Athletics Rumors

AL West Links: Angels, Davis, Keuchel

By Mark Polishuk | October 14, 2017 at 12:16pm CDT

It was on this day in 1929 that the Athletics (then based out of Philadelphia) won the World Series after a walkoff comeback in Game Five against the Cubs. Down 2-0 doing into the bottom of the ninth, the A’s tied it on Mule Haas’ two-run homer, and then Bing Miller later delivered an RBI double for the game- and Series-winning run. This comeback came just two days after the A’s scored 10 runs in the bottom of the seventh in Game Four, erasing an 8-0 Cubs lead.

Here’s the latest from around the AL West…

The Angels aren’t likely to pursue any high-priced pitching upgrades this winter, MLB.com’s Maria Guardado writes as part of a reader mailbag. Assuming their rotation is finally healthy after a pair of injury-plagued years, Guardado projects Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, Tyler Skaggs, Matt Shoemaker and Nick Tropeano as the Halos’ starting five, with Parker Bridwell as the top depth option. The club could add some further arms on minor league deals or trades, and I’d argue that one more solid innings-eater is required given the number of health question marks on the Angels’ staff.
During an appearance on MLB.com’s Newsmakers podcast, Khris Davis tells Bill Ladson (audio link) that he enjoys playing in Oakland but doesn’t necessarily anticipate remaining over the long term, given the Athletics’ penchant for trading established players for prospects. “I see myself year by year. I don’t know what the longest streak for a player to be in Oakland is, but I know that it’s a business, and one day I’ll have to leave,“ Davis said. The team at least explored the possibility of an extension with Davis and Marcus Semien last year, and Billy Beane recently discussed how the A’s are looking to lock up some core pieces, so one would assume that the club will re-open talks with Davis at some point this winter. Davis has done nothing but mash since joining the A’s two years ago, delivering a pair of 40+ homer seasons and improving his walk rate last season, en route to a .247/.336/.528 slash line over 652 PA. That big year has put Davis in line for a projected $11.1MM salary in 2018 via arbitration, so an extension would also give the A’s some cost certainty over Davis as his price tag will rise again during his final arb-eligible offseason in 2018-19.
Dallas Keuchel hopes to remain with the Astros over the long term, and the ace southpaw tells NBCSports.com’s Evan Drellich that “winning is going to be the biggest factor” in deciding his future, whether that involves signing an extension with Houston or leaving in free agency after the 2018 season. The Astros certainly seem well-positioned to be long-term contenders, though they’ll face some interesting decisions about keeping their core together over the coming years, with Keuchel being the first of their cornerstone players to reach the open market.

West Notes: Athletics, Giants, Peacock, Hill, Rockies

By Mark Polishuk | October 8, 2017 at 12:46pm CDT

The Athletics have a history of adding veteran starters to eat innings and serve as mentors within otherwise young rotations, and the team will again be looking to add such a pitcher this winter, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes in a look at the starting situations on both Bay Area teams. “You have to bring in the right guy in that situation. Not just any veteran or experienced guy can come in and play that role, so we’ll certainly survey the market and be opportunistic,” Oakland GM David Forst said. As for the Giants, they seem pretty set in the rotation, as they’re counting on better health and/or returns to form from Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore, with Ty Blach and Chris Stratton competing for the fifth starter’s job.

Here’s more from both the AL and NL West divisions….

Improved health, a lower arm slot and an altered slider all led to Brad Peacock’s breakout year, though as recently as this Spring Training, Peacock seemed a longshot to make the Astros roster or even stay in Major League Baseball, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes. “We thought we were going to Japan, honestly,” said Peacock’s wife Stephanie. Dan Straily’s emergence in 2016 made the Astros hesitant about giving up on another arm, however, and Peacock found a roster spot when Collin McHugh began the year on the DL. The rest was history — over 132 innings as a starter and a reliever, Peacock posted a 3.00 ERA, 10.98 K/9 and 2.82 K/9 rate. He’ll make his first postseason appearance today as Houston’s starter in Game 3 of the ALDS.
Rich Hill is no stranger to reinvention, and after the curveball that fueled his late-career revival began his fail him early this season, The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh illustrates how Hill moved away from his signature pitch. Hill began to utilize his fastball to great success, what the southpaw’s heater lacks in speed (89mph), it makes up for with excellent movement. Cutting back on the curveball usage also may have helped Hill avoid the blister problems that plagued him in 2016. The end result was another strong season for the Dodgers lefty, as Hill posted a 3.32 ERA with 11.01 K/9 over 135 2/3 innings.
The Rockies have almost $54MM in payroll coming off the books this winter in the form of Carlos Gonzalez’s salary and over $33MM in “dead money” paid to players no longer on the roster, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. Between that large sum and another $24MM being freed up by other impending free agents, Colorado has plenty of cash to spend this winter, though some of those funds could go towards re-signing some of those players, perhaps Greg Holland and Jonathan Lucroy. Saunders also wonders if the Rockies could look into extensions for Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu (free agents after 2018) or Nolan Arenado (after 2019).

A’s Executives On Offseason, Future

By Kyle Downing | October 3, 2017 at 11:25am CDT

On Monday, the Oakland Athletics held a season-ending press conference. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports were present, and both provided insightful takes on the words from A’s VP of Baseball Operations Billy Beane and GM David Forst.

Somewhat expectedly, it doesn’t seem as though the A’s are likely to add significant payroll or make any sort of all-in push towards contention this year.

“Next year, you want to improve,” Beane says (via Slusser), “but more than anything, if we can just get long-term pieces in — a process that was started this year and will continue on — I think we’ll feel good. If we have the opportunity for a playoff spot, of course, I think we’ve always been opportunistic, and we’ll look at the winter that way, but we do want to be disciplined long term.”

Slusser also adds that Beane expressed disappointment in the volatile development process of their young pitchers (which would include up-and-down seasons from Sean Manaea, Kendall Graveman and Jharel Cotton), but adds that the free-agent market for starting pitchers is too risky to plunge into. The A’s, according to Beane, want to build their pitching staff “organically.” 2016 first-rounder A.J. Puk and trade acquisition James Kaprielian are good bets to contribute to the A’s rotation in the near future as well.

However, the A’s believe that their offense is in very good shape for the future. Khris Davis hit 43 homers last season, and they have no plans to shop the slugger, per Beane (via Slusser). He’ll complement a young core led by Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Bruce Maxwell and Chad Pinder that has earned the faith of the front office. That group will only get stronger as additional minor leaguers join the MLB club. Highly-touted prospect Franklin Barreto could begin the season at Triple-A, for instance, but seems likely to contribute in 2018 as well.

Notably, the A’s brain trust is already looking at which members of the young core to lock up via long-term extensions.

“First, we want to make sure we’re identifying the right guys,” said Beane (via Stiglich). “I’ll just say it’s probably a conversation we’ve already started. We’ve had that discussion already. It’s going to be important for us to do it.”

Olson, Chapman, Manaea, and Ryon Healy all seem like candidates for these type of extensions (though Slusser notes that Oakland could choose to dangle Healy in potential trades for pitching help). The A’s appear to be acting more proactively on this front than the organization typically has in past years, and interestingly, Beane cites the new stadium as a factor.

“When you’re talking about building a club for a stadium that’s six years off, and if you’re talking about locking them up, then you’re looking to have to lock them up for a long time. So that’s sort of the trick and the balance that we have to address this offseason, if we’re going to embark on that… I think right now we’ve just got to operate that (the ballpark) is going to happen (on time). The other option is one we’ve done my entire career here, which is constant churn. I’m churned out.”

The A’s are treating their new ballpark as additional motivation to get a strong perennial contender together. They believe that by combining a team the fans are excited about with a move to a brand new stadium, they can give a major boost to a franchise that will continue to see revenue-sharing checks dwindle over the next few seasons. Beane cites the Indians’ success with a similar enterprise back in the 90s as the model for his plan.

“I think you have to be very proactive long before a stadium opens,” Beane said (via Slusser, in a separate article). “Listen, you have to get people excited about the product that’s going in a new stadium if you expect them to pay higher prices or even come at all. That’s really important. So for me, the model has always been the Indians. No one has done it since then nearly as well. If you wait too long and try to create a team a year before the stadium opens, most of them badly miss the mark, and we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

It’s been a tough couple of seasons for the A’s since an aggressive but ultimately disappointing playoff push in 2014. But if they can lock up some of their promising young players and continue to add to an intriguing foundation, the franchise could be well on its way to sustainable success sooner than later.

Athletics Expect To Retain Jed Lowrie

By Steve Adams | October 2, 2017 at 10:35pm CDT

Infielder Jed Lowrie has a $6MM club option on his contract with the A’s, and while the exercising of that option has long seemed like a foregone conclusion, he’s remained a highly speculative trade candidate. Speaking to the media following the conclusion of the regular season, however (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle), EVP of baseball operations Billy Beane and general manager David Forst instead strongly suggested that Lowrie would be back as the A’s regular second baseman in 2018.

Though A’s top prospect Franklin Barreto made his Major League debut in 2017 and could eventually push starting shortstop Marcus Semien over to second base, it seems that scenario won’t play out immediately in 2018. Barreto is, as Beane pointed out, still just 21 years of age (22 in February). He has received plenty of attention on prospects list, and he posted a strong .290/.339/.456 as one of the youngest players in the Pacific Coast League this year. But, Barreto hit just .197/.250/.352 in 76 plate appearances this year – a far cry from the manner in which young teammates Matt Olson and Matt Chapman more authoritatively seized spots in Oakland’s lineup moving forward – and Slusser writes that the A’s are inclined to give him further seasoning in the minors.

“You’ve got those two dynamics, which is actually ideal,” Beane said. “I want a young player to sort of push, where his performance is so good that he sort of pushes himself in. But Jed Lowrie had an absolute amazing year, one of the best years probably this side of Jose Altuve as any second baseman in baseball.”

Lowrie certainly was superb for the A’s in 2017, hitting .277/.360/.448 with 14 homers, 49 doubles and three triples over a career-high 645 plate appearances. He also turned in passable defense at second base, with both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved pegging him as only slightly below average in the field.

While a strong offer for Lowrie’s services over the winter could always alter the thinking of the Oakland front office, the comments from Beane and Forst seem to largely indicate that Lowrie is indeed a firm Plan A for Oakland in 2018. Some doubters will recall reports that the A’s wouldn’t trade star third baseman Josh Donaldson in the same offseason that he was dealt to Toronto, but those comments were made anonymously by an Oakland official — as opposed to on-record statements by the team’s top decision-makers. More recently, Beane and Forst drew a hard line in November 2015, stating on record that they could not foresee trades of Sonny Gray or Josh Reddick that offseason, and they indeed held onto them through the winter. Both, of course, were eventually traded at a later date.

Athletics Extend Bob Melvin

By Connor Byrne and Steve Adams | September 28, 2017 at 3:05pm CDT

The Athletics and manager Bob Melvin have agreed to a one-year extension, the team announced this afternoon. Melvin is now under contract through 2019, joining executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane and general manager David Forst. He’d previously been under contract through the completion of the 2018 season, so this new agreement will prevent him from entering the 2018 campaign as a dreaded “lame duck” manager with just a year to go on his deal.

Melvin, 55, is wrapping up his 14th season as a Major League manager and his seventh at the helm for the Athletics. He’s previously managed the Mariners (2003-04) and Diamondbacks (2005-09), and as the A’s point out in their press release, he’s one of just seven managers in baseball history to win Manager of the Year honors in both the American League (2012 with the A’s) and the National League (2007 with the Diamondbacks). Overall, Melvin has a career record of 1028-1040 as a manager, though he’s presided over a number of A’s teams that haven’t necessarily been in “win-now” mode.

The 2017 season was one of those years, as Oakland entered the season with a number of stopgaps among its position-player ranks as the team waited for the arrival of a wave of young talent. Veterans like Trevor Plouffe, Rajai Davis, Stephen Vogt and Yonder Alonso eventually gave way to an impressive bumper crop of young talent, however — a group that the A’s hope will form the nucleus of their next contending club.

Corner infielders Matt Olson and Matt Chapman have made the biggest impact in the Majors (Olson with his bat, Chapman more with his glove), but the team has also welcomed the likes of Franklin Barreto, Ryon Healy, Bruce Maxwell and Jaycob Brugman into more prominent roles.

Melvin will be tasked with helping to hone the skills of that potential core group, as Oakland looks to put its current 73-85 record in the rear-view mirror in future seasons and return to contention in what was one of Major League Baseball’s most top-heavy divisions in 2017.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Maxwell, Rodney, Hundley

By Jeff Todd | September 26, 2017 at 10:33am CDT

Whatever one may think about athletes making social or political gestures during the National Anthem, this excellent piece from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports on Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell is well worth a read. The first-year big leaguer, who became the first and thus far only major-league player to join many in the NFL in taking a knee during the anthem, certainly has thought deeply about his actions and appears to be motivated by honestly-held beliefs.

Here’s more from out west:

While the Diamondbacks will end up paying closer Fernando Rodney more than he was guaranteed before the season, that’s a good thing. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic explains, Rodney has already tacked on $1.25MM on top of his $2.75MM base salary. With one more appearance he’ll take home another $250K check. The purpose, says GM Mike Hazen, was to “pay him more if we leaned on him in a good season” but leave the team “more protected” if things went south. With the D-Backs slated for a Wild Card play-in, the money has proven well spent. The 40-year-old Rodney carries a less-than-inspiring 4.33 ERA, but has racked up 39 saves and has perhaps thrown better than the ERA suggests. Rodney has stranded only 59.9% of baserunners to reach against him, which likely reflects some poor fortune. He carries 10.5 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 along with a 51.5% groundball rate on the year.
Veteran backstop Nick Hundley says he’d like to return to the Giants, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports. Skipper Bruce Bochy says he’ll “sit down” with the catcher about the future, noting that he expects Hundley to “have some choices” in free agency. Hundley slashed .252/.281/.434 with nine home runs in 290 plate appearances, with the on-base struggles offsetting his pop. And he doesn’t rate well as a framer. Still, the Giants seem to feel they have received good value on their $2MM investment; Baggarly documents Hundley’s work with the pitching staff and positive clubhouse presence. “I love it here,” said Hundley, adding that he “can’t imagine how much better it’d be if we were winning more games.”

Injury Notes: Altuve, Yadi, Olson, Red Sox

By Jeff Todd | September 26, 2017 at 12:04am CDT

Here are the latest health notes from around the game:

The Astros dodged a bullet tonight when star second baseman Jose Altuve left the game after being struck on the forearm by a pitch. Thankfully, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets, x-rays came back negative. The diminutive 27-year-old is leading the American League in hits for the fourth consecutive year and in batting average for the third time in four seasons. He’s also pacing qualified batters with a career-best 168 OPS+.
Also departing with an injury tonight was Cardinals veteran Yadier Molina. The team announced that he’s undergoing testing as part of the concussion protocol after taking two consecutive foul balls off of his mask. His status for the rest of the regular season remains uncertain, but it could become a bigger issue if St. Louis can claw into Wild Card position.
Athletics slugger Matt Olson has been diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. He’s very likely to miss the remainder of the season, but it won’t put a damper on an exciting campaign. Olson, 23, has streaked to 24 long balls in 216 trips to the plate, with a robust .259/.352/.651 batting line. He’ll fall shy of a full year of service, too, so the A’s will control Olson for six more campaigns.
Things didn’t go quite as hoped for the Red Sox tonight. Lefty Drew Pomeranz was sitting in the high-eighties with his fastball, though he says that was part of a plan to save some gas for the later innings, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports. Star outfielder Mookie Betts left with a wrist issue, though there’s no reason as yet to think it’s significant. Of the greatest concern, perhaps, infielder Eduardo Nunez tweaked his injured knee. He suggested that he’ll sit out a few more games and try again to return, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald tweets.

AL Notes: Britton, Miley, Barreto, Twins, Moylan

By Jeff Todd | September 21, 2017 at 1:58pm CDT

Over at Fangraphs, David Laurila provides an interesting look at the concept of African-American ballplayers serving as role models. Angels prospect Jo Adell has expressed an inclination to be just that; Laurila asked a variety of professionals what advice they have for the recent draftee. The post is well worth a full read.

Here’s more from the American League:

It’s not clear whether Zach Britton will pitch again for the Orioles this year. He’ll sit for at least three to five days after receiving an injection in his balky knee, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to tweet. With the O’s all but mathematically eliminated from the postseason race, there’s little reason to push a pitcher who has struggled all year long to gain traction. Instead, it seems likely the club will allow Britton to begin the healing process in hopes of a healthier and more productive 2018 season.
While the Orioles can control lefty Wade Miley through a club option, and certainly need arms in the rotation, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes that it’s time to bid adieu. The 30-year-old has struggled for the bulk of the season, making the $12MM price tag seem steep. Instead, Connolly urges, the O’s ought to pay him a $500K buyout and go looking for alternatives.
As the Athletics sort through their young position-player options, Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area writes, the club could consider giving Franklin Barreto some time in center field. Oakland seems to have a rather wide-open situation up the middle in the outfield grass. In the infield, though, there are several options at second base — including veteran Jed Lowrie, assuming he isn’t traded (and that his option is picked up, as appears likely). Stiglich runs through some other options; while there are a few internal players that may warrant consideration, it’s also conceivable that the team could use the opening to try an outside acquisition. (As I noted recently, Oakland could have a chance to take advantage of some outfield gluts in other organizations.) Regardless, as regards the 21-year-old Barreto, the key consideration is likely whether the team feels he’s best served taking on major league pitching or going back to Triple-A to iron out his strikeout issues.
The Twins have been making some scouting and development changes, as do many teams this time of year. International scouting coordinator Howard Norsetter was fired, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune reports. Norsetter had run the team’s efforts to find amateur talent abroad, excepting Latin America. The club also added a new part-time scout in Japan, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
Royals righty Peter Moylan tells Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star that he hopes to return to the organization next year. As Dodd explains, Moylan has been quite dominant against opposing right-handed hitters. He still generates tons of groundballs and throws his sidearm sinker at the same velocity. Given the seeming comfort level between player and team, and K.C.’s need for affordable roster pieces with a challenging offseason coming, a reunion wouldn’t be terribly surprising.

Three Needs: Oakland Athletics

By Jeff Todd | September 19, 2017 at 12:36pm CDT

This is the latest edition in MLBTR’s Three Needs series. Click to read entries on the Braves, Tigers, Reds, Pirates, Giants, Mets, and Blue Jays.

Oakland entered the 2017 season with a plan to compete, but there was always an alternative course available. With some intriguing young players pushing for MLB time and a few quality veterans on short-term deals, the A’s pivoted to a youth-first strategy over the summer. That shapes the club’s needs entering the offseason.

1. Make a call on Jed Lowrie.

The one obvious veteran trade chip that wasn’t moved this summer was Lowrie, who is controllable next year by way of a $6MM club option ($1MM buyout). It seems all but a foregone conclusion that the option will be picked up; Lowrie has rewarded the A’s faith in his ability by slashing .276/.358/.450 over 597 plate appearances this year. The question remains, though, where he’ll play.

If he stays in Oakland, Lowrie would surely retain a hold on regular second base duties, at least to open the season. That would mean less infield time for Chad Pinder as well as a return to the upper minors for Franklin Barreto (who could certainly stand to continue working on reducing his swings), recent acquisition Jorge Mateo (who has yet to reach Triple-A), and Joey Wendle (who came over in the Brandon Moss deal).

While there’s an avenue to keeping Lowrie around, at least until next summer’s trade deadline, it’s fair to wonder whether the A’s ought instead to cut the cord. The veteran infielder is a versatile asset, with the ability to hit from both sides of the plate and plenty of experience up the middle, so he ought to draw real interest. Even if he won’t command a huge return, the A’s might reasonably expect to get something intriguing back while also opening the door wide open for the younger options to sink or swim.

Either way, it would likely behoove the A’s to make this call fairly early on. Lowrie might hold more appeal at the outset of free agency, when he’d represent a cheaper alternative for teams considering open-market veterans. And if he’s going to go off the books, the A’s would be well-served to have a full offseason to pursue interesting ways of utilizing the extra roster spot.

But he’s not the only possible trade piece. The team also ought to …

2. Dangle Khris Davis.

There’s less of a rush here, but the A’s ought to push to get a read on Davis’s market even as competitors weigh moves for slugging free agents. Davis is closing in on a second-straight forty-dinger campaign, which’ll boost his current $5MM arbitration salary yet higher in his final two years of control. Still, he’ll cost a pittance compared to, say, J.D. Martinez.

While Davis doesn’t have that kind of bat, and has graded terribly on defense this year, he has produced offense at more than twenty percent above league average in each of the past three campaigns in spite of his contact problems. The case of Chris Carter shows that teams won’t go wild for a player with this profile, though Mark Trumbo did score $37.5MM over three years from the Orioles last winter.

Oakland would likely be better off sending Davis on to another organization while his value is at a relative high-point. With so many young players looking to find their way in the majors, it would take quite a few good breaks for this roster to spring into contention in the next two years. Continuing to employ Davis, especially at his skyrocketing rate of pay, doesn’t seem to serve the team’s long-term interests.

That’s especially true since there may be an opportunity to …

3. Take advantage of other teams’ outfield surpluses.

The A’s already have young players lined up all over the roster. Few are sure things, but the club will want to get extended looks at its most intriguing assets in the infield and rotation. That’s even true to some extent in the bullpen, where the club has a few interesting pitchers and can also stash those hurlers that don’t crack the starting five. While the pitching remains a long-term concern, there isn’t exactly a ton of room to add new arms; as importantly, other clubs won’t be anxious to allow the A’s to get ahold of their most interesting youngsters.

It’s a somewhat different situation in the outfield, though. There, veterans — the aforementioned Davis, Matt Joyce, and Rajai Davis — have seen the most extensive time this year. And there are only a few younger players — Pinder, Boog Powell, Jaycob Brugman, Mark Canha — that seem to be plausible options to roam the major-league grass for the A’s in 2018. Meanwhile, quite a few other clubs could face difficult choices with their own outfield situations. The Cardinals and Brewers have perhaps the most notable forthcoming surpluses, but it’s possible to imagine some intriguing outfield talent shaking loose from a fair number of other organizations as well as they seek to manage 40-man roster pressure and improve their chances at contention.

The A’s can afford to have patience that other teams can’t. Acquiring some new outfield talent for little cost — through minor trades, claims, the Rule 5 draft, and other means — would create an opportunity for the team to capture the upside of low-service-time talent. The A’s came into 2017 paying at least $5MM apiece to three outfielders (the Davises and Joyce) along with a host of other players (Lowrie, Trevor Plouffe, and a few relievers). For 2018, the club should keep the money in its pocket and see if it can find a few diamonds in the rough for the outfield.

West Notes: Athletics, Giants, Mariners, C. Seager

By Jeff Todd | September 19, 2017 at 10:59am CDT

While the Athletics still face an uncertain path to finally landing a new ballpark, the club’s announcement of a target site has gained some support from the business community, Kimberly Veklerov of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. It certainly seems as if there’s some public relations jockeying going on as the ballclub attempts to ramp up its efforts. As Veklerov notes, some of the initial political response was less than fully supportive. And as the Chronicle further reports, there may be some environmental concerns with the site under consideration.

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