- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,194,623
- Reaction score
- 59
After a week that saw the Athletics go just 2-4 against the San Francisco Giants (35-48) and Angels (36-49), losing both series, many fans are questioning whether this team even needs to add on at the deadline. Perhaps they should be sellers instead. Some have even gone so far as to lobby for trading soon-to-be All Star catcher Shea Langeliers.
While signing Langeliers to an extension isn't going to be easy, he's one of the best backstops in the game and is still under team control through the 2028 season. They also have nobody behind him that could slide in immediately and become the next catcher of the future for the club.
Trading Langeliers for prospects would be a short-sighted move for the A's, who have been insisting that with the Las Vegas ballpark under construction that things will be different.
Signing a player like Langeliers would be a real change of pace for the franchise, and they may have to sign either him or Nick Kurtz to show their new fans that they are to be taken seriously. Another trade of a top star for prospects would just be more of the same.
Regardless of the path they choose, this will be a big trade deadline for the A's, because it will help to set their path to Las Vegas.
While this certainly isn't the year that the A's should be making their all-in move for a World Series run, it's important that the team stays competitive through the end of the season. Not only to show the growth of the roster year-over-year, but so that the roster itself gets some experience being in the hunt in September.
The A's have 24 saves this season, which rank 11th in all of baseball. Not a bad ranking at all. The problem is that they've also had 42 save opportunities, giving them a 57% conversion rate.
This is one way to manipulate stats in any way you'd like. On the one hand, a 57% success rate is awful, and certainly needs to be improved upon. At the same time, not all save opportunities are just blown leads in the ninth inning. Some blown saves can even lead to wins.
What we should focus on instead is that the A's are playing a lot of close games, are 14-11 in one-run games, and that some help on the pitching side could eliminate those tighter contests.
For instance, the Tampa Bay Rays have 44 save opportunities and have converted on 32 of them. That's eight more than the A's, and they just so happen to have eight more wins than the A's at 48-33. Those 48 wins are tops in the American League.
A couple of late-inning arms could make a big difference to how this team performs. Locking down the ninth inning has been a topic we've written about recently, because it would set the rest of the bullpen.
That said, the team isn't in a position to be handing out prospects just yet. With Wei-En Lin set to miss at least the next year, that limits the up-and-coming pitching that the A's have available to them internally. That could lead to the club exploring deals for guys under team control for a couple of seasons, like a Reid Detmers of the Angels.
The best path forward would be to add relief arms. Jeff Hoffman of the Toronto Blue Jays would be a great fit with his high strikeout and ground ball rates — if the Jays end up moving him during a down year.
Luke Weaver of the New York Mets is owed $12.5 million next season, but has been terrific yet again, holding a 2.06 ERA (2.48 FIP). Pair him up with free-agent-to-be Freddy Peralta and see where that takes you. At the very least, it heightens the ceiling of the club.
If the A's continue to fall out of the race, they could find themselves as sellers in the next four weeks — but the bigger problem is what that does to the 2027 rotation.
The issue with selling is that they don't have a ton of big names that could be moved for real pieces, and some of the bigger moves they could make would put the franchise into a state of limbo entering the expected lockout in December.
Those big moves would be to trade Luis Severino, who is currently on the 60-day IL with a strained shoulder, or Jeffrey Springs, who currently holds a 5.52 ERA.
Springs has a $15 million team option for 2027, while Severino has a $22 million player option. Both have pitched better outside of Sutter Health Park, and could be of interest to other teams, though the return wouldn't be astronomical.
Aaron Civale, Mark Leiter Jr. and Jonah Heim are all set to hit free agency after this season, and could be trade candidates if the A's go the sell route.
Second baseman Jeff McNeil also has a club option for $15.75 million in 2027, which doesn't seem like it will be picked up following the emergence of Zack Gelof this season, who can provide great production for a fraction of the price.
J.T. Ginn and Gage Jump have emerged as terrific rotation options, while Jack Perkins is trying to make his own case to stick beyond a fill-in role.
The rest of this season would likely involve Jacob Lopez and Luis Morales looking to earn their spots back, but there isn't a ton of depth on the farm at the moment. This would put a lot of pressure to rebuild not only the rotation, but the depth options as well, into a condensed offseason following the lockout.
Regardless of the path the A's choose, this trade deadline is going to be important for the direction of the franchise for the next couple of seasons because of the expected lockout.
While some fans want the A's to sell, there aren't many baseball teams that are going to punt on a season in which they are just two games out of the divisional race with July on the horizon. The A's are a team looking to build a fan base, and throwing in the towel isn't the message this organization needs to be making.
Join the conversation at Athletics Roundtable — your home for A's baseball coverage and community! You can also follow Jason @ByJasonB on Twitter or @JasonBurke on BlueSky so you never miss an article!
Continue reading...
While signing Langeliers to an extension isn't going to be easy, he's one of the best backstops in the game and is still under team control through the 2028 season. They also have nobody behind him that could slide in immediately and become the next catcher of the future for the club.
Trading Langeliers for prospects would be a short-sighted move for the A's, who have been insisting that with the Las Vegas ballpark under construction that things will be different.
Signing a player like Langeliers would be a real change of pace for the franchise, and they may have to sign either him or Nick Kurtz to show their new fans that they are to be taken seriously. Another trade of a top star for prospects would just be more of the same.
Regardless of the path they choose, this will be a big trade deadline for the A's, because it will help to set their path to Las Vegas.
Let's Add On
While this certainly isn't the year that the A's should be making their all-in move for a World Series run, it's important that the team stays competitive through the end of the season. Not only to show the growth of the roster year-over-year, but so that the roster itself gets some experience being in the hunt in September.
The A's have 24 saves this season, which rank 11th in all of baseball. Not a bad ranking at all. The problem is that they've also had 42 save opportunities, giving them a 57% conversion rate.
This is one way to manipulate stats in any way you'd like. On the one hand, a 57% success rate is awful, and certainly needs to be improved upon. At the same time, not all save opportunities are just blown leads in the ninth inning. Some blown saves can even lead to wins.
What we should focus on instead is that the A's are playing a lot of close games, are 14-11 in one-run games, and that some help on the pitching side could eliminate those tighter contests.
For instance, the Tampa Bay Rays have 44 save opportunities and have converted on 32 of them. That's eight more than the A's, and they just so happen to have eight more wins than the A's at 48-33. Those 48 wins are tops in the American League.
A couple of late-inning arms could make a big difference to how this team performs. Locking down the ninth inning has been a topic we've written about recently, because it would set the rest of the bullpen.
That said, the team isn't in a position to be handing out prospects just yet. With Wei-En Lin set to miss at least the next year, that limits the up-and-coming pitching that the A's have available to them internally. That could lead to the club exploring deals for guys under team control for a couple of seasons, like a Reid Detmers of the Angels.
The best path forward would be to add relief arms. Jeff Hoffman of the Toronto Blue Jays would be a great fit with his high strikeout and ground ball rates — if the Jays end up moving him during a down year.
Luke Weaver of the New York Mets is owed $12.5 million next season, but has been terrific yet again, holding a 2.06 ERA (2.48 FIP). Pair him up with free-agent-to-be Freddy Peralta and see where that takes you. At the very least, it heightens the ceiling of the club.
Pending Free Agents
If the A's continue to fall out of the race, they could find themselves as sellers in the next four weeks — but the bigger problem is what that does to the 2027 rotation.
The issue with selling is that they don't have a ton of big names that could be moved for real pieces, and some of the bigger moves they could make would put the franchise into a state of limbo entering the expected lockout in December.
Those big moves would be to trade Luis Severino, who is currently on the 60-day IL with a strained shoulder, or Jeffrey Springs, who currently holds a 5.52 ERA.
Springs has a $15 million team option for 2027, while Severino has a $22 million player option. Both have pitched better outside of Sutter Health Park, and could be of interest to other teams, though the return wouldn't be astronomical.
Aaron Civale, Mark Leiter Jr. and Jonah Heim are all set to hit free agency after this season, and could be trade candidates if the A's go the sell route.
Second baseman Jeff McNeil also has a club option for $15.75 million in 2027, which doesn't seem like it will be picked up following the emergence of Zack Gelof this season, who can provide great production for a fraction of the price.
J.T. Ginn and Gage Jump have emerged as terrific rotation options, while Jack Perkins is trying to make his own case to stick beyond a fill-in role.
The rest of this season would likely involve Jacob Lopez and Luis Morales looking to earn their spots back, but there isn't a ton of depth on the farm at the moment. This would put a lot of pressure to rebuild not only the rotation, but the depth options as well, into a condensed offseason following the lockout.
Regardless of the path the A's choose, this trade deadline is going to be important for the direction of the franchise for the next couple of seasons because of the expected lockout.
While some fans want the A's to sell, there aren't many baseball teams that are going to punt on a season in which they are just two games out of the divisional race with July on the horizon. The A's are a team looking to build a fan base, and throwing in the towel isn't the message this organization needs to be making.
Join the conversation at Athletics Roundtable — your home for A's baseball coverage and community! You can also follow Jason @ByJasonB on Twitter or @JasonBurke on BlueSky so you never miss an article!
Continue reading...
