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Denorfia's upcoming Season In Oakland

Around the Horn: Outfielders01/23/2008 10:00 AM ET

By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
The following is the fourth in a series of weekly stories on MLB.com examining each Major League club, position by position. Each Wednesday until Spring Training camps open, we'll preview a different position. Today: outfielders.

If the season opened today, the A's likely would start in center field Chris Denorfia, who missed all of 2007 while recovering from major elbow surgery and has a grand total of 144 Major League at-bats under his belt.

In left field would be Emil Brown, a 33-year-old deemed expendable by the Kansas City Royals after batting .257 with six home runs and a .300 on-base percentage last season.

In right would be Travis Buck, the only current A's outfielder who was wearing green and gold in the bigs last season; a second-year man who was limited to 82 games as a rookie.

The primary backup would be Ryan Sweeney, who has all of 80 big league at-bats to his credit.

These aren't your older brother's A's. They're your seventh-grade cousin's.

"That's kind of funny, actually, but I don't see it that way," A's manager Bob Geren said last week. "I see a mostly young, very athletic group of guys who have a chance to really grow together and surprise a lot of people."

That Geren sees the glass as half-full is no surprise, of course. That's just the way he's wired. But he's not so deluded that he doesn't see why fans might not be as enthused.

Gone from last year's outfield are all of the brand names, such as Mark Kotsay, Nick Swisher, Shannon Stewart, Milton Bradley and Bobby Kielty. Bradley was traded last summer, Kielty was released and went on to help Boston win the World Series, Swisher and Kotsay were traded early this year as part of Oakland's roster overhaul and Stewart is expected to sign elsewhere as a free agent.

"That's a lot of talent," Kotsay said after being shipped to Atlanta. "Those guys you mentioned right there, that's a solid big league outfield. I'm not saying Oakland won't have one next year, but obviously they've got some young guys who will need to learn and improve on the fly."

In addition to Denorfia, 27, Buck, 24, and Sweeney, 22, the 2008 A's outfield might include 22-year-old Carlos Gonzalez, a highly regarded prospect acquired in the deal that sent Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks.

"Carlos is in there somewhere," said assistant general manager David Forst. "I think we'll be a little more cautious about how we push him in Spring Training, but when we got him, we certainly saw him as a candidate [for a 2008 roster spot]."

Richie Robnett, 24, and Javier Herrera, 22, are products of Oakland's system who figure to get extended looks this spring, as will Todd Linden, 27, who was signed as a Minor League free agent.

That kind of youth, Geren conceded, could be compounded by the loss of Kotsay, a defensive stalwart and respected veteran who frequently took less-experienced outfielders under his wing.

"Losing Mark, you lose a fundamentally sound outfielder who's a good teacher who helped a lot of young guys," said the skipper. "He really helped Swish a lot, and he took Buck aside and showed him some things, too. Mark had a lot of influence here.

"But we've got an excellent outfield coach in Tye Waller, who did a lot of good work with our outfielders last year, and he's excited to work with these guys. Tye has a great work ethic, and he loves working with players on a daily basis."

So look at Oakland's outfield however you'd like. Nobody will argue that it doesn't look like a juggernaut, and it'll be even less of one if designated hitter Jack Cust is pressed into much defensive duty. But Geren certainly likes his view from the inside, even while knowing he comes across as overly optimistic as he explains himself.

"You look at your main group of guys, and you have some athletic outfielders who run well. Very athletic," he said. "Gonzalez is one of top outfield prospects in the game. Travis is an excellent player already who is going to keep getting better. Sweeney's 22 and he's already been in the big leagues. Denorfia was around a lot last summer, taking batting practice, and I watched him quite a bit, running down balls and taking very quick routes. He's an incredible outfielder. He's polished.

"Honestly, I think you're going to see a more athletic outfield this year -- and a better one. I really do."

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.