A’s 2024 Season in Review: Daz Cameron

After having a serviceable yet subpar season in Oakland, the backup outfielder will continue his journeyman arc in Baltimore.

Making his Oakland debut this past season, Daz Cameron ended the season as the right-handed side of an outfield platoon with Seth Brown. Though he was serviceable at times, and even more than that at others, the Athletics eventually concluded he wasn’t long for the team and sent him back to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations in the offseason.

How Was He Acquired?

After being drafted with the 37th pick to the Houston Astros, Cameron struggled to live up to his pedigree and ended up being included in the package that landed the franchise its longtime ace, Justin Verlander. With Detroit, the righty made his major league debut during the shortened 2020 season but didn’t hit his stride at the plate until the following season when he hit .296/.365/.500 with 23 homeruns at Triple-A. He had a similar season with Baltimore’s Triple-A team in 2023 but never got the call up the majors, leading him to elect free agency and seek a hopefully larger opportunity with the A’s.

What were the expectations?

The A’s took a reasonable flier on an athletic player with an improving plate profile and a major league upbringing, being the son of former outfielder Mike Cameron. The team didn’t bring him in thinking he’d be their center fielder of the future but he certainly came with enough of a resume that he could be an above average reserve outfielder.

2024 Results

Cameron immediately hit the ground running with Triple-A Las Vegas, boosting his line to a whopping .307/.424/.577 and making the A’s front office look bright. Though there was definitely some Vegas in those numbers, it didn’t explain the near doubling of his walk rate. As a result, the A’s called him up to make his Oakland debut in late May and he spent the rest of the season as their go-to backup outfielder.

Splitting his time nearly equally across the three outfield spots, typically starting against lefty pitchers, Cameron definitely had some moments that pointed towards a brighter future, like the month of July in which he had a .996 OPS in 24 plate appearances. However, that proved to be more of an outlier as he ended the season at the Mendoza Line and an OPS+ of 70. His defense also was rated slightly negatively, all adding up -0.5 bWAR season.

2025 Outlook

As mentioned earlier, the A’s ended up cutting bait on Cameron and traded him back to the Baltimore Orioles for cash. The team has a bit of a crowded outfield mix as it stands and it’ll likely grow every month that prospects like Colby Thomas, Denzel Clarke, and Henry Bolte play up to their standards. If the 27-year-old had hit around league average, he might still have a role on the team over the older, more limited, and less controllable Miguel Andujar, but the A’s didn’t really have much of a choice here but to move on. Though the Orioles are even more stacked with talent, they may be able to carve out a role for him as a depth option on a roster that hopes to contend.