To the surprise of no one, the Oakland Athletics will look to be sellers heading into the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline. In fact, they've already started, trading JD Davis to the Yankees. For a team that is riddled with uncertainty throughout its organization and doesn't even know where they might play their future games, when July comes around, it's all but certain the team trades off some of its best players.
The last three seasons have been tough sledding for the A's, progressively getting worse. But just before that in 2021, they were winners of 86 games and before that made three straight appearances in the postseason. But now cheap spending, bad ownership, and the shipping off of every well-known to even semi-well-known talent, plus a plethora of other problems, has placed the A's in their proper place — obscurity.
Right now, the A's are in their usual fifth place in the American League West with a record of 29-53, putting them 17 games back of first. And if not for the abysmal Chicago White Sox, they'd be in dead last place for a Wild Card spot as well. They've not once held a winning record this season and have hit .500 just once back on May 4 with a record of 17-17.
Really, this is just a typical season in Oakland and somewhat fitting for what will be their last in the city and its old relic of the Oakland Coliseum. But some of the current A's players may be saying goodbye well before the 2024 season concludes, as they'll likely be traded off to other teams with much better records, not to mention better ownership.
Mason Miller — will he or won't he be traded?
No one quite knows what the A's plans are for right-handed reliever Mason Miller. But the value for him is high, and the team knows that, making their asking price pretty steep.
Miller, 25, is just into his second season in the big leagues, and his first full, now with just 39 games worth of experience. But he's quickly become one of the best relievers in the game. In 35.2 innings this season, he's posting a 2.02 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 14 saves.
There's no one on the A's roster quite as valuable as Miller at the moment. But again, the asking price is said to be pretty high, if not so high as to scare off every potential suitor. The A's have club control through 2030, so he might be one of the few pieces they want to hang onto should they ever look to be competitive in the near future.
Will Brent Rooker be traded this season?
After coming to Oakland last season, Brent Rooker has finally started to make something out of his career. Last season, he hit a career-best .246 with 30 homers. This season, he's up to .261 and 14 homers to date. The only problem for potential teams interested would be that Rooker is pretty much solely a DH, meaning that if a team is needing a power bat in the outfield, that's likely not the case here.
Pitcher Ross Stripling
Three of the A's better starting pitchers are likely not to be moving. One of those is JP Sears, who has been on a rough stretch as of late and is said to still be favored by the team to keep. The other two are Paul Blackburn, who is still out with a right foot injury, and Alex Wood, still on the injured list with a rotator cuff issue. That still leaves right-hander Ross Stripling.
Stripling's numbers probably aren't going to wow anyone, but he could be good enough to be a team's fifth or sixth starter, helping give other rotation guys time off down the stretch. He's 1-9 this season, with a 5.82 ERA, 35 strikeouts, and 12 walks in 55.2 innings. Batters are currently having their way with him, too, hitting .322 for the season. But the A's will most likely be willing to try to move off him given he's in the last year of his deal.
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