Jack Cust : Odd man out?
With Mike Piazza on the road to recovery, what will the Oakland A’s do with Jack Cust?
Jack has been so good in his role that’s he’s forced a change of course with Mike Piazza, leading Piazza to resume catching duties and act as a DH and now a backup catcher. Currently, the A’s are taking their time with Piazza (2-3 weeks), allowing him heal up his throwing shoulder in the minors before being recalled to the show. On a perverse level –to some– this all makes sense. Before landing on the DL, Piazza was hitting only .289/.339/.379 for a lowly .718 OPS. In over 100 official ABs he hit 1 HR and drove in only 8 RBI. The competition, one Mr. Cust is hitting .268/.416/.577 for an OPS of .993 (6th in AL) with 10 HR & 25 RBI in about 40 more plate appearances. Hell, with that discrepancy I’d let Mike take his sweet time getting that arm ready as well. Where does all of this leave Cust once Piazza is set to come back? That’s the million dollar (or in Custs case, the $400,000 question). The A’s outfield currently consists of Stewart, Swisher, Buck, and the recently returning Kotsay. That alone leaves four players for three spots; five if you include Cust. First base doesn’t look like an option either, due to a number of factors, including the recent hot streak of Dan Johnson, the fact that Swisher has played over 20 games himself at 1B, and the simple fact that Cust hasn’t played at first at all this season.
Plainly, something has to give. On the A’s side is Billy Beane’s willingness to deal. I’d expect something to happen at or around the all-star break, the approximate time of Piazza’s return. It hasn’t been a secret that the A’s farm system isn’t what its been in the past–probably due more so to major league promotions than poor drafting & development– and Beane wouldn’t mind bringing in some more high level minor league talent. Will Cust’s head be on the trading block? I personally don’t think, as I would expect a more proven commodity such as Shannon Stewart yielding more in the trade market. Where ever Cust ends up, he’ll be an interesting case to watch. He could be summed up as THE prototypical money ball player, as he’s cheap, walks a ton (143 BB in 2006 minor leagues) and can slug. Whether the financial David (Cust’s $400,000 salary) can outproduce and eventually start over the proverbial Goliath (Piazza’s makes $8.5 million) remains to be seen.
