The Oakland Athletics and their fans have to be the most frustrated fan base in Major League Baseball. The Athletics always have a talented team but it seems that their front office never wants to spend money to keep them together. They had a disappointing season last year where they failed to make the playoffs. Oakland finished in third place in the AL West with a 86-76 record. Oakland couldn't seem to get it together late into the season when they needed to make a playoff run.

If the front office has shown anything the past decade, it's that they're not willing to spend money to keep their top players. Because of their track record, expect players Matt Olson and Matt Chapman to both be on different teams next season. Starling Marte was also an interesting pick-up for the Athletics who came in and made an immediate impact but expect him to be on a different club next year as well.

Bob Melvin will not be with the team this year as he accepted a deal with the San Diego Padres. This was another frustrating move on the Athletics part and one that fans were not happy about at all.

There have been questions if the Athletics are going to move locations and as unfortunate as it would be, it makes sense from the MLB's standpoint. The Athletics just won't spend money on any facet of their ball club and the MLB and their fans are starting to get frustrated.

Oakland is going to have to field a team next year. Billy Beane always finds a way to make his team competitive even without big-name players. Let's take a look at some players that the Athletics could sign to keep them at a competitive level.

Three Players The Athletics Should Go After This Offseason

Freddy Peralta

Peralta is only 23 years of age and has shown that he has elite stuff on the mound. He's not going to be easy for Oakland to get but if they are keeping Chris Bassitt, they're going to need another elite pitcher next to him.

Peralta had a great season last year for the Milwaukee Brewers where he finished with a 10-5 record and a 2.81 era. He also struck out 195 batters in only 144 innings pitched. His asking price might be a lot and that might scare Oakland away but if their team is serious at all they would make a push to get Peralta.

He's only 23 years old and he's just scratching the surface of his potential in this league.

Jackie Bradley Jr

Jackie Bradley Jr had a season to forget last year. He finished with a -0.7 WAR and hit an embarrassing .163 on the season. This was definitely a season to forget for Bradley but he has shown throughout his career that he can be an average hitter and play Gold Glove-caliber defense. Jackie Bradley is somebody that the A's can afford as they usually go after guys who don't cost much.

This would be an interesting move for Oakland but if they feel like he can get back to being an average hitter they might look to make this move as Ramon Laureanos' time in Oakland is probably coming down to the last few years.

Bradley isn't somebody who's going to come in and help your team win a World Series but he can be a serviceable center fielder and that's usually what Oakland looks for.

Trevor Story

There's a good chance that Oakland wouldn't spend anywhere near the amount of money that Trevor Story is going to cost. If they can somehow retain Matt Olson or Matt Chapman, they need to show their fans that they're still serious about winning and make another big move. Trevor Story would be the perfect guy to come in and run their shortstop position.

Oakland had a lot of questions last season about their shortstop needs as Elvis Andrus is in the back end of his career and isn't the answer for a team that wants to make the playoffs. Trevor Story is one of the elite shortstops in baseball and features an elite bat with an above-average glove. He was linked to some trade rumors last season for the Athletics but the Colorado Rockies decided that they were going to keep him.

Oakland is never going to succeed with this type of mindset. In most major sports, you need to keep your players and the only way to do that is by spending money. This is definitely the case in baseball as teams with high payrolls are usually the ones who succeed the most. If Oakland wants to start competing again, they need to spend.