Former Brewers, Mariners utilityman elects free agency

After one of his better career seasons in the big leagues with the Oakland A’s, former Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners utility man Abraham Toro has elected to free agency.

Toro joined the A’s in a trade with the Brewers last offseason, with Oakland sending right-hander Chad Patrick to Milwaukee as part of the deal. Patrick was acquired from the A’s during the 2023 trade deadline as part of the Jace Peterson deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but was ineffective in the A’s system, posting a 7.89 ERA over 21 2/3 innings in Triple-A. As a member of the Brewers system, he posted a 2.90 ERA in Triple-A this season.

Toro initially found his footing with the A’s, making the Opening Day roster and quickly becoming a starter despite constantly moving around the field. When JD Davis landed on the IL, he started getting some playing time at third base. When Davis returned, Toro was again moved around the diamond and remained in the lineup, but soon Davis was sent off and the hot corner belonged to Toro.

That is, until June 22, when the A’s placed Toro on the IL. The A’s had to find guys to man the third spot in his absence, and ultimately the 27-year-old was DFA’d and permanently relegated to Triple-A in late August.

The move freed up space for Max Schuemann and Darell Hernaiz to play more at third base down the road, with the A’s taking a closer look at who could potentially be stationed at that position in 2025.

Now on the free agent market for the first time, Toro is coming off a year in which he played everywhere, playing in 94 games, hitting .240 with a .293 OBP and six home runs, and posting a .643 OPS. It should be enough for a club to take a risk, at least on a minor league deal. A team like the Chicago White Sox or Los Angeles Angels could also be interested in him with an offer from the big leagues.

It’s worth noting that when he moved to the IL in June, he was batting .260 with an OBP of .303, largely a regular member of the A’s lineup at that point. During this time he achieved a 99 wRC+. When he returned to the lineup later in the season as more of a bench player, he hit just .150 with an OBP of .250 and a wRC+ of 35.