A's add veteran Grossman to outfield mix

February 13th, 2019

MESA, Ariz. -- A veteran presence is coming to a young Oakland outfield.
The A's on Wednesday agreed to a one-year Major League deal with switch-hitting outfielder . The club officially announced the deal Friday, while announcing they placed right-hander on 60-day injured list.
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Grossman, who averaged a .371 on-base percentage over his past three seasons, profiles as a potentially nice piece for the A's, even though they appeared to be more than set in the outfield.
will be back in right field, with likely manning center. and , meanwhile, were expected to form a platoon in left, with hanging around as a fifth outfield option.
It's unclear how Grossman affects these plans, but the additional depth could allow the A's to make one of their other excess options -- including and infielder/outfielder -- available in a trade.
Grossman, 29, hit .273 with five homers and 48 RBIs for the Twins last year. He's a career .256 hitter over six seasons, three each with Houston and Minnesota, and has done especially well against left-handed pitching, batting .286/.378/.406 in 645 plate appearances.