The 2022 A’s were as bad as expected after trading away Matt Olson, Chris Bassitt, Matt Chapman and Sean Manaea last offseason and declining to add any real upgrades in the free-agent market. The fire sale continued into the summer, as Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino were traded, while Elvis Andrus and Stephen Piscotty were simply released. Expect more turnover this winter.
Guaranteed Contracts
- None
Arbitration-Eligible Players
- Tony Kemp
- Deolis Guerra
- Ramon Laureano
- Sean Murphy
- Paul Blackburn
- Possible Super Two players: A.J. Puk, Cole Irvin
- Non-tender candidates: Kemp, Guerra
Option Decisions
- None
Free Agents
- Stephen Vogt (has announced will retire after the season), Chad Pinder
The A’s head into the offseason without a single dollar committed to the 2023 payroll. Their fire sale, which dates back to last winter, has stripped the payroll down to the bare minimum. They’ll have five arbitration-eligible players (plus another pair of potential Super Two players) on whom they need to decide, but it’s a pretty straightforward bunch. Deolis Guerra missed the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery and figures to be non-tendered. Tony Kemp is hitting .233/.307/.333 as of this writing and only has one year of club control left. They could tender him simply to have some semblance of roster continuity and give the fans at least one more name they can recognize, but he’s due a raise on this season’s $2.25MM salary and the A’s might want to give those at-bats to younger players.
Each of Ramon Laureano, Sean Murphy and Paul Blackburn will be tendered contracts, though that doesn’t necessarily guarantee a return to the roster next season. In the case of Laureano and Blackburn, it at least appears likely they’ll be back. Laureano was an in-demand trade chip last offseason and drew interest this summer, too, but he’s controllable for another three seasons and the A’s probably feel they’d be selling low if they moved him on the heels of a .211/.287/.376 batting line.
Laureano missed the first month of the season serving out the final portion of an 80-game PED suspension and looks like he’ll end the year on the injured list owing to a hamstring strain. His stock is probably as low as it’s been since the A’s acquired him in what looked like a forgettable, minor trade with the division-rival Astros. But, from 2018-21, Laureano batted .263/.335/.485 with 49 homers, 34 steals, plus baserunning value and strong glovework (plus a penchant for highlight-reel grabs).
A good first half in 2023 might be all it takes to boost Laureano from a buy-low candidate to a premium outfielder with (as of next summer) two-plus seasons of club control remaining. Unless a team is willing to pay for the 2018-21 version of him right now, it’s most sensible to just hold.
It’s a relatively similar tale with Blackburn, who ascended from DFA fodder that went unclaimed on waivers early in the 2021 season to a 2022 All-Star. It’s fair to be cynical and point out that, yes, someone from the Athletics needed to be named to the team, but Blackburn was far more than a token All-Star. His end-of-season numbers don’t reflect that, though that’s due to an injury.
Through his first 16 starts of the season, Blackburn was outstanding. He pitched to a 2.90 ERA in that time, offsetting a pedestrian 17.7% strikeout rate with an excellent 5.9% walk rate and a hearty 50.5% grounder rate. Blackburn’s 87.2 mph average exit velocity in that time was strong, and he allowed all of seven “barreled” balls through those first 16 starts (3.2%). Virtually no one was squaring the ball up against him, he wasn’t walking many hitters, and he was erasing plenty of traffic on the bases with timely double-play grounders.
Things went awry for Blackburn beginning in mid-July, when he began experiencing discomfort in his pitching hand. He tried to pitch through pain for the next month, serving up 25 runs in 24 1/3 innings before eventually succumbing to the injured list. He was diagnosed with a torn tendon sheath in his right middle finger and placed in a splint for up to eight weeks. Suffice it to say, to trade Blackburn right now would be selling low. Like Laureano, he’s controlled another three seasons, so if he starts strong in 2023 he could quickly build up trade value.
If there’s one glaring trade candidate on the Oakland roster right now, it’s Murphy, who’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and should see his salary jump from $725K to more than $3MM. Obviously that’s not a large sum, but the A’s, even more so than usual over the past year, have endeavored to tear the payroll down to its lowest possible levels.
Beyond the salary ramifications, Murphy’s value is arguably at its apex — and the A’s have an in-house option whom they hope can emerge as a similarly productive backstop: top prospect Shea Langeliers, acquired from the Braves as one of the centerpieces to March’s Olson trade. The presence of Langeliers alone certainly doesn’t push Murphy out the door — Langeliers has batted just .220/.242/.398 in his first 124 MLB plate appearances, after all — but Murphy will draw widespread interest on the heels of a breakout season.
Because of his elite defensive skills and above-average power, the 27-year-old Murphy was already viewed as a quality player even after turning in a tepid .216/.306/.405 slash in 2021. This year, he’s boosted that stat line to a much more palatable .249/.331/.430, and even that slash undersells just how strong of a finish he’s putting together. Dating back to early June, Murphy has mashed at a .278/.362/.465 clip with 13 homers, 23 doubles, a triple, a 9.4% walk rate and just a 16.3% strikeout rate in 385 plate appearances. That’s standout production from any hitter but especially from a catcher with above-average framing marks, a strong 31% caught-stealing rate and perennially positive marks in Defensive Runs Saved.
The Rays, Guardians, Cubs, Marlins, Tigers, Red Sox, Twins and several others teams could plausibly look into Murphy this winter. There are only seven teams that saw their catchers combine for offensive production that was better than that of a league-average hitter in 2022, and one of them was the A’s, so there’ll be no shortage of potential trade partners. As things stand, Murphy looks like the primary offseason trade chip who could be sold at peak value. Teams are sometimes reluctant to trade for a new starting catcher midseason and have him learn an entirely new pitching staff on the fly — hence, to an extent, Willson Contreras staying put this year — so trading Murphy over the next six months could be easier than marketing him next summer.
Beyond that group, the Oakland roadmap is more or less wide open. It’s not necessarily an enviable spot, but aside from Murphy at catcher and Laureano in one of the three outfield spots, the A’s are lacking in established, everyday players. Slugger Seth Brown figures to be a regular, but he’s capable of playing first base, corner outfield or slotting in at designated hitter, giving the front office some flexibility. Cristian Pache, acquired alongside Langeliers in the Olson trade with Atlanta, will be out of minor league options in 2023, so he’ll likely be penciled into center field despite hitting just .248/.298/.349 in Triple-A and .160/.211/.225 in the Majors. Otherwise, there are seemingly no guarantees of playing time.
Nick Allen has played excellent defense at shortstop but hasn’t hit enough to firmly seize the spot. Â Kevin Smith, acquired for Chapman, hasn’t hit much in the Majors or in Triple-A and will likely get another look at third base or second base next year — but he has options remaining and could begin the year in Triple-A. Dermis Garcia has shown some pop at first base but has also fanned 46 times in 108 plate appearances. I already touched on Langeliers’ status. There’s just very little certainty throughout the roster.
As such, even though they’re not likely to attract (or to be willing to spend on) marquee free agents, the A’s can offer something many contending clubs cannot: opportunity. Hitters searching for a rebound might not relish playing half their games in the cavernous Coliseum the same way a pitcher might, but the promise of an earnest shot at 500-600 plate appearances isn’t something every team can offer to players coming off down years.
The A’s can absolutely do that, and with basically nothing committed to next year’s payroll, there’s every reason to do so. Former stars and top prospects who’ve seen their stock drop could see some appeal in the playing time available in Oakland, whether that’s Miguel Sano, Joey Gallo, Didi Gregorius or Wil Myers. Oakland is going to need someone to fill out the lineup, and they’re not going to be the top choice for in-demand free agents coming off strong seasons.
The A’s would also make a nice soft landing spot for any notable names who are non-tendered; paying up for a year of someone like Cody Bellinger, if he’s cut loose by the Dodgers, brings a recognizable name and some major upside come deadline season. Only time will tell whether the A’s spend on a few larger names or spread out any available resources among a larger number of low-cost options. Either route is plausible, but since they can’t expect to contend next season anyhow, the focus ought to be on acquiring short-term players who have the chance to net the most trade deadline value (or perhaps non-tendered players with multiple years of club control remaining).
One target that seems like a given, however, is a veteran catcher. If the A’s trade Murphy, they’ll want someone with some experience to work alongside Langeliers. If Murphy stays put, the best thing for Langeliers will be to play everyday in Triple-A, necessitating some type of backup addition. Austin Hedges, Omar Narvaez, Roberto Perez, Kevin Plawecki and Tucker Barnhart are among the available names.
Over on the pitching staff, things are a bit more solid — but not by much. Cole Irvin could reach arbitration as a Super Two player, but even then he’d have another four years of team control remaining. Clubs may still come calling, and the A’s might even find an offer to their liking, but it’s rare to see players with this much team control remaining actually change hands. Besides, Irvin is limping to the finish line (6.97 ERA over his past nine starts) and, with a 4.11 ERA in 175 innings overall, looks more like an innings-eating fourth starter than anything else. Some teams will need that, but the free-agent market offers comparable arms who won’t cost minor league talent. A deal could be hard to piece together here, particularly since the A’s also badly need stable innings of this nature.
Irvin and Blackburn, then, should take two rotation spots. The A’s can offer a guaranteed rotation spot and a spacious home park to any number of rebound hopefuls in free agency — Matthew Boyd, Dallas Keuchel, Chad Kuhl, Michael Pineda, Joe Ross, Vince Velasquez among them — and there are plenty of in-house options for the final spots. Adrian Martinez, James Kaprielian, Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears, Zach Logue, Adam Oller and Daulton Jefferies will be in the rotation mix next spring. Kaprielian is out of minor league options and has pitched well of late (3.43 ERA since July 1), so he’s a favorite for a role either in the rotation or bullpen next year.
Speaking of the ’pen, the Athletics should have innings — and perhaps even saves — to offer free agents in that regard as well. A.J. Puk, Domingo Acevedo, Zach Jackson, Dany Jimenez and Sam Moll have all had nice years (albeit some of them with troubling command issues), but there’s no set closer in Mark Kotsay’s group. Dangling that role to lure a high-profile name like Ken Giles, Tommy Kahnle, Corey Knebel or even Craig Kimbrel could make for a compelling selling point.
It’s not yet clear just how high the A’s will be willing to take their payroll. They opened the 2022 season with a paltry $48MM in commitments and would need to do a fair bit of work just to get back to that point. Given the huge gap between their projected commitments and even 2022’s stripped-down Opening Day payroll total, they should have plenty of room to get creative; the oft-proposed but seldom-implemented strategy of acquiring prospects by absorbing a bad contract does make some sense for Oakland, even if we’re not accustomed to the idea of them providing salary relief to another team.
We’ve seen the Red Sox (acquiring Jackie Bradley Jr. and Adam Ottavino over the past two offseasons) and the Giants back in 2018 (Zack Cozart) take on underwater contracts in trades that saw the Brewers, Yankees and Angels all surrender mid-range prospects to shed those commitments. With few established big league talents left to sell for prospects at this point and a completely blank payroll slate, the A’s could consider that tactic.
Obviously, Oakland isn’t going to absorb the $59MM still remaining on Patrick Corbin’s deal with the Nats. The A’s are probably in no hurry to eat the remaining $30.5MM the Yankees owe to Aaron Hicks, either. Smaller-scale commitments to (relatively) young players, however, could make some sense. Scott Kingery, for instance, is clearly no longer in the Phillies’ plans and has just a year $9MM to go on his contract. The Phillies, a luxury-tax payor, might have extra incentive to shed even his contract’s $4MM AAV from the books as they plan for the 2023 campaign.
That’s just one speculative example, to be clear, and there’s no indication yet that Oakland’s ever-frugal ownership group would green-light the addition of player salary to bolster the middle tiers of the farm system. Still, it’d be a sensible approach given the current payroll and state of the rebuild.
I’ve written a lot of these offseason outlooks at MLBTR over the years, but it’s hard to recall a parallel with the current state of the A’s: a team with no guaranteed money on the following year’s books, a tiny arbitration class (that could be further depleted by trades/non-tenders), a farm system that still ranks in the bottom half to bottom third of the league, and almost nothing on the roster in terms of established, cost-controlled players. The A’s could go in countless directions this winter as they look to fill this blank canvas, but two things seem clear: they probably won’t spend much money along the way, and this rebuild is going to take some time.
Jordan Young
I’ve also been looking through arb-eligible players and determining whether a player is a non-tender candidate or a tender candidate. I agree with last night’s post and todays post that Hampson, Blach, Lambert, and Guerra could be non-tender candidates, but I don’t see how Kemp is a NT Candidate. His stats are decent, and his price tag isn’t super high. I could see them tendering him and trying to trade him also. Also, I have a hard time seeing Lamet as a NT Candidate. Yes, he has struggled as a whole on the year especially with the Padres. But since coming to Colorado, he has done better. I appreciate your posts I just wanted your insight on how these two are NT Candidates.
davemlaw
The A’s have done this before so it’s not hard to figure out.
There are plenty of rookies, cast offs and reasonably priced vets to help them put a better team on the field than the Angels. By 2024 Oakland should be back to competitive team on the outskirts of the playoffs.
prov356
law- I don’t think the A’s fans or the players want to strive to get back to the “outskirts” of the playoffs. Their model of constructing a team just doesn’t work. I understand the concept but there has to be some diversification of strategies.
I’m hoping the Angels will be better at team construction and management under a new owner. The A’s need the same, or they need to move to a better market to be able to afford to mix in a few more expensive proven players.
ARC 2
The A’s are not picking up any player making over $3 million a year. A’s owned is way too cheap since he only cares about making money not putting out a good team. Only players the A’s will pick up is bottom of payroll players to get by until 2024 minor leaguers are ready. Only position the A’s will probably bring in players for is relief spots.
Gothamcityriddler
So they loaded up the truck & they moved to Beverley…err I mean Vegas. Ahahaha!
ARC 2
Vegas is out of money too since they owe $2 billion for Raiders and pushing most money to bring in a NBA team. More like Portland, Sacramento, or Nashville.
Rumors2godsears
Vegas pays the Raiders with every tourist who checks into a hotel, they aren’t in the red with the Raiders at all.
ARC 2
They lost 2 years of revenue during covid. So far this year their revenue is down another 4.5%. Even Vegas mayor said the A’s are not coming there. Vegas blew their money on Raiders.
Rsox
It will literally cost the city nothing to bring in an NBA team, only the $1.5 billion dollar buy-in for whoever owns the team. The venue is already in place as they would share T-mobile Arena with the Golden Knights.
Baseball would cost money that they potentially will not get back as a new stadium has to be built and we really have no idea if Vegas can support a team for 81 games (outside of Red Sox/Yankees/Cubs/Dodgers fans making the once a year trip)
CCCTL
Hearing from people who are involved in Vegas real estate:
Owners of land A’s inquired on recently want non-refundable down payments for the land. A’s not willing
Vegas wants binding votes similar to what is happening in Oakland for Howard Terminal. A’s aren’t on board with that either as things with HT are still cooking.
People in Vegas, including those who work on The Strip, don’t want to deal with Fisher (and can you blame them?), they want an expansion franchise instead.
Col_chestbridge
Vegas should not have an NBA team. It is very hard for a mid to small size city to host both an NBA and NHL team. Those leagues play at similar times of year, and would be competing for sponsors, fan attention, and local cable money. You look at a table of top cities by MSA population and once you get under about 6m, there are very few examples of cities who support both well:
Atlanta: Couldn’t support Thrashers
Boston: Exception
San Francisco: Couldn’t support Seals
Phoenix: Coyotes almost got locked out of their arena
Detroit: Pistons struggle attendance wise ever since their last title run
Minny: TWolves struggle
Denver: Both Avalanche and Nuggets struggle to Crack bottom third of attendance
Those MSAs are all bigger than Vegas. There’s a reason you see a lot of things like Portland having the NBA while Seattle has the NHL. OR San Jose getting NHL while SF gets NBA.
Sharing arenas is being done less and less for a few reasons. NHL generally wants smaller arenas than the ones built for NBA, and also scheduling conflicts become hard to manage. Generally for these kind of arenas the city wants to also use it for concerts, college tourneys/games, and convention stuff. Logistics get really hard.
A'sfaninUK
Hilarious how the writer brings up big names as if John Fisher will ever pay anyone with a name.
Tigers3232
@Col, the only NBA/NHL teams to stop sharing a stadium are Nets/Islanders. That is also negated by Pistons/Wings now sharing a stadium. Pistons also are regularly just under 17k avg fans per game despite being in a perpetual rebuild. They did however avg 20k nearly every season from 1986-2010. The issue is not whether it is sustainable it is more associated with the talent of the team. Not saying how this would equate to Vegas drawing fans for a MLB team for 81 games a year. However as far as NHL and NFL goes Vegas has shown that it could easily sustain attendance for a decent NBA team.
Samuel
The A’s FO is working towards where their ML roster will be at in 2024 and 2025.
As always, flexibility is key.
Big whiffa
Start to work your way up from ashes in 24 and compete in 25. Sounds like and A’s rebuild. Usually a year ahead of schedule
BlueSkies_LA
Bellinger is not going to be non-tendered by the Dodgers.
Benjamin101677
Most baseball experts think he will be too expensive at the 20 million range for his around .200 batting average and less than 20 home runs.
He isn’t the elite hitter / mvp type he was before
BlueSkies_LA
Not a realistic standard. He doesn’t have to be an MVP or an elite hitter to be worth tendering. He’s an elite defender at a thin position league-wide, so this is what will matter most. How much he gets in arbitration depends on performance, so we’ll see about that, but even more importantly, the Dodgers don’t depend on outside baseball experts to make their roster and payroll decisions.
BallBag
money better spent on someone else though right? eg turner
BlueSkies_LA
This is the Dodgers, so it isn’t an either-or proposition, and last I checked Turner doesn’t play CF.
tstats
That’s where you’re wrong Turner has and could play CF again. Trayce can play center for 1/20 of the price. Bellinger is cooked in LA unless he has a 2.000 ops thru the playoffs
tstats
Not all ten tho
Rsox
Thompson is not an everday option. One possibility could be non-tendering Bellinger and signing Kevin Kiermaier (who thanks to his injury history should come at less than half of what Bellinger will get in arbitration) and platoon Kiermaier and Taylor in CF
rct
The Dodgers might not rely on ‘outside experts’ but they’re not dumb enough to shovel $20 million into a fire place by tendering Bellinger, who has been awful for two straight years. Especially when Bellinger has been reluctant to make any adjustments at the plate. ‘Elite defense at a thin position’ or not, he’s been worth negative WAR the last two years.
BlueSkies_LA
So you’re relying on a few dozen games Turner played in CF eight years ago? They’re going to re-sign him as free agent to do that? Is this an actual, serious argument? And you think the Dodgers are going to go full on bargain basement with Thompson? Is that another actual, serious argument?
BlueSkies_LA
Kiermaier, now there’s a plan to get older and slower in a hurry, and not improve offensively.
Rsox
Maybe reunite JBJ with Mookie then
BlueSkies_LA
If anything Bellinger makes too many adjustments at the plate, so that’s wrong. And real roster decisions are not made by WAR.
How much Bellinger would get in arbitration is total speculation, but the formula is based on performance. Either way, I’ve already suggested an alternative.
tstats
It is not the crux of my argument it was what came to mind first. I think next year Bellinger will only be on the team if it is part of a NT resign deal. The Dodgers have three players right now on the roster who I believe could provide more all around value playing CF than Cody, Thompson, Taylor, and to a lesser extent Trea (pending being resigned which I hope and pray for every day). The Dodgers have some room to spend before the lux tax and then room after that because LAD baby! But no wise front office is looking at Cody’s last 3 seasons and saying year lets pay him 20M. You note below that we could just extend him at a lower price but this is a Scott Boras client that Boras would likely rather test FA than a “lowball” extension from LA. Personally, I also think the dodgers could go for one of the Blue Jay outfielders in exchange for a pitching prospect or two with how good of a relationship the two seem to have as of late. Granted Teo and Lourdes are not CF’s but the could allow Trayce or Taylor to play CF where both have played well on my personal eye tests. All in all the dodgers have better options than Cody who right now looks like he is hoping for a call from the Reds next year.
Rsox
Andy Pages isn’t that far away either so the Dodgers could cut bait on Bellinger and fill CF with a place holder til he’s ready. You could bring in JBJ and hope Taylor fixes whatever was wrong with this season and have decent offensive (Taylor)/defensive (JBJ) platoon for the short term
.
Blue Skies, 2 things Bellinger can do starting TODAY that will aid him immensely: 1. Stop Pulling his head. 2. Bend his knees a little. If you pull your head you can’t see or hit squat and Bellinger is the master of pulling his head. Also, if you have no flex or bend in your knees, and you stand straight up as he does, you gotta change your eye level and make more unecessary movement as the pitch is thrown. He can start there.
.
P.S. Of course every batting tweak is easier said than done. But him pulling his head has been an issue for a few years. Remember the last 2 seasons when he was losing his helmet every at bat? Same thing was happening with Shohei. Pulling his head like a maniac. Shohei corrected it. But when you see Bellinger swing and his head is looking in the 1B dugout before contact, that is no no bueno.
BlueSkies_LA
I don’t see a non-tender and resign deal without adding a year because two is what he probably gets from some team in free agency just on the strength of his defense. I’m not one of those fans who gets all worked up about Boras. I figure he makes his money by having a very good feel for the player market and a talent for getting the best deals for his clients. He can’t do that by taking the dogmatic approach some seem to believe he does. Also, no reason to believe that any offer LA made would be a lowball. Since when is that their style? Bottom line, when you look at the Dodgers’ CF option for next year beyond Bellinger they are provisional at best, and few other teams can afford to carry a defense-only CF. With you on T. Turner for sure. The Dodgers have similar issues with SS, so they’re in a position to both need and afford him.
BlueSkies_LA
I figure he has hitting coaches for this kind of thing… I remember how they got Joe Pederson to clean up his swing. At one point they were paying him a bonus for every ball he hit to left field.
.
CT3 can play all 3 OF spots solidly and if needed Mookie would have no problem in CF. Mookie plays RF because he prefers is. CF is a piece of cake for him.
.
He certainly has numerous coaches and then some…But they haven’t helped him fix the above mentioned gaping issues he has. Sometimes even the coaches and gurus on the team payroll don’t know it all.
BlueSkies_LA
Not all, but a whole lot more than we do. I look at the guy and don’t see any obvious differences today with the one who hit over 40 dingers three years ago. He’s just missing more of the pitches he used to hit and not making as good contact on the ones he does hit. Baseball is a funny game. It sure can’t all be figured out even with all the data in the world.
Rsox
Bellinger is barely clinging to a .200 Batting Average and close to a new career high in strikeouts, and he’s fully healthy this year.
I agree i don’t see the Dodgers non-tendering Bellimger, especially with how bad CF is league wide. However it wouldn’t completely surprise me if they did either because, its the Dodgers
BlueSkies_LA
Another option depending on the arbitration projections is an extension offer. The Dodgers don’t have a lot of other great CF options and this will be the driver. They can play Taylor in CF more often, but he isn’t as strong defensively, and he’s more valuable for his ability to play multiple positions. He’s a very streaky hitter besides.
Rsox
Kemp should be tendered a contract for next season, especially with Pinder likely to leave as a free agent. The A’s need to find a buy low option for 3B (Maikel Franco).
I don’t expect the A’s to be active in free agency outside of the odd minor league signing unless they a Joey Gallo type comes dirt cheap and they can trade him at the deadline next year
ARC 2
kemp will not be DA because they will need his versatility of OF/2B with Pinder leaving.
stymeedone
After reading what’s available at 2B in the FA market, I could easily see Oakland tendering Kemp a contract, and then trying to trade him.
Jordan Young
Thats what I was thinking
sorrynotsorry
Neuse, Bride, Diaz and possibly even Pinder are all cheaper.
dirkg
Steve, this article and evaluation is spot-on. As an Angels fan, I always watch the A’s closely and to be perfectly honest, I have a re-occurring combination of both respect and fear for what Billy is cooking up in the FO.
This rebuild feels different. Last night’s Angels-As game showed how far apart these teams are even with the Angels running out Matt Duffy at 1B and Jo Adell striking out 4 times. There was no fight to avoid a sweep. Granted Shohei was dealing, but the whole series just seemed flat.
The As are my second favorite team in the division, so a little part of me roots for them outside of the Angels games. So this current state of affairs has me scratching my head a bit and hoping that Billy has some tricks up his sleeve coming in the near future.
ARC 2
A’s are doing what the Angels should have done a few years ago test out a bunch of young players instead of bring in old vets. Still do not understand how a team with 2 of the best offensive players in baseball can’t even be a .500 team. Angels should trade either Ohtani or Trout for a boat load of prospects because if Ohtani resigns where are they going to get money for the rest of the team? With Ohtani marketability I am guessing at a $300 million plus contract.
dirkg
ARC: it’s amazing actually how and the why the Angels are not winning more. Pundits usually point to pitching, but their starters have been pretty decent this year. It boils down to injuries, lack of depth when injuries occur, their bullpen, and most importantly, the leadership at the top.
rocky7
Yankees may be very willing to give back Montas as he’s looking more and more like Sonny Gray 2.0
Cue the experts who will disagree sighting Yankee pitching beliefs vs that of other teams……basically blaming the Yankees and the way they prefer their pitchers too pitch in Yankee Stadium vs the way they pitch elsewhere.
geoffb1982
As long as John Fisher and Billy Beane are in charge, nothing good will ever happen. A’s fan since 1982
Samuel
geoffb;
In the next few years Mr. Fisher will either have a stadium and surrounding area in a planning stage in Oakland, or a stadium to be built in Los Vegas. Either way there will bs a revenue stream that can be used to increase A’s payroll.
However, other FO’s took Mr. Beane’s Moneyball theories and ran with them. Rays, Astros at the center which led to the Dodgers, Brewers, Guardians, etc. The A’s need a new FO.
stymeedone
I like the idea of Murphy to Detroit. Carpenter and Rogers should be a good start.
CyBieber
Go get Murphy, Cleveland. And yes, I’m aware of Bo Naylor.
41em
As long as John Fisher is the owner the A’s will have a rock bottom payroll. Even if they get a new stadium in Oakland, Las Vegas or elsewhere, he still has little interest in having a quality team. The A’s need a new owner more than they need a new stadium.
TheRealMilo
This team needs to be sold and moved to Vegas. The stadium’s condition and state of the roster is an embarrassment to MLB.
BallBag
nice, reverse win% order?
Rumors2godsears
Zero chance Tony Kemp gets non tendered. I know it’s the A’s and they shop with coupons but Tony Kemp is their solid second baseman and they won’t non tender him.
MyCommentIsBetter
Insert that UK A’s dude saying that Murphy is worth a teams top 10 prospects.
ARC 2
Murphy is worth a top ten prospect of any team since he hits and one of the top defensive catchers in the league with arbitration years. A’s are not trading him for some utility player with no offense. A’s have 0 need to trade Murphy since he is still cheap and don’t want to use a rookie behind the plate. Now insert all these fans thinking A’s are trading Murphy for some broken down injured prospect who was a top 100 guy 3 years ago.
CyBieber
@ARC The counter to that is that Murphys value in a trade is probably the highest it’ll ever be right now. Unless the A’s plan on contending in the next three years, they should be motivated to move him and yeah, I agree with you, it’s going to take a pretty significant haul.
MyCommentIsBetter
I meant, all top 10 prospects, not just one. (Reading is hard, I know) But you can tell I REALLY hit a nerve on that comment hahaha
ARC 2
Proper English would be all of a team top ten prospects Next time make yourself clear not another bad trade thought.
Buff Barnacles
I’d love an Island of lost toys bonanza in Oakland! Dallas, Didi, Nelson Cruz. Heck bring back Khris Davis whose mashing away down in Kentucky this year!
ARC 2
You forgot Jack Cust
TheRealMilo
I’ll never forget Jack Cust.
Rsox
Anyone know what Brandon Moss is up to these days?
.
Would Yasiel Puig fit in with the other Toys?
Rsox
Puig’s hitting .280 with 21 Home Runs in the KBO so i could see him getting a look somewhere next season
A'sfaninUK
2023 Starters:
1B/DH D Garcia
2B/1B J Diaz
SS N Allen
COF Capel
C/DH Murphy
C/DH Langeliers
OF/DH S Brown
OF Laureano
1B/C/DH Soderstrom is likely ready by Opening Day, maybe Oakland will hold off for a month on him, but his bat is ready now.
They should turn the rest of the current roster over, Pache is going to need a full swing overhaul this offseason and a hunk of time at AAA to fix it properly, because man, he looks like the worst hitter of all time up there, and he has an almost identical physical build to Mike Trout. But Trout hits like that, and Pache hits like a grandmother. Something is not adding up.
sorrynotsorry
Pache and Trout the same build? LOLOLOLOL Trout looks like he’s going to be banned for 90 games any minute.
Rsox
Sounds like the guy in the Marlins thread that said the same thing about Yermin Mercedes
TheStevilEmpire1
The A’s have a realistic trade partner with Sean Murphy with St. Louis. They have an experienced, inexpensive catcher to pair with Langeliers in Knizner. He still has room to develop but he’s better than most backups.
St. Louis also has a starting pitcher in need of a change of scenery with Dakota Hudson. St. Louis also has a couple quality prospects they could send back to Oakland. Maybe not one of their top 5 prospects but perhaps a top 10.
A 3 for 1 deal for Murphy is feasible. On the flipside most teams know the A’s are deal from a perceived position of depth and they know Oakland don’t want to pay out for Murphy. The Cardinals have a direct need at catcher and Murphy falls in their budget parameters.
HBan22
This is going to be a bad team for quite a while.
Samuel
TheStevilEmpire1;
When the A’s trade Murphy they’ll get back players with 5-6 years of control. That’s what this rebuild is all about.
getrealgone2
Move this team to Vegas and be done with it.
User 163535993
Cubs should be all in on Murphy. They have both the young C’s and prospects in A and Rookie ball that the A’s would covet in a return. Murphy, Gomes and Higgins is a winning formula. It’s obvious they don’t like Contreras work behind the plate with all the young P’s they’ll be using soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t even tender Contreras a QO for fear he would take it. They’ll have enough good draft picks again next year and we haven’t even talked International signings yet.