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Latest On California Stadium Situations

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There are two California ballclubs attempting to navigate stadium issues at the moment, with each situation featuring unique background facts and aims. Here’s the latest from Oakland and Anaheim …

The situation is pressing in Oakland, where the Athletics badly want to get past the tipping point and move forward with a new ballpark. If it wasn’t complicated enough already, there’s now an open court case regarding the latest twists and turns of the long-running saga. (Click here to catch up on the latest.)

Thankfully for the A’s, it seems the team’s latest efforts at finding a workaround seem to have gained some traction. Sarah Ravani of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that, while the litigation has not yet been halted, the Oakland city council has now voted to negotiate with the team to sell its half of the Coliseum site. That doesn’t fully resolve the matter, but it does suggest that both sides see a path forward to bridge this issue — which is critical to the Athletics’ hopes for developing the existing Coliseum site as a part of the broader financial plan to construct a new ballpark in Jack London Square.

As for the Angels, there’s now a schedule in place for the team and the city of Anaheim to engage in negotiations regarding the Angel Stadium lease. There’s an end-of-the-year deadline for the club to exercise an opt-out or instead hold tight for another decade.

While the Halos have dabbled with Long Beach, it seems the strong expectation now is that things will get sorted to stay in place. As Shaikin recently explained, the recent run of developments has cast momentum firmly in the direction of continued play in Angel Stadium.

It still isn’t clear precisely how things will be worked out, but there appears to be broad agreement on developing the area around the existing stadium. Working out the financing is often the sticking point in such situations, but the lack of new ballpark construction surely makes matters simpler. And there are multiple models for the team and municipality to consider by which some manner of public financing may be employed palatably. Shaikin explains that the recent Sacramento MLS deal, which features tax rebates to fund infrastructure around the facility, could function as a model here.

Athletics Hire Adam Rosales As Minor League Coach

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Longtime utility infielder Adam Rosales looks to have called his playing career quits, as the Athletics announced today that he’s been hired as a coach with the team’s affiliate in the Rookie-level Arizona League. The 36-year-old Rosales hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2018, but he split the 2019 campaign between the Triple-A affiliates for the Twins and Indians after signing a minor league pact with Minnesota last winter.

Adam Rosales | Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Today’s appointment seemingly marks the beginning of a new career track for the 11-year Major League veteran. It’s no surprise to see that the Athletics were the team to give Rosales his first coaching gig, as he spent more time as a player with the Athletics than he did with any other team.

Originally a 12th-round pick by the Indians back in 2005, Rosales ascended to the Majors by 2008. He made his way to the Athletics alongside Willy Taveras in a trade that sent Aaron Miles to Cincinnati two years later, and Rosales would go on to spend parts of the next four seasons donning the green and gold. Avid MLBTR readers may remember him as a particularly bizarre hot stove anecdote; back in 2013, Rosales went from the Athletics to the Rangers to the Athletics and back to the Rangers in a series of waiver claims that occurred over a span of just 10 days. Others may fondly remember Rosales as the owner of one of the fastest home run trots the world will ever see.

On the field, Rosales played at least 500 innings at all four infield positions in addition to making much briefer appearances in the outfield corners. He played in 651 big league games and took 1807 plate appearances as a Major Leaguer between the A’s, Rangers, Reds, Diamondbacks, Padres and Indians. He’ll conclude his playing career with a .226/.291/.365 batting line, 48 homers, 69 doubles and six triples at the MLB level.

Also of note for Oakland fans: the organization announced today that former American League Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby, who served as a coach with the team’s Double-A affiliate in 2019, will take over as the new manager in Class-A Stockton for the 2020 season.

Athletics Claim T.J. McFarland

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The Athletics announced that they have claimed lefty T.J. McFarland off of waivers from the Diamondbacks. It appears the Arizona organization outrighted him from the 40-man after declining a club option.

It’s a bit of an unusual situation. McFarland’s 2019 arbitration agreement included an option value for 2020. The $1.85MM price was deemed too steep. But McFarland remained eligible for arbitration.

Now, the A’s will have a decision to make. McFarland actually projects to earn more than the option value, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz pegging his arb value at $2.1MM. That’s all subject to negotiation, of course. The Oakland org might seek to work out a deal at its price tag and move on if that can’t be accomplished.

McFarland was in many respects much the same pitcher as he was in a successful 2018 season, with the 30-year-old producing loads of groundballs and minimal strikeouts. But he allowed more hard contact and more home runs. The A’s obviously they believe McFarland can benefit from some positive regression and/or tweaks to his approach.

Athletics Select Jonah Heim

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The Athletics have selected the contract of catcher Jonah Heim, per a club announcement. He’d have qualified for minor-league free agency had he not been moved onto the 40-man roster.

Heim, 24, is a former fourth-round pick who took some time getting acclimated to the professional ranks as a hitter. He hasn’t yet debuted in the majors but is obviously seen as a near-term option in Oakland.

Last season represented a breakthrough for Heim, who was acquired from the Rays in the 2017-18 offseason. He posted a .282/.370/.431 batting line in 208 Double-A plate appearances, walking 24 times against just 27 strikeouts. Then, he boosted his power (as did so many others) in a 119 PA run at Triple-A, where he slashed .358/.412/.557.

The A’s are expected to rely heavily upon newcomer Sean Murphy in 2019. Josh Phegley (or a replacement) will likely open as the reserve. But Heim will also be an option if and when a need arises.

A's Make Multiple Staff Changes

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  • The Athletics have made a few changes to their staff, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle details. First base coach Al Pedrique is moving across the field to take over for third base coach Matt Williams, who will manage in Korea next season. Matt Aldrete will go from assistant hitting coach to first base coach to fill Pedrique’s void. Meanwhile, Eric Martins will assume the role of assistant hitting coach after coaching in the A’s minor league system for half a decade.

Latest On Giants’ Managerial Search

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The Giants may be nearing the final stages of their search for Bruce Bochy’s replacement, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that either former Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, or Royals quality control coach Pedro Grifol will be the next Giants manager.  Kapler, Espada, and Grifol are the only candidates known to be asked back for a second interview, thus seemingly confirming them as the top choices.

Among other known candidates, it’s worth noting that the Athletics announced their 2020 coaching staff today, with quality control coach Mark Kotsay listed as returning.  Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens has been busy managing the Netherlands’ team in the Premier 12 tournament (which doubles as a qualifying tournament for the 2020 Olympics), which perhaps served as an early hint that he wouldn’t be promoted to the top job in San Francisco’s dugout.

“Kapler has at points been the favorite in the process,” a source tells Pavlovic, due to the longstanding relationship between Kapler and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi due to their time together in the Dodgers’ front office.  However, “it’s unclear where the search stands currently,” as both Grifol and Espada have been asked back for secondary interviews.  It could be that the Giants are simply doing their due diligence in an important decision, or perhaps one of the other two candidates has started to garner more of the team’s attention.

Athletics Exercise Club Option On Yusmeiro Petit; Decline Jake Diekman’s Option

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The Athletics made their decisions on two outstanding club options today, announcing that right-hander Yusmeiro Petit’s club option will be exercised, thus guaranteeing the veteran reliever $5.5MM in 2020.  The A’s will decline their end of a mutual option on southpaw Jake Diekman, paying him a $500K buyout rather than a $5.75MM salary next season.

Today’s option decision will turn Petit’s original contract with the A’s from November 2017 into a three-year, $14.5MM commitment, and Oakland’s investment has paid off nicely in the first two years of the deal.  Petit has a 2.86 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 5.25 K/BB rate over 176 relief innings and 154 games in 2018-19, and he led the league with 80 appearances this season.  Though Petit turns 35 in November, his pitching style seems built to age well — his excellent control and ability to induce soft contact belies his lack of strikeout ability and somewhat limits issues with the home run ball (1.2 HR/9 over the last two seasons).

Diekman was acquired in a late-July deal from the Royals, and posted a 4.43 ERA over 20 1/3 innings with the A’s that included more than a few nervous moments (Diekman issued 16 walks during his brief time in Oakland).  Overall, Diekman had a 4.65 ERA over 62 combined innings for the Royals and A’s, with a 2.15 K/BB rate and 12.2 K/9.

Those numbers are quite similar to Diekman’s statistics from his 2018 season split between the Rangers and Diamondbacks.  With back-to-back years of only okay performance, Oakland will decide to move on rather than spend the extra $5.25MM to retain Diekman’s services.  Left-handed relief does seem like it will be an offseason priority for the A’s, given that Ryan Buchter is currently the only southpaw reliever on Oakland’s 40-man roster.

A's Young Options For Second Base

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With the 2019 MLB season officially wrapping up in a matter of hours, much of the league is fully turned toward the upcoming offseason. We’ll track some American League news here.

  • Daniel Vogelbach started 49 games at first base for the Mariners in 2019, but that’s not likely to happen again, reports Corey Brock of the Athletic. Never regarded as an especially strong defender, some in the Mariners’ organization believe Vogelbach’s offensive downturn in the season’s second half (71 wRC+, compared to a 136 wRC+ in the first half) was related to his playing the field more than was ideal. With Vogelbach looking like a pure DH, the Mariners could again turn first base over to Austin Nola, a 29 year-old rookie who slashed .269/.342/.454 in 267 plate appearances down the stretch. Nola’s capable of bouncing all around the diamond, including catching, and is probably best served as a multi-positional piece. Fortunately, top first base prospect Evan White is on the doorstep of the majors and has a chance to win the job early, perhaps even out of spring training, Brock adds.
  • The Red Sox could be facing payroll constraints and have a number of high-priced but effective starting pitchers. With that in mind, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears that the Rangers have internally kicked around the idea of pursuing one of those arms in trade. Texas is planning to increase payroll in 2020, after all. While much of that attention has focused on a potential pursuit of Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon in free agency, that flexibility can certainly be put to use in trade as well. Grant speculates that any of Chris Sale, David Price, or Nathan Eovaldi could be targets. Of course, given the caliber of players (particularly Sale and Price) and amount of money involved, any trade scenario would be extremely complex.
  • Speaking of the Red Sox, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe takes a fascinating look at the career of Brian O’Halloran. Part of the four-person interim front office crew (alongside Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero and Zack Scott) who ran baseball operations between the departure of Dave Dombrowski and the hiring of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, O’Halloran was promoted to general manager at the time of Bloom’s hiring. Speier’s piece, certainly worth reading in full, is rife with quotes from O’Halloran’s colleagues lauding his work ethic and aptitude and details his rise from volunteer to jack-of-all-trades within the organization.
  • The A’s have an uncertain mix at second base, and three young players have a chance to stake their claim to the job next spring, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Sheldon Neuse, Franklin Barreto and Jorge Mateo should all have a shot at earning the job, assuming none are traded in the coming months. Jurickson Profar may, too, Slusser notes, although it’s possible he’ll end up elsewhere following a disappointing season with a projected $5.8MM arbitration salary. Slusser doesn’t foreclose the possibility of an outside addition, something explored by MLBTR’s Connor Byrne in his A’s offseason outlook, but it’s nonetheless notable to hear the organization continues to have faith in its young infield options.

Offseason Outlook: Oakland Athletics

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While this season represented another year in which the Athletics fell short of the ultimate goal, it would still be difficult to call it anything but a success. The low-budget franchise overcame multiple key injuries in its rotation to amass 97 wins for the second straight year and earn its second consecutive playoff berth. Unfortunately for Oakland, it once again couldn’t get past the wild-card game. The A’s will return the vast majority of their important contributors in 2020, however, and even though they’re probably in for a somewhat quiet winter, there’s a good chance they’ll remain among the AL’s most talented teams next year.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via Matt Swartz)

Option Decisions

Free Agents

As was the case in 2018, this year’s Athletics overcame a rotation that wasn’t anywhere close to full strength to book a trip to the playoffs. Emergent ace Frankie Montas’ breakout year all but ended in late June because of an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs; Sean Manaea barely factored in after undergoing shoulder surgery in September 2018; and promising young starters Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk and Jharel Cotton missed most or all of the season with injuries. When Luzardo and Puk were healthy enough to pitch toward the end of the year, they worked exclusively out of the A’s bullpen.

Going forward, the A’s can likely expect Montas, Manaea, Luzardo and Puk to occupy four of five spots in their season-opening 2020 rotation. Cotton could vie for a spot, but he doesn’t seem to stand as strong a chance to win one. If healthy, though, he could be a solid depth piece for an Oakland staff that’ll also have Mike Fiers and Chris Bassitt among its main options. The sudden overflow of capable-looking starters means the A’s probably won’t pursue starters with much gusto over the winter. Brett Anderson and in-season additions Homer Bailey and Tanner Roark each helped spur the A’s most recent playoff season, though they all appear likely to walk in free agency. Even Anderson, a longtime and much-respected Athletic, seems to think his time with the franchise is done because of the copious amount of viable starters they have on hand.

Oakland seems to be facing a larger number of questions in its bullpen, where it’ll have to decide on a couple options before getting to other business. Rejecting lefty Jake Diekman’s $5.75MM option in favor of a $500K buyout seems as if it’ll happen; meantime, it appears to be a straightforward call to say yes to workhorse righty Yusmeiro Petit’s $5.5MM option. Assuming Petit sticks around, he’ll stay in a group that’ll also return the suddenly superb Liam Hendriks, Joakim Soria, Ryan Buchter and Lou Trivino. After that, the unit’s makeup doesn’t seem to be set in stone. Some member(s) from the A’s overflow of starters may be part of the group, as could J.B. Wendelken. Blake Treinen had an all-world season in 2018, but he fell off a cliff during an injury-limited ’19 and now looks like a strong non-tender candidate. All that said, adding to the bullpen (for what figures to be a low-cost, short-term contract) may be a priority this offseason for the A’s. Bear in mind that they have brought in at least one free-agent reliever on a guaranteed contract in each of the past few winters (Petit, Soria, Santiago Casilla, Ryan Madson and John Axford since 2016).

Meanwhile, the A’s position player alignment looks set for the most part. Third baseman Matt Chapman, first baseman Matt Olson and shortstop Marcus Semien are bedrock in the infield (the only question is whether any of them will land contract extensions). Designated hitter Khris Davis’ production plummeted during an injury-affected season, but the money left on his contract means he isn’t going to vacate his role. Underrated standouts Mark Canha and Ramon Laureano make for two-thirds of a starting outfield, though it’s not yet clear where they’ll mainly line up next season.

Either Canha or Laureano could be the A’s No. 1 center fielder or wind up starting in a corner in 2020. Stephen Piscotty (whom Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has suggested may be a trade candidate), Robbie Grossman (potential non-tender), Chad Pinder (another possible non-tender), Seth Brown, Skye Bolt and Dustin Fowler might also be in the mix for spots. However, the A’s could go out of house for what they deem to be a more appealing choice. Slusser and Melissa Lockard of The Athletic have named lefty-hitting center fielder as a potential priority for the club, which may mean adding someone like Jarrod Dyson, Billy Hamilton or Jon Jay in free agency or even swinging a trade for Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr. (though he might be too pricey for Oakland). In the corners, while free agents-to-be Marcell Ozuna and Nicholas Castellanos will likely be too rich for the A’s blood, though the team might be able to afford Yasiel Puig, Corey Dickerson, Kole Calhoun, Avisail Garcia or Brett Gardner. And let’s not forget ex-Athletic Ben Zobrist, who’d be able to help fill their 2B/OF needs in one fell swoop.

Whether they come away with Zobrist or someone else, second base does look like a position Oakland may choose to address from outside. Jurickson Profar’s probably on the outs, whether by trade or non-tender, after he fell flat in 2019. Free agency looks as if it’ll feature several affordable players who could prove to be upgrades over what the A’s got from Profar this year. Aside from Zobrist, Starlin Castro, Brian Dozier, Scooter Gennett, Brock Holt, Howie Kendrick, Jason Kipnis, Jonathan Schoop, former Athletic Eric Sogard and Neil Walker should all sign affordable short-term deals. Otherwise, if the A’s pass on that group (and if they don’t keep Profar or make a trade), they’ll have the option of handing the reins to some combination of Pinder, Sheldon Neuse, Franklin Barreto and Jorge Mateo.

The last spot we’ll address is the catcher position, which looks as if it’ll belong to Sean Murphy going forward. One of the majors’ highest-ranked prospects, the 25-year-old Murphy thrived at the Triple-A level in 2019 and did the same in the bigs after a September call-up. At least offensively, Murphy was far more productive than any catcher the A’s used regularly, including No. 1 choice Josh Phegley. The team’s now facing a decision on Phegley, whom it could non-tender now that Murphy – also a right-handed hitter – is in the fold. If Phegley does go, it would make sense for the A’s to pursue a lefty-swinging backup to pair with Murphy. There will be a few available in free agency in ex-A’s favorite Stephen Vogt, recent A’s target Matt Wieters and Alex Avila.

With Oakland already pushing up against this year’s $92MM-plus opening-day payroll, it doesn’t appear the club’s in for an especially active offseason. However, A’s executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane and general manager David Forst don’t necessarily need to oversee an aggressive winter. They’ve already built a quality roster that looks as if it’ll contend again in 2020.

Latest On Oakland Stadium

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  • In an attempt to rid themselves of the current legal quagmire surrounding their new ballpark project, the Athletics have offered to either buy out the city of Oakland’s half share in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum site for $85 million or enter into a long-term lease, per Phil Matier of The San Francisco Chronicle (link). The team has offered a “community benefits package” to the city that includes affordable housing provisions and apprenticeship programs, with the expectation that the city drops its lawsuit against Alameda County in return. Alameda County, which holds the other half share of the Oakland Coliseum site, recently offered to sell its own half share to the A’s, but a city-initiated lawsuit has stalled that potential agreement. Work on the new Oakland Ballpark is expected to begin in the city’s Jack London Square area in 2021.
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