Headlines

  • Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen
  • Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness
  • Mariners Sign Justin Upton
  • Chad Green To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman
  • Luis Gil To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2007 Oakland A’s

By Tim Dierkes | September 30, 2006 at 12:14pm CDT

Next up in the 2007 Team Outlooks are the Oakland Athletics.  They stand to possibly lose a couple of key players after this season.


Billy Beane’s contract obligations:

C – Jason Kendall – $8MM
C – Adam Melhuse – $0.85MM
1B – Dan Johnson – $0.33MM
2B – Mark Ellis – $3.5MM
SS – Bobby Crosby – $2.5MM
3B – Eric Chavez – $9MM
IF – Marcos Scutaro – $0.34MM
IF – D’Angelo Jimenez – $0.75MM
LF – Nick Swisher – $0.335MM
CF – Mark Kotsay – $7MM
RF – Milton Bradley – $3MM
OF – Bobby Kielty – $1.85MM
DH –

SP – Rich Harden – $2MM
SP – Dan Haren – $2.2MM
SP – Esteban Loaiza – $6MM
SP – Joe Blanton – $0.327MM
SP – Kirk Saarloos – $0.354MM
SP – Jerome Williams – $0.38MM
SP – Jason Windsor – $0.327MM

RP – Huston Street – $0.34MM
RP – Justin Duchscherer – $0.3445MM
RP – Joe Kennedy – $2.4MM
RP – Jay Witasick – $1.5MM
RP – Kiko Calero – $0.85MM
RP – Santiago Casilla – $0.327MM
RP – Chad Gaudin – $0.327MM
RP – Brad Halsey – $0.346MM
RP – Ron Flores – $0.327MM
RP – Shane Komine – $0.327MM

The A’s have roughly $60MM tied up, assuming some raises and such.  That’s about where they entered 2006 – Opening Day payroll was $62MM.

Depending on how you feel about Dan Johnson, the A’s could use some help in the form of a 1B/LF/DH player (given that Swisher can play first. If you can say one thing about Beane, it’s that he builds a versatile roster). 21 year-old top prospect Daric Barton missed most of 2006 with a broken elbow.  Upon returning he strained his hamstring.  He might have something to contribute in the Majors at some point in ’07, even if the power doesn’t arrive yet. 

One could see Beane signing a Craig Wilson to fill the void.  He could also go after Moises Alou or David Dellucci.  There’s also the option of one Barry Bonds, who would probably spend most of his time at DH.

Speaking of DH, will Frank Thomas return?  Not an easy decision for Beane.  Sure, Thomas re-established himself as one of the game’s top sluggers.  Still, he’ll be 39 next May and could require, I don’t know, a two-year, $20MM deal?  Who knows what Frank will ask for.  My gut says Beane lets him walk.

The A’s have a host of disappointing players lccked up who probably can’t help but play better in 2007.  Kotsay, Chavez, Ellis, and Crosby have not impressed.  Kotsay and Crosby will need very capable backups.  Ellis’s second half, at .271/.341/.442 seems more his level.  Plus, his defense is top-notch.  Chavez dealt with a hamstring strain, elbow and forearm tendinitis, back tightness, and even food poisoning this year.  He’s also got that chronically sore shoulder.  The A’s have no choice but to try to nurse him back to health after the playoffs.

Kotsay isn’t a great bet at this point, but the outfield is at least average offensively.  When he misses time, we’ll see plenty of Kielty, maybe Hiram Bocachica, and position shuffling out there.

The pitching staff is long on options.  If and when Harden misses time, the A’s have a laundry list of decent options to start in his place.  Jerome Williams has seen success at the big league level.  Halsey, Gaudin, Kennedy, and Windsor can all fill in.   

The difference will be that the A’s won’t have Barry Zito making 34 decent starts for them anymore.  If Harden goes down, do you really want Saarloos and one of the aforementioned starters in the rotation for an extended period of time?  The A’s signed Loaiza last offseason when it appeared they didn’t quite need him.  Beane could make a similar signing this offseason if he has the budget.  Ted Lilly has voiced a desire to return to the Bay Area, perhaps with the A’s or Giants. 

There’s really no need to mess with the bullpen.  Plenty of good arms there.

Perhaps the astute A’s supporters can lend me a hand here, but I don’t know how high the A’s will take the payroll in 2007.  If they bring it up to $75MM or so, Beane should have room to sign Thomas or a replacement and snag a mid-level starter.      

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

2007 Team Outlooks Oakland Athletics

2007 Houston Astros
Main
2007 MLB Free Agents: Gary Matthews Jr.
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen

    Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness

    Mariners Sign Justin Upton

    Chad Green To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Orioles Promote Adley Rutschman

    Luis Gil To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Carter Kieboom To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Cardinals To Promote Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore; Tyler O’Neill To IL

    Max Scherzer Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Oblique Strain

    Chris Paddack Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

    Brandon Lowe Diagnosed With Stress Reaction, Shut Down For At Least Three Weeks

    DeGrom MRI Reveals “Continued Healing”; Still No Clear Timetable For Return

    Boras: Michael Conforto Not Ruling Out Late-Season Return

    Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson

    Kumar Rocker Signs With Frontier League’s Tri-City ValleyCats

    Recent

    Padres Place Mike Clevinger On 15-Day IL With Triceps Strain

    Mariners Sign Andrew Knapp To Minors Contract

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Pirates To Select Yerry De Los Santos, Promote Roansy Contreras

    Injury Notes: Matz, Chisholm, Cruz, Watkins

    Giants Place Brandon Belt On 10-Day Injured List

    Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen

    Brewers To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List Due To Shoulder Tightness

    Mariners Sign Justin Upton

    A’s Reinstate Cole Irvin

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Story Rumors
    • Frankie Montas Rumors
    • Michael Conforto Rumors
    • Arbitration Tracker
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version