CLEVELAND — The Indians addressed the need for more power in their lineup. Now Brandon Moss has to provide it.
Cleveland finalized a trade — the first of the winter meetings — that has been in the works for weeks on Monday by acquiring Moss, a first baseman/outfielder and All-Star last season, from the Oakland Athletics for minor league infielder Joey Wendle.
The 31-year-old Moss batted .234 with a 25 homers and 81 RBIs in a career-high 147 games for the A’s. The left-handed hitter drew 67 walks and scored 70 runs. Moss hit .268 with 21 homers in the first half of the season to earn his first All-Star selection, but a nagging hip problem cut into his production over the final months.
On Oct. 21, Moss underwent an operation on his hip performed in Nashville by Dr. Thomas Byrd. Moss said Byrd was prepared to perform microfracture surgery but all that he needed was a labrum repair and cartilage cleanup, which should make his rehab somewhat easier.
Moss said his rehab is coming along well and he expects to be cleared to run later this month.
The chance to join the Indians, who contended for a playoff spot until the season’s final weekend, excited Moss. He said the club is similar to some of the Oakland teams he has played for.
“There’s a great core group of guys and, in all honesty, it reminds me of after 2012, when they brought us all up and we all kind of took off,” he said. “That next year in 2013, we had that core group of guys and the young pitching staff and we won the division by a pretty good margin. It reminds me of a team like that. It’s a team with a lot of talent and a lot of capability and it’s going to be exciting to be a part of it.”
Despite the hip issue, Moss, who has also played for Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, finished among the AL leaders in homers, RBIs, extra-base hits and slugging percentage. He played 67 games at first base, 56 in left field and 34 in right for the wild-card winning A’s.
“The addition of Brandon Moss provides our offense with a proven run-producer and power bat for the heart of our order,” said Indians general Chris Antonetti, who is at the winter meetings in San Diego.
“Brandon not only has great power, but his defensive versatility and personality also complement the team culture Tito has helped establish over the past two years.”
Moss is eligible for arbitration for the second time after making $4.1 million last season. His arrival could take away at-bats from Nick Swisher and David Murphy.
He’s glad he won’t have to play in spacious Oakland Coliseum, where his statistics were not nearly as good as they were on the road.
“I love the fans there,” he said. “I hated playing at the Coliseum. It killed me as a hitter. I know this past year I hit under .200 at home and the year before that I think I hit exactly .200. I’ve pretty much made my seasons on the road. I’d hit 10 or 11 or 12 home runs there, but it’s just a tough place to hit. You don’t get rewarded for fly balls unless you absolutely crush the ball.
“It’s just a tough place to play, so I’m really excited about playing in a park where I’ve had some success. I’ve always enjoyed playing there.
Wendle batted .253 at Double-A Akron last season.
The A’s traded another All-Star last month, sending third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for third baseman Brett Lawrie, left-hander Sean Nolin, right-hander Kendall Graveman and minor league shortstop Franklin Barreto.
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