MLBTR will be hosting team-specific chats in conjunction with each entry of our Offseason In Review series. Earlier today, we released the Athletics entry in the series. Click here to read a transcript of today’s A’s-centric chat.
Athletics Rumors
Offseason In Review: Oakland Athletics
In conjunction with the A’s offseason review, we’ll be hosting an A’s-focused chat later this afternoon at 2pm CT. You can submit a question in advance, and check back to participate at 2:00.
The A’s began the offseason with a changing of the guard in baseball operations, as longtime executive vice president of baseball ops Billy Beane shifted into an advisory role and turned autonomy over to general manager David Forst. The A’s probably spent more in free agency than some expected — a low bar to clear — but they continued to trade away established talent with an eye toward the future. Whether that future will be in Oakland, Las Vegas or another city remains an open question; the team’s current stadium lease expires after the 2024 season and there’s been no agreement with the city of Oakland on a site for a new stadium.
Major League Signings
- Aledmys Diaz, INF: Two years, $14.5MM
- Jace Peterson, INF: Two years, $9.5MM
- Trevor May, RHP: One year, $7MM
- Shintaro Fujinami, RHP: One year, $3.25MM
- Jesus Aguilar, 1B: One year, $3MM
- Drew Rucinski, RHP: One year, $3MM
- Total spend: $40.25MM
Option Decisions
- None
Trades and Claims
- Traded C Sean Murphy to the Braves and RHP Joel Payamps to the Brewers in a three-team deal netting LHP Kyle Muller, RHP Freddy Tarnok, RHP Royber Salinas and C Manny Pina from Atlanta, as well as OF Esteury Ruiz from Milwaukee
- Traded LHP Cole Irvin and RHP Kyle Virbitsky to the Orioles in exchange for INF Darell Hernaiz
- Traded LHP A.J. Puk to the Marlins in exchange for OF JJ Bleday
- Acquired RHP Chad Smith from the Rockies in exchange for RHP Jeff Criswell
- Claimed OF Brent Rooker off waivers from the Royals
- Claimed INF Yonny Hernandez off waivers from the D-backs
- Traded INF Yonny Hernandez to the Dodgers in exchange for cash
- Selected 1B/OF Ryan Noda from the Dodgers in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft
Notable Minor League Signings
- Drew Steckenrider, Greg Deichmann, Tyler Wade, Pablo Reyes, Deolis Guerra, Austin Pruitt, Jake Fishman, Yohel Pozo, Joe Wieland
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Sean Murphy, Cole Irvin, A.J. Puk, Joel Payamps, Stephen Vogt (retired), Chad Pinder
Heading into the offseason, the A’s were in a virtually unprecedented spot: zero dollars in guaranteed salary on the 2023 payroll, a small arbitration class (that featured a few trade/non-tender candidates) and very little in the way of established big leaguers on the roster. It was a blank slate that both lent itself to some degree of creativity and also spoke to the dire situation in Oakland, where the initial stages of a fire sale designed to scale back payroll and build up the farm had only succeeded in the former of those two goals.
The possibility of a Sean Murphy trade loomed large over the Athletics’ offseason and dominated A’s-related headlines throughout the winter. It’s easy enough to see why. Murphy has cemented himself as one of the game’s top defenders behind the plate, and he jumped from a roughly average showing with the bat in 2021 to a well above-average year in 2022 (with a particularly strong finish to the season). Add in that he entered the offseason as a first-time arbitration-eligible player with three remaining years of club control, and there simply weren’t many teams where Murphy didn’t make sense as a target.
Despite that, Murphy arguably landed on one of those very clubs that didn’t appear to be a logical suitor. Though the Cardinals, D-backs, Giants, Astros, Cubs, Guardians, White Sox, Twins and Rays were among the teams to inquire on Murphy’s services, it was the Braves — who already had three catchers on the roster — who wound up orchestrating a three-team trade to bring Murphy to Atlanta.
Oakland’s return in the Murphy trade has generally been panned; the Braves were not only a surprise trade partner for Murphy due to their own catching surplus (Travis d’Arnaud, William Contreras, Manny Pina) but also because their prior series of trades and prospect graduations had thinned out a once-vaunted farm system. Atlanta was willing to part with Contreras, who broke out with a .278/.354/.506 batting line over 97 games in 2022 and had five remaining seasons of club control, largely because Murphy is viewed as a vastly superior defender. Rather than accept Contreras as a headliner, though, the A’s flipped him to Milwaukee (along with reliever Joel Payamps) in order to acquire center field prospect Esteury Ruiz, whom the Brewers had acquired from the Padres a few months prior in the Josh Hader blockbuster.
The Murphy return is generally viewed as a quantity-over-quality collection of players. Ruiz brings elite speed — he stole a ridiculous 86 bases in 103 tries in 2022 — but doesn’t have much ability for making hard contact. Muller has solid Triple-A numbers but hasn’t had much success in limited big league time yet and is considered more of a potential fourth starter than a higher-end pitching prospect. The other arms in the deal — Freddy Tarnok and Royber Salinas — have had success in the minors but also come with a fair bit of bullpen risk. It wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise to see any of the three pitchers enjoy a run in the A’s rotation, nor is it out of the question that Ruiz’s blazing speed and baserunning acumen make him a table-setting type of outfielder for the foreseeable future.
Still, the general expectation when trading a player of Murphy’s caliber — particularly three years of control over such a player — is more certainty and more ceiling. The Athletics have had success with bulk returns that don’t necessarily feature high-end prospects in the past (e.g. acquiring Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt and Josh Phegley in exchange for a year of Jeff Samardzija), in part because they seem to habitually buck the industry consensus when it comes to prospect evaluation. Part of that is surely recognizing that the unique dimensions of their home park tend to allow back-end starters (Cole Irvin, for example) to find success even if they’re not prototypical, highly touted pitching prospects.
Speaking of Irvin, he joined Murphy amid the latest offseason exodus in Oakland. Traded to the Orioles alongside minor league righty Kyle Virbitsky, he brought infield prospect Darell Hernaiz to the A’s. Irvin wasn’t a clear-cut trade candidate, as he had four years of team control remaining and wasn’t even eligible for arbitration yet, but the A’s surely feel good about acquiring him in exchange for cash in 2021 and flipping him for a prospect of some note just two years later. Keith Law pegs Hernaiz No. 6 among A’s prospects over at The Athletic, calling him a potential regular at second base or a super-utility option who can bounce around the infield. Either would be a nice outcome for an Oakland system that was light on infield depth.
It should be noted, too, that Irvin is a pitch-to-contact starter who’s thrived with the A’s partly due to the spacious confines of the Coliseum. He has pronounced home/road splits and has been quite susceptible to the long ball when pitching away from Oakland. He also finished out the 2022 season in a prolonged slump, and there was certainly risk that with a poor start to his 2023 season or an injury, the trade value he possessed might’ve quickly dried up.
The third notable A’s trade of the offseason shipped lefty A.J. Puk to the Marlins in exchange for minor league outfielder JJ Bleday. It was a “challenge” trade to some extent — a direct swap of the 2016 No. 6 overall pick (Puk) for the 2019 No. 4 overall selection (Bleday).
In this instance, the A’s gave up the player with big league success in order to acquire the younger, more recent draftee, but it was another somewhat curious swap for Oakland. The 6’7″ Puk rattled off 66 1/3 innings of 3.12 ERA ball in 2022, fanning a well above-average 27% of his opponents against a solid 8.2% walk rate and 43.4% ground-ball rate. Five of the 23 runs surrendered by Puk came in one nightmare outing against the White Sox, and his ERA outside that disastrous showing was an even sharper 2.47. Puk may not ever pan out as a starter — he’s already had shoulder surgery and Tommy John surgery since being drafted, and that injury history surely factored in Oakland’s decision to trade him — but he at least looks the part of a potential high-end reliever.
Bleday, meanwhile, is a career .225/.337/.409 hitter across three minor league levels with strikeout rates that have risen as he’s ascended the organizational ladder. He’s punched out in 27% of his Triple-A plate appearances and fanned at a 28.2% clip in 238 big league plate appearances last year, finishing with a .167/.277/.309 output in his debut effort. Bleday walks at a high clip but doesn’t make much contact and hasn’t shown more than above-average power to this point.
The Marlins have spent two offseasons looking for a center fielder and, despite coming up empty, felt comfortable trading Bleday, who has spent more time in center field than in the corners to this point in his career. The A’s are making a big bet on Bleday. We know the type of packages a southpaw like Puk could command at the trade deadline if he’s healthy and in the midst of a big season. One of these two teams is quite wrong about Bleday, and for the A’s to reverse their trend of underwhelming trade returns over the past calendar year, it’s paramount that they got this one right.
The rest of Oakland’s offseason featured a handful of sensible free-agent additions. Aledmys Diaz and Jace Peterson give the A’s some affordable infield flexibility — veterans who can hold down a starting position but handle multiple spots if a younger farmhand usurps their spot in the lineup. Peterson’s OBP-and-defense skill set at the hot corner, in particular, feels like a vintage Oakland play. Neither veteran’s signing garnered significant attention, but they’re solid hands who could easily hold some trade appeal — particularly Peterson, given his lower salary.
The Athletics also tapped into the KBO and NPB markets, signing righties Drew Rucinski and Shintaro Fujinami to cheap one-year contracts in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. At 34, Rucinski is an older MLB reclamation project but has been nothing short of sensational in South Korea (732 2/3 innings, 3.06 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate, 66% ground-ball rate). The younger Fujinami is a 28-year-old flamethrower who was once a high school rival of Shohei Ohtani (and a similarly touted prospect). He was dominant as a starter early in his NPB career but has battled command woes in recent years as his stock has dropped. For a one-year commitment at this price point, there’s little to dislike about the A’s taking a chance and hoping to unlock something in the 6’6″ right-hander.
One-year deals with Trevor May and Jesus Aguilar give the A’s a potential late-game bullpen option and a cheap roll of the dice on a power bat who’ll hope to turn things around in a change of scenery. May limped through an injury-plagued 2022 season but from 2016-21 had a solid 3.71 ERA with a massive 32.2% strikeout rate. Home runs have been an issue, but his new home park will help with that. Aguilar, meanwhile, is no stranger to pitcher-friendly parks, having swatted 22 homers in just 130 games with the Marlins as recently as 2021. Last year’s .235/.281/.379 slash was an eyesore, but dating back to 2017 he’s a .257/.326/.456 hitter with 109 round-trippers.
While many of the Athletics’ free-agent additions were sensible in a vacuum, they also underscore the manner in which the 2021-22 offseason’s slate of trades has come up short thus far. None of the pitching prospects the A’s acquired in trades of Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea has solidified a spot on the roster yet, despite several arms receiving opportunities to do just that. Left-hander Zach Logue, acquired in the Chapman deal, was designated for assignment and lost to the Tigers on waivers less than a year after being acquired.
In the lineup, both center fielder Cristian Pache and third baseman Kevin Smith struggled enormously. Pache is now out of minor league options after batting just .166/.218/.241 in 260 plate appearances with Oakland last year. He’ll have to try to refine his offensive skill set at the big league level, but with Ruiz and Bleday now joining veteran Ramon Laureano, it’s not entirely clear that Pache will be given an everyday role, which only further complicates his development.
Broadly speaking, that’s a microcosm of the entire 2023 season for the A’s. It’ll be one of large-scale auditions for young players as Oakland hopes to piece together the makings of a core that unfortunately did not begin to take form in 2022. The only somewhat established starter in the rotation is righty Paul Blackburn, who had an out-of-the-blue, All-Star first half in 2022 before a torn tendon in his hand tanked his numbers in the second half. Others vying for spots will include Rucinski, Fujinami, Muller, Tarnok, Ken Waldichuk, Adrian Martinez, JP Sears and James Kaprielian.
In addition to Pache, Bleday and Ruiz in the outfield, the A’s will hope some combination of catcher Shea Langeliers (acquired in the Olson trade) and top prospect Zack Gelof (drafted 60th overall in 2021) can emerge as mainstays on the roster. Shortstop Nick Allen, a light hitter but high-end defender, will get another crack at shortstop, and the aforementioned Smith will likely get a big league mulligan at some point somewhere in the infield as well.
As the summer approaches, more A’s veterans will surface in trade talks. Expect each of Blackburn, Pina, Laureano, second baseman/outfielder Tony Kemp, first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown to surface in trade chatter this summer along with this offseason’s veteran signees — particularly those who inked one-year deals.
It’s a tough time for A’s fans, with no viable path to contention and — despite the gutting of a core that helped produce a 316-230 record from 2018-21 — one of the worst-ranked farm systems in the game. There will be plenty of opportunity for young players, and some of the veteran additions will help, but year two of the team’s rebuild feels a lot more like year one than it should.
How would you grade the Athletics’ offseason? (Link to poll)
AL West Notes: Brown, Whitley, Astros, Pache
It was reported yesterday that the Astros would start the season without Lance McCullers Jr. in the rotation, since he’s out with an injury to his throwing arm. The club will still have a strong front four in Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and José Urquidy, and it was assumed by most observers that Hunter Brown would now step into the fifth slot.
“It’s consensus in the organization that Hunter Brown has a chance to be big-time for us,” general manager Dana Brown told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. “I think he knows it and feels it. When I saw him throw, I was like, ‘This guy has electric stuff.’ The ball is coming out really good. There’s a comfort with Brown that, hey, Brown could take a step and really log some innings this year.”
The general manager didn’t go so far as to crown the young pitcher as winning the job, but it seems like he’s the frontrunner at the moment. That’s fairly logical given the strong season he had last year. He tossed 106 innings in Triple-A, both starting and in multi-inning relief stints, with a 2.55 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 54.2% ground ball rate. He was also able to make his major league debut, posting a 0.89 ERA in 20 1/3 innings over seven appearances.
Other options on the 40-man include Brandon Bielak, J.P. France and Forrest Whitley. “We’re hoping Whitley takes a jump this year,” Dana Brown said. “It’s time for Whitley.” Whitley, 25, was once one of the most highly-regarded young players in the game, with Baseball America ranking him the #5 prospect in the league in 2019. Unfortunately, he still hasn’t made his major league debut due to various factors, the most prominent being injuries such as 2021 Tommy John surgery. He was able to return to health last year and toss 40 innings in the minors but with a 6.52 ERA in that time. He’ll look to get back on track this season to the form he showed in 2018 when he posted a 3.76 ERA in Double-A at the age of 20. He still has an option remaining and can be kept in the minors until he proves himself ready.
Of course, the Astros could always add a player from outside the organization, but it doesn’t seem like anything is imminent. “I’m not in the panic mode, but I also will keep my eyes open because I’m always looking for depth,” Dana Brown said.
Other notes from the American League West…
- Sticking with the Astros and their rotation depth, Rome asked manager Dusty Baker about the situation today. “You got to ask the powers that be,” Baker said. “I got the power, but not the authority. That was always a consideration for me … we didn’t have a general manager in place in order to make that move.” That last comment is a reference to the fact that the club surprisingly parted ways with now-former general manager James Click in November and operated with that job vacant until Brown was hired in late January. It’s not true that the empty position prevented the club from making any moves whatsoever, as owner Jim Crane took an active role in baseball operations alongside some assistant general managers. Between Click’s dismissal and Brown’s hiring, the club signed José Abreu, re-signed Rafael Montero and Michael Brantley, in addition to various minor league deals and waiver claims. Still, it’s possible that the front office was a bit short-handed while transitioning to a period without Click and assistant GM Scott Powers. It’s not too late to add pitching depth, as the club could still make a trade or reach out to free agents like Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy or Aníbal Sánchez.
- The Athletics will have a tough choice to make at the end of spring since outfielder Cristian Pache is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without first being exposed to waivers. The prospect hype on him was strong enough that he got to #7 on BA’s top 100 in 2021, though his bat hasn’t developed to match his strong defense. Traded to Oakland in the Matt Olson deal about a year ago, he hit a paltry .166/.218/.241 last season. His 35 wRC+ indicates he was 65% below league average, the lowest such mark in the majors last year among those with at least 250 plate appearances. “For Pache, he’s in a difficult situation,” manager Mark Kotsay tells Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Not only is he competing for a roster spot here, but he’s going to showcase himself for 29 other teams. So it’s an important spring for Pache, no question, from an individual standpoint, for his career going forward.” The club has collected many outfielders in its recent deals and currently has a mix that includes Seth Brown, Ramón Laureano, Esteury Ruiz, JJ Bleday, Conner Capel, Brent Rooker, Cal Stevenson and others. Many of those players can be optioned to the minors but Kawahara suggests that Pache’s lack of options might not be enough to get him a roster spot.
AL West Notes: Maldonado, deGrom, Bleday
Martin Maldonado played through a sports hernia and a broken hand for the latter part of the 2022 season, toughing it out to remain on the field and help the Astros win a championship. As a result, Maldonado admitted that he “felt a little sad” that the Astros looked at Willson Contreras and other available catchers this offseason. “We just won the World Series and I felt like I sacrificed my whole body playing through injuries for the team….But I understand the business,” Maldonado told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters. “I know as an owner, as a front office, they’re going to try to always get the best position players available and help the team get better. Willson was the best free-agent catcher out there.”
Maldonado has rarely hit much over his 12 MLB seasons, but he is beloved within the Astros clubhouse for his defense and ability to work with pitchers. A new addition doesn’t appear to be coming for now, leaving Maldonado atop Houston’s depth chart and youngsters Korey Lee and Yainer Diaz competing for the backup catching job. Maldonado’s health situation certainly spurred the Astros’ acquisition of Christian Vazquez at the trade deadline, but if Houston has any lingering feelings that an upgrade is necessary behind the plate, they’re certainly still a team to watch on the trade market throughout the season.
More from around the AL West…
- Given Jacob deGrom’s injury history, a seemingly minor four-day shutdown due to side pain was cause for concern amongst Rangers fans, but the newly-signed ace is now “feeling really good,” as Texas GM Chris Young told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and other reporters. “He’s made a lot of improvement….And he was throwing before he got here, so I think he will catch back up quickly. He was sort of ahead of schedule to where he’s been in the past.” DeGrom is expected to throw off a mound on Monday or Tuesday, and is slated to play catch and take part in fielding drills in the interim.
- Last weekend’s trade that sent JJ Bleday from the Marlins to the Athletics was “a blindside” to the outfielder, Bleday told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). But, Bleday is now ready for his “exciting opportunity” in Oakland, and how he is planning to establish himself as a big leaguer after an underwhelming rookie season. Bleday hit only .167/.277/.309 over his first 238 plate appearances in the Show, and said “the jump from Triple-A to the big leagues was definitely bigger than I anticipated. There were some things in the big leagues I was doing mechanically that I probably shouldn’t have been. You’re really unaware of it but you have no time to work on that stuff because you’re playing every single day….It’s a relentless league.” After an offseason of prep, Bleday is now looking to keep his hands high at the plate and put an emphasis on hitting fastballs. It wasn’t long ago that Bleday was a consensus top-50 prospect, so a breakout might come in his new environment if Bleday can adjust to MLB fastballs and continue his ability to draw walks.
Dodgers Hire Tyson Ross For Special Assistant Role
The Dodgers have hired Tyson Ross for a special assistant position, The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports (Twitter link). Ross will be involved in the team’s player development and player performance departments. The hiring seemingly indicates that Ross has ended his playing career after 10 Major League seasons.
A second-round pick for the Athletics in 2008, Ross began his career with three seasons for his hometown team before he was traded to the Padres during the 2012-13 offseason. The right-hander reached another level with his new club, posting strong numbers as a member of San Diego’s rotation and receiving an All-Star nod in 2014.
Unfortunately for Ross, injuries limited his effectiveness after this promising run. He pitched in only a single game in 2016 due to shoulder problems and eventually a surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. After two injury-marred seasons, it seemed like Ross was regaining some of his old effectiveness during a solid 2018 year with the Padres and Cardinals, but after signing with the Tigers in December 2018, his time in Detroit was limited to only seven starts due to elbow problems.
Ross’ five innings of work in the Tigers’ 6-0 loss to the Twins on May 10, 2019 ended up being his final Major League appearance. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants prior to the 2020 season but he chose to opt out of the pandemic-shortened season, and another minors deal with the Rangers in the 2020-21 offseason didn’t lead to any game time even in the minors before he was released that May.
Ross turns 36 in April, and he is hanging up his cleats after 203 MLB games (142 of them starts) and 904 2/3 innings. During his time with the A’s, Padres, Rangers, Cardinals, and Tigers, Ross had a 4.04 ERA, relying on a grounder-heavy arsenal rather than blow-away strikeout numbers. Ross had a 53.5% grounder rate to go along with a 21.2% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate.
As he embarks on this new role with the Dodgers, Ross now finds himself opposite his younger brother Joe on both sides of the heated Los Angeles/San Francisco rivalry. Joe (who is recovering from Tommy John surgery) signed a minors deal with the Giants last month.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Tyson on a fine career, and we wish him the best as he moves into his post-playing endeavors in the game.
A’s, Greg Deichmann Agree To Minor League Contract
The Athletics have signed corner outfielder Greg Deichmann to a minor league deal, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. He returns to the organization that initially drafted him in the second round back in 2017.
A left-handed hitter, Deichmann played four seasons in the Oakland minor league system. He worked his way to Triple-A Las Vegas by 2021, hitting .300/.433/.452 over 60 games there. As the trade deadline approached, the A’s dealt Deichmann alongside another minor leaguer to the Cubs for Andrew Chafin. Oakland remained firmly in playoff contention that summer, while the Cubs had fallen out of the mix in July and moved a number of players off the MLB roster.
That afforded Deichmann a chance for his initial big league action a couple weeks after the trade. The Cubs promoted him for his MLB debut in early August. He made it into only 14 games, collecting four hits in 30 at-bats. Deichmann spent the remainder of the season on optional assignment to their top affiliate in Iowa. He couldn’t replicate the solid numbers he’d posted during the Triple-A season’s first half, hitting .227/.298/.403 in 34 games.
The LSU product held his spot on Chicago’s 40-man roster last offseason but was designated for assignment shortly after Opening Day. He went unclaimed on waivers and spent the bulk of last year in Iowa after being outrighted. Deichmann limped to a .214/.271/.335 showing over 78 games there. He hit just seven homers while striking out at a huge 32.3% clip. The Cubs released him in August.
It was a season to forget, but Deichmann’s still just 27 years old and has drawn praise for his power potential at times. He’ll return to an environment in which he’s had prior success. He’s likely to open the upcoming season back in Las Vegas, adding upper level outfield depth to the organization. Deichmann owns a .239/.329/.410 line over parts of five minor league seasons.
Eric Thames Announces Retirement
Veteran first baseman and outfielder Eric Thames took to Instagram yesterday to announce his retirement. “The day has finally come,” he says in the post. “In the year of our lord, twenty, twenty-three…HE GONE! I’ve been so blessed over these last 14 years to call baseball my job. The friendships that will last a lifetime, the memories that I’ll never shut up about (and those that I’m sworn to secrecy to take to my grave ).”
This announcement officially ends one of the more unique baseball careers, as Thames has spent the past few decades crisscrossing the globe. His professional baseball life began when the Blue Jays drafted him in 2008 out of Pepperdine University. He made his major league debut with the Jays in 2011 and performed well, hitting 12 home runs in 95 games. His batting line on the year was .262/.313/.456 for a wRC+ of 107, indicating he was 7% better than the league average hitter.
Things didn’t go as well the following year, as Thames hit .243/.288/.365 for the Jays and was optioned to the minors for a time. He was then traded to the Mariners in July for Steve Delabar, getting into 40 games with Seattle after that deal. In 2013, the Mariners kept Thames in the minors and eventually designated him for assignment. He was traded to the Orioles and then went to the Astros on a waiver claim, though neither team called him up to the big leagues.
Thames signed with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization for 2014, which transformed his career. After years of being on roster bubbles in North America, he emerged as a star in Korea. He hit 37 home runs for the Dinos that year and followed that up by hitting 47 and 40 in the next two seasons. His 2015 season stands out as being exceptionally impressive, as he also stole 40 bases and walked in 17.3% of his trips to the plate. His .381/.497/.790 batting line amounted to a 216 wRC+. He was crowned as the Most Valuable Player in the league that year.
After that strong three-year stretch with the Dinos, Thames returned to Major League Baseball, signing a three-year, $16MM deal with the Brewers. He was able to transfer a decent amount of his success from Korea to North America, as he hit 31 homers in 2017 while walking in 13.6% of his trips to the plate. His .247/.359/.518 batting line led to a 125 wRC+. Thumb surgery kept him out of action for a while in the following year, but he was still able to add another 16 home runs in 96 games, then hit another 25 in 2019. His three-year stretch in Milwaukee resulted in 72 long balls and a .241/.343/.504 batting line for a 118 wRC+. That last year saw the Brewers qualify for the Wild Card game against the Nationals. Thames went 2-4 in that game, including hitting a solo home run off Max Scherzer. But the Brewers ultimately lost 4-3 to the Nats, who would go on to win the World Series later that year, and that now goes down as the only MLB playoff game in which Thames played.
Despite that solid stretch, the Brewers surprisingly turned down a $7.5MM option on Thames for 2020 and went for the $1MM buyout instead. The Nationals scooped him up on a $4MM guarantee but he struggled in the pandemic-shortened season, hitting .203/.300/.317 with just three homers in 41 games. He signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for 2021 but suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon after just one game with the club. He tried another return to the majors in 2022 by signing a minor league deal with the A’s, but struck out in 38% of his plate appearances in Triple-A and got released after 22 games.
In the end, it makes for quite a journey, with Thames having played for baseball teams all over the world. His major league career resulted in 96 home runs, 18 stolen bases, 451 hits, 286 runs scored and 235 driven in. But he’ll perhaps be best remembered by some fans for that magical three-year run in the KBO wherein he hit 124 home runs, stole 64 bases, scored 343 runs and drove in 382.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Thames on a fascinating and distinctive career, and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Read The Transcript Of Our Live Chat Hosted By Former MLB Pitcher Deck McGuire
Deck McGuire was drafted 11th overall in 2010 by the Blue Jays as a starting pitcher out of Georgia Tech, signing for $2MM. Baseball America ranked him 95th among all prospects shortly after that. At the time, BA felt that McGuire’s “good stuff and polish” and college resume would result in a quick path to Toronto’s rotation.
Things went off track for McGuire in 2012 at Double-A, however. Eventually, the Blue Jays traded McGuire to the A’s for cash considerations in July 2014. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in 2015, and another one with the Cardinals after that season. McGuire continued finding Triple-A jobs, signing with the Reds prior to the 2017 campaign.
After a strong 2017 season as a starter at the Double-A level, the Reds rewarded the tenacious McGuire with a September call-up. He made his MLB debut at the age of 28, entering a bases loaded situation against the Cardinals and inducing a double play off the bat of Harrison Bader. McGuire even got to finish that season with a start at Wrigley Field, tossing five scoreless with only two hits allowed and a strikeout of Kris Bryant.
Following the ’17 season, McGuire moved back to the Jays on a minor league deal. By May, he was working out of the bullpen for the team that had drafted him eight years prior. In June of that year, the Rangers claimed McGuire off waivers, trading him to the Angels shortly thereafter. He made it back to the bigs for a few spot starts, also working out of the Halos’ bullpen that year.
After being part of three MLB organizations in 2018, McGuire signed a deal with KBO’s Samsung Lions. He made 21 starts for that club, including the 14th no-hitter in KBO history. McGuire landed with the Rays on a minor league deal in February 2020. That minor league season was lost to the pandemic, and McGuire moved to the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League for ’21.
McGuire started the ’22 season in the Atlantic League, which he parlayed into another minor league deal with the Reds. McGuire wrapped up his pitching career last December, writing on Twitter, “For 12 years I got to live out my dream of being a professional baseball player.”
McGuire’s journeyman career was not what anyone expected when the Blue Jays drafted him 11th overall, but his perseverance got him to the Majors for 51 2/3 innings with the Reds, Blue Jays, and Angels. Even in that brief time he struck out Bryant, Jose Altuve, Rafael Devers, and Ryan Braun, among many others. McGuire pitched for seven different MLB organizations while also spending multiple seasons overseas.
Asked about his post-retirement plans, Deck wrote in an email, “As of right now my plans are to stay in the game somehow. I’m currently working with some guys and youth teams in my area of Colorado. I’m gonna head back to Georgia Tech in the fall to graduate and be around the program.” You can follow Deck on Twitter @deckmcguire.
Today, Deck chatted for over an hour with MLBTR readers, talking about the differences between KBO and MLB, the pressure of being a high draft pick, dealing with hecklers, and much more. Read the transcript here.
A’s Sign Drew Steckenrider To Minor League Deal
Right-handed reliever Drew Steckenrider is in camp with the Athletics as a non-roster invitee to spring training, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Athletics Farm first tweeted the news a couple days ago.
Steckenrider, 32, has spent the past two seasons with the Mariners, thriving as a key member of the bullpen in 2021 but struggling in 2022 to the extent that he was outrighted from the team’s 40-man roster. The 2021 campaign saw Steckenrider pitch to a pristine 2.00 ERA, albeit with below-average strikeout, swinging-strike and ground-ball rates of 21.7%, 8.6% and 37.4%, respectively. He offset some of those flaws with a sharp 6.4% walk rate, but Steckenrider also benefited from a .257 average on balls in play and a tiny 6.6% homer-to-flyball rate — both well south of his career marks. Add in an alarming opponents’ average exit velocity of 90.7 mph, and some regression looked inevitable.
However, the magnitude of that regression nevertheless was still rather surprising. Steckenrider was rocked for nine runs on 21 hits and five walks in just 14 1/3 innings at the big league level. The resulting 5.65 ERA led the Mariners to option Steckenrider in late May and, perhaps more surprisingly, designate him for assignment the following month when the team needed a 40-man roster spot. Steckenrider’s $3.1MM salary understandably passed through waivers unclaimed, but the Mariners never game him another look down the stretch, thanks in part to a deep and talented relief corps that posted a combined 3.16 ERA in the season’s second half.
Had Steckenrider returned to form in Triple-A, perhaps he might’ve still garnered another look back in the big leagues. However, the veteran righty yielded a tepid 4.62 ERA in 25 1/3 frames. Even if one wanted to chalk some of that up to the excessively hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League, Steckenrider posted an uncharacteristic 13.8% walk rate in his time at Tacoma, which couldn’t have inspired much confidence that he’d rebound with a return to the big leagues.
Rocky as last season was, Steckenrider comes to the A’s as a 32-year-old with a career 3.27 ERA in 195 2/3 innings at the big league level. His strikeout rate has consistently declined from his early days with the Marlins — he punched out a gaudy 35.8% of opponents in 34 2/3 innings as a rookie — but his command has also steadily improved.
Oakland’s bullpen is teeming with uncertainty, giving Steckenrider ample opportunity to seize a spot. Trevor May, signed to a one-year $7MM contract, is a lock for late-inning work, and the out-of-options Domingo Acevedo is all but assured a spot as well. Beyond that pairing, there’s any number of ways the A’s could proceed. Each of Zach Jackson, Dany Jimenez and Sam Moll could have an inside track based on their 2022 ERAs, but each also posted a bloated walk rate that points to regression — and all three have minor league options remaining, as well.
Marlins, Athletics Swap JJ Bleday For AJ Puk
The Athletics are acquiring JJ Bleday from the Marlins in a trade, according to the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Left-hander A.J. Puk is going the other way, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The teams have now announced the deal.
Puk, 28 in April, had a quality year in 2022, working to a 3.12 ERA over 66 1/3 innings in Oakland’s bullpen. That came with above-average strikeout (27.1%) and walk (8.2%) rates. He was miserly against left-handed hitters, limiting them to just a .153/.250/.259 line.
That was the first full-season of work for Puk, who’d battled injuries and thrown just 24 2/3 innings at the top level since making his debut in 2019. He’d had mixed success in that time, working to a 4.74 ERA over those innings.
Puk was drafted and developed as a starter, but switched to the bullpen at Triple-A and hasn’t made a start at the big league level. With that being said, A’s GM David Forst said in December that Puk would prepare for the season as a starter and compete for a rotation spot in spring training. Given the Marlins plethora of starting options, it seems unlikely he’ll wind up anywhere other than the bullpen for his new team though.
Puk leans almost exclusively on a 97mph fastball and an 87mph slider, though he has thrown a changeup on occasion in the past. He’ll slot in as a third left-handed option in Miami’s bullpen alongside Tanner Scott and Steven Okert. Puk would’ve been close to being a Super Two player, but is under control at a pre-arbitration rate for 2023, before beginning his three seasons of arbitration in 2024.
In return, Oakland picks up Bleday, 25, a fourth overall pick by the Marlins in the 2019 draft. He had a strong year at Triple-A last year, and was rewarded with his first call up to the big leagues. Despite hitting .228/.365/.470 with 20 home runs at the top level of the minors, Bleday couldn’t continue that in the majors, hitting just .167/.277/.309 with five home runs over 238 plate appearances.
Bleday saw the majority of his time in center field last year, earning -3 Outs Above Average in 330 innings at the position. He’s generally been seen as a corner outfielder long term though, and defensive metrics liked him better in those positions.
Ramon Laureano is the only nailed-on starter in Oakland’s outfielder, and Bleday will compete with Cristian Pache and Esteury Ruiz for the other two spots. Bleday is under control for at least six more seasons, although he has all of his minor league options remaining, so the A’s could end up opting to give him a bit more time at Triple-A, which would of course delay his service time clock depending on how long he spends in the minors.
