changing places

Chris Coghlan, whose playing time figured to be limited with the Chicago Cubs this year, is off to Oakland, where the ex-Ole Miss star might find greener pastures. Coghlan, a lefty-hitting outfielder, was traded today for pitcher Aaron Brooks. Penciled in as a fourth outfielder (at best) for the Cubs, Coghlan, who hit .250 with 16 homers in 2015, could battle Khris Davis and Coco Crisp for the starting job in left field with the A’s. Crisp, a switch-hitter, hit .175 in an injury-dampened 2015 season. Davis, a right-handed hitter with power, was acquired recently from Milwaukee. Sam Fuld is also in the picture. Oakland appears set with Josh Reddick in right and Billy Burns in center. Coghlan, the 2009 National League rookie of the year with the Florida Marlins, revived a slumping career in Chicago the past two seasons, posting a .346 on-base percentage and a .447 slugging average. He credits a new approach. “When you value (slugging percentage) and on-base, now you swing at pitches that you can slug and you take pitches that you can’t slug,” he recently told mlb.com. If it worked at Wrigley Field, it ought to work at O.Co Coliseum.