in just 82 games with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019, and he wouldn’t have even been arbitration-eligible until the 2022 season. It’s unclear what the team’s motivation is here, though of course for all his minor league success he’s hit just .170/.245/.420 in 47 major league games the past two seasons and will turn 28 before the 2021 season. His next destination, and that team’s plans for his usage, will be interesting to follow.

It was odd news when the MLB.com transactions page listed the team as having released the slugging first baseman, so this makes more sense. It doesn’t necessarily make sense to sell a potentially contributing hitter in a baseball sense, mind you, but in the context of the 2020 offseason in which MLB teams are mostly interested in their own bottom line it’s easier to understand. The 27-year-old has struggled with MLB pitching but owns prodigious power and could be a star in the NPB against lesser competition.

The D-backs haven’t given Cron consistent playing time and he’s struggled during the chances he has been given. It’s not looking like he’ll have any sort of fantasy impact this season.

Cron got optioned off Arizona’s active roster in late July after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts over the first week of the 2020 regular season. He’ll be a platoon option between first base and DH.

Jake Lamb has really struggled in the early going, but that still hasn’t led to much playing time for Cron. He figures to be back eventually.

Walker returned from a groin injury to serve as the team’s designated hitter in the first two games of the season, but he’ll take a seat in this one. Kevin Cron is at DH.

Cron projects to serve in a lefty/righty DH platoon this season with Jake Lamb. Cron, being the right-handed-hitter, figures to see fewer starts there than Lamb. There’s not much fantasy appeal here.