Athletics Rumors

Three Needs: Oakland Athletics

By Jeff Todd | October 6, 2016 at 11:13am CDT

We’ll continue here with our “Three Needs” series, in which we break down a few high-level needs of teams that fell out of contention early. (Soon, we’ll take full looks at every team’s offseason outlook.)

For the Athletics, a last-place finish in the AL West for the second straight year probably won’t spur a full-blown rebuild — it’s just not how the team has operated — but will likely lead to a fair bit of roster turnover this winter.

1. Improve the speed and defense.

If Oakland’s combined position-player fWAR from 2016 was doubled, it would still be nearly a win shy of the next-to-worst team in baseball. Though the team’s hitting was below-average (91 wRC+), it was the bottom-of-the-barrel baserunning and defense that did most of the damage.

The A’s had company in their troubles on the bases, with the Cardinals, Angels, and Tigers also in the conversation for worst in the game. But on defense, the A’s were far and away the least gloveable team in the league, by measure of both UZR and DRS. And that’s before accounting fully for the work behind the dish, where primary catcher Steven Vogt is one of the lowest-rated receivers in baseball (see here and here).

There may not be a lot of opportunity to change things in the infield beyond hoping for internal improvement. Moving Danny Valencia off of third base helps, but Ryon Healy isn’t an inspiring defensive choice either. Marcus Semien had a whole lot less errors, at least, so perhaps he can drive some further improvement next year at short. If he can return to health, Jed Lowrie will be looking to improve on his metrics in limited action this season at second, but age and injury pose questions. At first, Yonder Alonso has typically graded well, but had his worst season by the metrics in 2016. (Of course, his bat was a bigger problem.)

While consideration should be given to tweaking that alignment, the outfield is the key area that Oakland can target to add some speed and glovework. Read on for more on that area of need:

2. Take some risks in the outfield.

Rolling the dice a bit on Khris Davis last year paid huge dividends for the A’s, but he’s now the only clear outfield starter on the roster as 2017 beckons. In filling out the rest of the group, the club is in a pretty solid position to look for value and dangle some cash to find the right players on which to take chances.

While Oakland will presumably still look to open with a payroll that doesn’t top $90MM — a figure that the organization has only topped once — there ought to be room to add salary in a bid to improve in the outfield. The club has about $34MM on the books already, with some big first-time arbitration salaries on tap but not much in the way of arb raises that the club will need to account for.

What helps the A’s here is the relative outfield depth in the coming free agent market. There are any number of ways the team can go in the corner spot, possibly taking a risk on a short-term asset with some internal players also factoring in. That includes Mark Canha, if he is healthy, and Danny Valencia, if he is tendered, though both of those are bat-first options.

The open job in center is perhaps most interesting, though. On the open market, the best available options are Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler, and Carlos Gomez, with Jon Jay also coming off of a strong season. Ben Revere (who’ll likely be non-tendered) and Austin Jackson will represent fairly youthful, bargain-bin bounceback candidates. And that’s all before considering the creative possibilities that may be available on the trade market, where the A’s could consider dangling some of their relatively promising group of young pitching.

Speaking of the rotation — which may well also be a place that Oakland again seeks some upside in free agency — let’s turn to the team’s next need …

3. Fix Sonny Gray.

Sounds simple, right?

Gray, who’ll turn 27 in a month, remains a key asset for the Oakland organization — whether he’s pitching there or flipped in a trade. For either outcome to be a good one, he’ll need to return to being the sturdy, top-of-the-rotation arm that he was in his first three major league seasons.

There are signs of both hope and concern in Gray’s rough 2016 campaign. On the whole, his peripherals weren’t grossly out of line with his prior campaigns. He still averaged over seven strikeouts per nine innings, as he did previously, his walk rate wasn’t all that elevated, and he still generated a healthy 53.9% groundball rate. The velocity was right at his typical 93 mph. And his 5.69 ERA is explained in part by a low 63.9% strand rate and a .319 BABIP that was much higher than his career average coming into the year.

On the other hand, Gray showed a troubling downturn in his ability to manage contact after previously outperforming ERA estimators. Hard contact against him spiked to 33.6% after he had allowed just 25% an change in the prior two seasons, which helps explain the BABIP spike. And with that also came a lot of dingers, as hitters facing Gray in 2016 hit homers on flyballs about twice as frequently (17.5%) as they had previously.

All told, there’s plenty of reason to hope that 2016 can be put in the rearview mirror. Even if Gray doesn’t profile as quite as dominant a starter as his early-career, bottom-line results would suggest, he has every chance of getting back to being a high-quality starter who spins over 200 frames a year … if, that is, he can return to full health. The biggest question may not be one that’s fully within his and the team’s control: will Gray’s elbow hold up in 2017?

Athletics Outright Matt McBride, Chris Smith

By Steve Adams | October 5, 2016 at 3:29pm CDT

The A’s announced this afternoon that they’ve outrighted catcher Matt McBride and right-hander Chris Smith off the 40-man roster. Both well-traveled minor leaguers have enough professional experience to elect free agency.

McBride, 31, appeared in 20 games with Oakland this season and totaled 44 plate appearances, during which he batted .209/.227/.279 with 10 punchouts against one walk. That marked the fourth season in which McBride spent some time at the Major League level — each of the other three came as a member of the Rockies — but the former second-round pick has been able to manage just a .201/.228/.299 slash in 202 big league plate appearances. He’s carved out an excellent career at the Triple-A level, however, where he’s batted .310/.350/.517 in parts of seven seasons. Given that production, McBride shouldn’t have trouble latching on elsewhere as a depth option.

Smith, 35, has also seen big league work in parts of four seasons. The 2002 fourth-rounder (Red Sox) totaled 24 2/3 innings with the A’s this year and turned in a very strong 2.92 ERA with 29 strikeouts and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate, but he also walked 13 in that time (4.7 BB/9) and averaged just 87.6 mph on his fastball. Like McBride, Smith has a pretty lengthy track record of success in Triple-A, having logged a 3.68 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 509 innings across parts of nine seasons at that level.

Manfred On Playoffs, Rosters, HRs, Expansion, Fernandez

By Connor Byrne | October 4, 2016 at 8:48pm CDT

Major League Baseball’s wild-card game is in its fifth year, and it doesn’t sound as if it’s going away. Speaking to reporters before Tuesday’s single-elimination matchup between Toronto and Baltimore, commissioner Rob Manfred expressed support for the format. “In terms of the games themselves, I understand that baseball doesn’t usually have one-game knockouts, but I do believe these two games get our playoff season off to a really exciting start,” said Manfred. “I’ve gone to the wild card games, each of them, the last two seasons. The atmospheres in the ballparks are phenomenal, and I think it gives a great jump start to our playoff season.”

Manfred also touched on several other pertinent topics as the league and the players’ association continue working toward a new collective bargaining agreement. Here’s a roundup (courtesy of the Associated Press and Jim Caple of ESPN.com):

For the first five months of the regular season, all major league teams play with a 25-man active roster. When Sept. 1 rolls around, that number increases to 40. September doesn’t quite resemble the rest of the regular season as a result, and Manfred isn’t a fan. “I don’t think 18 pitchers in a game is a good thing,” Manfred said of the increase in pitching changes that September brings. “I do believe in a reform of those rules, again protecting the benefits that are available to players, I’m not looking to take away service time or anything like that, but I do think it would make sense to get to a situation where we played out September games closer to the rules that we play with the rest of the year.”
Home runs have skyrocketed across the majors in recent seasons, leading to questions about whether the ball is juiced. Manfred shot down that idea, saying, “We are absolutely convinced this issue is not driven by a difference in the baseball. My own view is the spike is related to the way the game is being played now, the way we are training hitters from a very young age. We have not been able to find any external cause that explains the spike in home runs.” Whatever the reason, batters hit nearly 1,500 more HRs this season than they did in 2014 (5,610 to 4,186), while the league’s homer-to-fly ball rate was at 9.5 percent two years ago compared to 12.8 percent in 2016.
In terms of putting together a schedule, 32 teams would be better than the current total of 30, according to Manfred. However, he’s not on board with expansion until the stadium situations with the Athletics and Rays are figured out.
Manfred left open the possibility of eventually introducing an award to honor former Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident Sept. 25. “I understand there’s some strong feelings on this topic,” Manfred stated. “It’s not the right time of year to be thinking about additional awards. But it’s an issue we’ll talk about during the offseason. Obviously, we recognize the significance of Jose in terms of his importance to the Marlins franchise, and the fact that he was symbolic of the next generation of players.”
MLB has come out in support of the Save America’s Pastime Act, a piece of legislation that limits the pay and benefits of minor league players. When Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star (Twitter link) pressed Manfred on that Tuesday, the commissioner commented, “We’re not opposed to paying minor league players any particular wage. What we are opposed to is the imposition of administrative requirements in terms of keeping track of hours and overtime.” Manfred also referred to those requirements as “impractical” and wondered aloud whether extra batting practice or going to the gym would qualify as overtime. “For us it’s really not about the money so much as the burden that would be imposed,” he added.

West Notes: Walker, Athletics, Angels, Richards

By Jeff Todd | October 3, 2016 at 11:44pm CDT

Mariners righty Taijuan Walker is headed for a medical consultation to determine whether he ought to undergo surgery on his troublesome right foot, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports. The 24-year-old has suffered with arch tendinitis, and may go in for a procedure to help address the problem over the offseason. Rest is the alternative, but a decision must be made soon. Walker says that the specialist he spoke with previously told him “it would be anywhere from a three- to four-month recovery to be ready to pitch.” Walker had a roller-coaster campaign — manager Scott Servais says he was “all over the board” with hot and cold stretches — but ultimately ended with a 4.22 ERA over 134 1/3 innings, with 8.0 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. Seattle will hope that Walker can put the foot issue behind him and fully realize his talent in 2017.

Here’s more from out west:

Among the Athletics’ many needs, the outfield stands at the top of the list, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Outside of Khris Davis, there’s little in the way of sure things. “No question center fielder is a concern short term and long term,” said president of baseball operations Billy Beane. “Until we discover a long-term option, we may be strategic in how we fill that temporarily.” Slusser notes that the club could end up pursuing a bounceback player, suggesting Carlos Gomez as one possible solution.
The Angels also ended 2016 buried in the AL West, but the team is still exuding optimism about the season to come, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. “I don’t think we’re that far off,” says manager Mike Scioscia. “I know that we’re all going to work very hard this winter not only to put together a team but get it ready and play well in the spring and have some different conversations this time next year.”
One key for the Angels, of course, is righty Garrett Richards. Per Fletcher, he is up to 97 mph as he continues to try to battle through UCL issues rather than succumbing to Tommy John surgery. He is slated for two more instructional league appearances before undergoing a final medical exam. If all goes well, the club will pencil him in for next season. “If you talk about having a top-of-the-rotation starter vs. not having a top-of-the-rotation starter, that would be a sizable difference for any club,” Eppler said.
Regardless, the Angels figure to chase pitching, per Eppler (also via Fletcher). And the Halos have several holes to fill on the position-player side. Still, the GM says he won’t head into the winter just looking to tick through the team’s needs. “I don’t really walk in with a grocery list and say ’This is what we need,’ because then you end up forcing a shot,” says Eppler. “To use a basketball reference, I don’t want to force the shot. If the shot is there and the circumstances are right, take it.”

West Notes: Scioscia, Padres, Athletics

By charliewilmoth | October 3, 2016 at 3:01pm CDT

Angels GM Billy Eppler has confirmed today that Mike Scioscia will manage the team in 2017, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. The news comes as no surprise, since both Eppler and owner Arte Moreno suggested in August that Scioscia would return. The Angels had a poor 74-88 record in 2016, although that was in large part because of a number of injuries to key starting pitchers. Scioscia still has two years and $12MM remaining on the $50MM deal he signed with the team all the way back in 2009. Here’s more from the West divisions.

Wil Myers and Yangervis Solarte are the only Padres guaranteed starting spots in 2017, manager Andy Green tells MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. The Padres have had other position players who did well in 2016, such as second baseman Ryan Schimpf and outfielder Travis Jankowski, but it appears they’ll all have to fight, at least to some degree, for starting spots. “I can’t look at another position on the field and say, ’That guy’s going to start at second base,’ or, ’That guy’s going to start at shortstop,’ or, ’That guy’s going to start in center field,'” says Green. “Some guys have made some strong cases — Schimpf has, Jankowski has. But we’ll let it play out in Spring Training.” Cassavell suggests the team could look outside the organization for rotation, relief and shortstop help this winter.
Athletics exec Billy Beane is happy about the team’s young pitching depth, but he could still look outside the organization for a veteran starter, Comcast SportsNet California’s Joe Stiglich tweets. The team figures to have a healthy Sonny Gray leading its rotation in 2017, and Sean Manaea and Kendall Graveman took steps this season to establish themselves as reliable big-league starters. Jharel Cotton also got good results down the stretch. There are any number of other options on the Athletics’ 40-man roster, but injuries and performance issues cloud the picture. The team’s success last season with Rich Hill last season could perhaps also help convince them to add a veteran as a low-risk, high-reward proposition. The Athletics signed Hill for just $6MM, and he (along with Josh Reddick) ultimately landed them Cotton, plus low-level prospect Grant Holmes and the hard-throwing Frankie Montas (who missed most of the season with a rib issue but could become a 2017 rotation option if he’s healthy).

Quick Hits: Indians, McCutchen, A’s, Valencia, Brewers

By Connor Byrne | October 1, 2016 at 10:13pm CDT

Indians manager Terry Francona announced Saturday that Trevor Bauer, not Cy Young hopeful Corey Kluber, will start Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday (via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). Kluber will then take the ball in Game 2 against the Boston. Those two would also start the fourth and fifth games of the series, if necessary, with Josh Tomlin handling Game 3. Kluber has been dealing with a mild quad strain, which the Indians think makes Bauer a better fit for both the first and fourth games – the latter of which would come on three days’ rest. Bauer wrapped up his regular season Saturday with a quality start in a win over the Royals, giving him a 4.26 ERA, 7.96 K/9, 3.32 BB/9 and 48.7 percent ground-ball rate in a career-high 190 innings.

AL West Notes: Lowrie, Angels, Zunino

By Steve Adams | September 30, 2016 at 10:54am CDT

Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie recognizes that there are plenty of new faces on the roster since a foot injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season back on Aug. 5, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Oakland infielder is no stranger to trades and understands that could be a possibility again, though he’s open to changing positions with the A’s if need be. “There’s always a lot of turnover there,” said Lowrie. “Whatever happens, happens.” Slusser also reports that Lowrie underwent surgery to repair a deviated septum that he wasn’t aware he had until seeing a specialist recently. While it’s not a major procedure, any ailment that significantly impacts an athlete’s sleep — and Lowrie said his sleep has been disrupted for quite some time — can obviously have a significant impact on his on-field performance.

Athletics Activate Sonny Gray

By Jeff Todd | September 28, 2016 at 2:41pm CDT

Sonny Gray is back in action for the Athletics after missing about seven weeks with a forearm strain, with the club announcing his activation from the 15-day DL. Gray is expected to start today for one final time this season, but he’ll be limited to a strict pitch count.

Gray, 26, is looking to end his forgettable campaign on a relative high note by returning to the major league mound. He has twice been sidelined by injury, and has handled only 116 innings to date. The results just have not been there for a pitcher who previously featured as a front-line starter. Gray carries a 5.74 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 to go with a 54.3% groundball rate.

Those major peripherals aren’t really out of line with his prior marks, but Gray has been plagued by a shift in his ability to suppress the damage on batted balls. He has previously maintained a low batting average on balls put in play while limiting the homeruns, but this year he surrendered a .318 BABIP and 17.8% HR/FB rate, with 10.2 hits and 1.4 dingers per nine leading to a flood of earned runs.

For the A’s, there isn’t much to do but hope that Gray can ramp back up for a fresh start in 2017. Hopefully, at least, the arm troubles can be put behind him after a full winter of rest and preparation. Oakland won’t pay nearly as much as it might have expected for Gray’s services next year, as his first year of arbitration will be built off of this highly disappointing campaign — though the 491 innings of 2.88 ERA pitching he compiled heading into the season will certainly still result in a solid payday.

Injury Notes: Harper, Choo, Gray, Wendelken

By Mark Polishuk | September 25, 2016 at 7:12pm CDT

The latest on some developing injury situations from around baseball…

Bryce Harper is day-to-day with a thumb injury, and the Nationals star outfielder will undergo x-rays tomorrow to determine the extent of the problem. The injury, suffered on an awkward slide into third base, forced Harper to leave after the third inning of today’s 10-7 Washington win over the Pirates. Harper “didn’t sound especially worried” (in the words of MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman) when discussing the injury with media after the game. The Nationals has already clinched the NL East and know they’ll be facing the Dodgers in the NLDS, so while homefield advantage has yet to be determined, the Nats would probably feel safe in sitting Harper to rest his injury (assuming it isn’t overly serious) for the last week of the regular season.
Shin-Soo Choo will begin three days of play in the Instructional League to see if he can be ready to return to the Rangers in time for the postseason, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. Choo is rather surprisingly close to getting back in action after suffering a fractured left forearm in mid-August, and if all goes well, the outfielder believes he could return to the Texas lineup on Friday for the beginning of a season-ending series against the Rays. Plans could quickly change, of course, if Choo has a setback or if he doesn’t look sharp in his very limited rehab assignment. Sullivan notes that Choo’s situation is one of many postseason roster questions for the Rangers, as the club is also undecided about whether Jeremy Jeffress, Tony Barnette or Derek Holland will be in the bullpen for the ALDS.
Sonny Gray will make one more start in 2016, albeit an abbreviated one. Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jane Lee) that Gray will be on a limited pitch count when he starts Wednesday’s game against the Angels, and Ross Detwiler will step in after Gray tosses an inning or two. Gray has been on the DL since early August due to a right forearm strain, the second extended DL stint of what has been a disappointing season for the A’s ace righty. In 116 innings, Gray has posted a career-worst 5.74 ERA.
Athletics righty J.B. Wendelken will get a second opinion about whether he needs Tommy John surgery or not, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports (Twitter link), though the odds are “not optimistic” that Wendelken can avoid the procedure. Wendelken made his MLB debut this season, posting a 9.95 ERA over 12 2/3 relief innings for the A’s. Going by the usual recovery timeline for TJ patients, Wendelken will be sidelined until the beginning of the 2018 season.

Pitcher Injury Notes: Wendelken, Matz, Kazmir, Salazar, Wright, Solis

By Jeff Todd | September 22, 2016 at 11:33am CDT

Athletics righty J.B. Wendelken is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery, as Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com reports. The 23-year-old, who came over as part of last winter’s Brett Lawrie trade, had received scattered major league work in Oakland, allowing 14 earned runs with a dozen strikeouts and nine walks over 12 2/3 innings. He showed more promise at Triple-A, with a 4.11 ERA and 12.7 K/9 in his 46 frames, but he also experienced control problems (5.1 BB/9) for the first time in his professional career.

Here are some more pitching health notes:

The Mets plan to put lefty Steven Matz on the hill tomorrow after he showed well in a bullpen session yesterday, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. “He looked very good,” said manager Terry Collins. “He looked nice and easy.” New York’s most recent attempt to ease a starter back into the rotation did not end well, and the team is certainly hoping for a smoother transition this time around. If he can stay healthy, Matz would represent a key asset over the final ten days of the regular season as well as a hopeful postseason berth beyond that.
While their own rotation health situation is generally on the upswing, the Dodgers will be looking to see whether southpaw Scott Kazmir can hold up in a major league start, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The 32-year-old last appeared a month ago and carries a 4.59 ERA in 135 1/3 innings on the year. He’ll follow Brett Anderson, who goes today, as the team looks to assess its options for the playoffs.
Also facing postseason roster decisions with a key arm are the Indians, who are hoping that righty Danny Salazar can return — albeit as a reliever, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Salazar is still not ready for mound work, but has begun rebuilding arm strength in hopes that he can be ready for a possible relief role in the ALDS. For now, it’s still a measured process. “If he starts to feel real good, they can speed it up,” said manager Terry Francona.
It’s unclear whether the Red Sox will give serious consideration to using right-hander Steven Wright in the postseason, if he’s able to return, but there’s some hope that he’ll soon present that option. As Scott Lauber of ESPN.com tweets, Wright is set to meet up with the team and may be ready for a pen session as he continues to test his balky shoulder.
It’s also not apparent what plans the Nationals may have for left-handed reliever Sammy Solis, who has been sidelined with his own shoulder troubles. But it seems he’s now making forward progress, as Dan Kolko of MASN tweets that Solis felt good after a 25-pitch session on the mound. He could soon face hitters, which might pave the way for a return to the majors right at the end of the regular season, conceivably making him a playoff option.

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