Joey Wendle was one of the Indians better middle infield prospects from 2012-2014. But there was no room for him with Jason Kipnis on the roster, and so he was traded to the A’s for Brandon Moss. It was not a terrible trade. Moss was the kind of power hitter the Indians, who thought they would be contending in 2015, needed. Unfortunaley the Indians struggled in 2015 and Moss would be traded less than a year later.
Wendle spent some time in the big leagues with Oakland in both 2016 and 2017, but it was not until this season, after a late-December 2017 trade to Tampa Bay, that he finally stuck in the big leagues. This season he is hitting .300/.354/.435 with 7 HR (118 OPS+) and has played excellent defense at just about every position on the field. He is no small reason the Rays are one of the better teams in the American League–even if they can’t buy a playoff spot.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 26 | OAK | AL | 28 | 96 | 25 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 16 | .260 | .298 | .302 | .600 | 67 |
| 2017 | 27 | OAK | AL | 8 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .308 | .357 | .615 | .973 | 159 |
| 2018 | 28 | TBR | AL | 139 | 487 | 146 | 7 | 61 | 16 | 4 | 37 | 96 | .300 | .354 | .435 | .789 | 118 |
| 3 Yr | 3 Yr | 3 Yr | 3 Yr | 175 | 596 | 175 | 9 | 77 | 18 | 4 | 44 | 115 | .294 | .345 | .418 | .763 | 111 |
| 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 552 | 162 | 8 | 71 | 17 | 4 | 41 | 106 | .294 | .345 | .418 | .763 | 111 |