We rarely talk about the Oakland Athletics in granular baseball terms nowadays, and for good reason. Their last three years have been a real-life version of the plot of Major League but without any of the winning. And with the drama of their impending moves to Sacramento and then maybe Las Vegas, it can be easy to forget that the players on the field are still big leaguers trying their darnedest to forge a career path.
It's hard to project a future for the A's because it's hard to imagine the powers that be acting in the club's best interest. But let's just close our eyes and envision a world where all that mattered from this point forward was winning a championship. It could happen in Oakland, Las Vegas, or Timbuktu, for that matter.
All most A's fans want is for their favorite team to show that they love them back. And the team could do so by making some savvy, forward-thinking trades in the present while still retaining whatever semblance of a core they have. So no, we aren't trading Mason Miller today. But we're still going to do some moving and shaking, just you wait and see.
Trade SP JP Sears to Brewers
JP Sears is a throwback pitcher. He doesn't have overpowering stuff, but he's a total gamer and he takes the ball every fifth day without fail. Last season, he took his lumps in 32 starts with Oakland, posting a 5-14 record with a 4.54 ERA. But he's begun to steadily improve this season, improving to 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA thus far in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers are somehow piecing together a first-place season with a starting rotation comprised of Freddy Peralta and a bunch of duct tape. If the NL Wild Card Series started tomorrow, it's entirely possible that Bryse Wilson, who came into the season with -0.1 career bWAR for three teams, would start Game 2. So having a proven innings-eater like Sears, who the Brewers' pitching braintrust could probably teach a couple of tricks, would be invaluable.
And the A's can drive up the price tag even further because Sears doesn't hit free agency until 2029. Team control is attractive to everyone, but especially a team with a very middling payroll like the Brewers. As such, Milwaukee sends its No. 7 and 13 prospects, OF Luis Lara and IF Mike Boeve, to Oakland.
Trade IF Abraham Toro to Royals
For a normal team that wasn't in the middle of utter turmoil, Abraham Toro would be a much more discussed topic. He's a 27-year-old who never panned out for two of the Athletics' AL West rivals but at one point, was considered a pretty high-upside prospect. He's a switch-hitter who can play three infield positions and is carrying a 119 OPS+ through a third of a season in Oakland. That's a valuable commodity for a lot of teams looking for infield help at this year's deadline.
And perhaps no team needs the help as much as the Kansas City Royals, who have one of the more peculiar infield situations in baseball, save for superstar Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop. Maikel García seems to be proving himself as a valuable third baseman, but primary second baseman Michael Massey just hit the injured list with a back sprain. Meanwhile, Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson can't seem to hit the broad side of the barn, so Toro could instantly be an upgrade as a fill-in second baseman/utility infielder.
But should the A's really trade a valuable contributor like Toro? The short answer is absolutely because his value will never be higher. With two years of remaining control before he hits free agency, Toro could actually command some reasonable prospect capital. Meanwhile, if the A's were to retain his services for another two years, he'd just be playing in a minor league stadium before heading somewhere else. Oakland capitalizes on its burgeoning asset and trades Toro to Kansas City for No. 5 prospect Mason Barnett.
Trade RP Michael Kelly to Cubs
Now, we finally come to Oakland's bullpen and address the elephant in the room. As tempting as it might be, there is simply no need to trade Mason Miller. For one, trading for endless prospects is always more of a risk than teams make it out to be because you have no idea how they will perform at the big-league level. Miller, in spite of being “just” a reliever, is the only thing generating buzz around the A's nowadays. Michael Kelly, though he has been excellent, is much more expendable.
And of course, just about every team in contention will be looking for bullpen help at the deadline, so there's really no wrong place to send Kelly. The 31-year-old is technically still a rookie, so he's pretty much the opposite of a rental. He'd belong to Chicago as long as his services were required. But because he's a 31-year-old rookie, the A's would be best served to trade him while his value as at the highest. His 2.67 ERA and 1.15 WHIP thus far would indicate that now is a good time to pull the trigger.
In return, the A's can look to grab a couple of prospect lottery tickets, the younger the better. There's every chance none of the players acquired in a deal like this could ever pan out, but for a previously unknown reliever, that's a chance worth taking. Chicago sends Oakland 18-year-olds Derniche Valdez and Alexis Hernandez, the Cubs' 15th and 18th-ranked prospects, and the Athletics hopefully find themselves a future star shortstop.
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