The Athletics will welcome back first baseman Matt Olson tomorrow, according to a report from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. His activation will likely lead the team to designate Kendrys Morales for assignment, she reports, though that isn’t yet written in stone.
Olson has been working back from a hamate fracture that has sidelined him for most of the season to date. The 25-year-old will look to pick back up where he left off last season, when he launched 28 home runs, slashed .247/.335/.453, and secured a Gold Glove Award.
The A’s could certainly use a boost. Entering play today, the club was stuck in the AL West cellar with a six-game gap separating them from first place.
Oakland had acquired Morales in the wake of Olson’s injury in hopes of avoiding this sort of early hole. A veteran switch-hitter who has mostly featured as a designated hitter in recent years, Morales has been utilized at first base since the A’s already have a full-time DH in Khris Davis.
Unfortunately, that move hasn’t worked out as hoped. Morales carries only a .209/.318/.275 slash with a single home run through 107 plate appearances. That showing is likely to spell the end of his tenure with the A’s, though Slusser adds that it’s possible he could stay on the roster for a few more days if the club elects to option down outfielder Skye Bolt.
It was always going to be tough to carry Morales on a roster with Olson and Davis. Given his lack of production, it’s no surprise to hear that such a move is imminent. It’s still a bit of a tough pill for the Oakland org to swallow, though, having given up some trade resources and taken on salary to add Morales.
Then why acquire Kendrys in the first place? They should have acquired (or signed) a utilityman they can move around
Because is the A’s
Beane has done a remarkably terrible a job from November 2018 to present. All of his moves have backfired, but many were easily-prevented that any A’s fan saw coming from a mile away.
Profar literally played 1B all last season, Pinder can play there too, 1B Seth Brown is mashing away AAA pitching at 26 (it’s totally his time), A’s have an astonishing amount of options at 2B and 1B but Beane hates all his prospects for some reason so he went with a guy who was being used as a strict DH at the time. WTH.
The guy they needed to replace Olson was Barreto, should have been Chapman-Semien-Barreto/Pinder-Profar/Pinder INF. That’s what most A’s fans thought was going to happen, but the FO isn’t as smart as their fanbase now apparently! Instead, what they’re doing to Barreto is simply disgusting, they totally broke the guy mentally. Instead they went with Morales, who put up numbers Barreto easily could have bested, and Profar got the yips playing 2B when he should have been at 1B and a clearly-depressed Barreto underperforming at AAA. L’s all round. Now Melvin hates Bolt for some reason (weird, his profile is a mgr favorite), playing the vastly inferior CF in Grossman over him, hurting the A’s more because Bolt was on fire at the plate at AAA and surely had some mojo and going to make noise if given a full game, while playing better defense. He wasn’t. A’s lost.
Massive fail that everyone saw coming, just like Beane’s lack of impact pitching moves, both SP and RP. Beane blew it so hard this offseason. His worst offseason ever by a long way.
Nailed it.
Agree on all key points but didn’t Toronto pay like 10 million of the 12 when Oakland took him? Not that he is worth $2 mil but still
And we gave up a guy that had been Low A for a pretty long time. Didn’t give up a lot for him. It was a simple stopgap move while Olson was out.
You guys know Beane isn’t even the General Manager anymore right? He hasn’t been in quite a while.
That’s 2 million that could have gone towards a real starter, throw in Estradas 4.5 and that’s 6.5$ thrown away add Sorias contract or Fiers and you have a #2 Starter.
Great, we’d have a #2 starter. And what else? Nothing, because our pitching depth is on the IL. We would have rolled out Keuchel (as an example), Frankie Montas, Daniel Mengden, Aaron Brooks and Tanner Anderson.
Because they have plenty of those. They wanted a veteran hitter who they were going to use at 1st base and no where else, just like theyd use Olsen. Now Oly goes right back to where he goes and no one needs to adjust.
Wrong, you go Barreto/Profar/Pinder at 2B/1B and hope they all mash so you have hot bats on the bench and plenty of options when Olson comes back.
Barreto and Profar haven’t been good
I just read your other post and it makes sense, couldn’t agree more sorry didn’t see it initially.
Man he is a sight for sore eyes.
at least they’re only going to have to pick up $2mil of Morales’s deal
$2M is an upgrade SP for the A’s right now.
Who? James Shields? The pitching market wasn’t great, with everyone else looking for starting pitching and willing to overpay for it.
That’s 2 million that could have gone towards a real starter, throw in Estradas 4.5 and that’s 6.5$ thrown away add Sorias contract or Fiers and you have a #2 Starter.
what real starter out there is better than Manaea, Cotton, Mengden, Puk, Luzardo, and/or Blackburn? Any starter they sign is going to need to be in extended spring training, where people like Manaea, Cotton, and Puk are currently at, which costs the team nothing.
No Estrada, no Soria, no Morales, kick in a couple more million and sign Kuechel. Not like Oakland is guaranteed to sign the draft pick they’d be giving up.
All the more reason Atlanta should have signed Kimbrel. AA struggles to sign high picks.
I don’t think you understand that we would have literally rolled out a AAAA rotation, featuring Dallas Keuchel and Frankie Montas.
There wasn’t much left for us.