The baseball world assumed that the Oakland Athletics would be one of the biggest sellers at the trade deadline, but things changed when they improved. After a horrific start, Brent Rooker and company are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 13-7 in July, clinching them their first winning month of the season.
Oakland is expected to keep its best players at the deadline as a result, via MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
“A’s are telling teams they are reluctant to trade Brent Rooker (.948 OPS) or JJ Bleday (30 doubles),” Heyman reported. “With progress being made and 103.7-mph closer Mason Miller on the shelf, it doesn’t look like a huge sale for them.”
This comes after Athletics GM David Forst alluded to not making headlining moves this summer, via Sports Illustrated's Jason Burke.
“We'll be opportunistic. We may do some things, but I think anyone that expects that we're gonna continue to just move guys out and turn them over for prospects is probably going to be disappointed next week,” Forst admitted. “There's guys here we think are gonna be part of the team beyond this year.”
Rooker, Bleday, and Miller are all under team control for the next few seasons, so there's no need to rush them out of town. However, Oakland could stand to improve on its farm system, which only boasts one top-100 prospect.
What might the Sacramento-bound club do before Tuesday?
Look for the Athletics to make some minor trade deadline moves
With Rooker, Miller, and Bleday all on cheap arbitration deals, Oakland already has a solid and cost-effective core of young talent. However, the club does have a few pitchers who will be free agents this winter.
Ross Stripling, Alex Wood, Trevor Gott, T.J. McFarland, and Scott Alexander's contracts are all up at the end of the year. The Athletics probably wouldn't get a huge prospect haul for these players, but there's no harm in shopping them around before they possibly walk for nothing in return.
Stripling, Wood, and Gott are all on the IL. Stripling struggled before going down this season, going 2-9 with a 6.02 ERA over 12 appearances. Ditto for Wood, who's 1-3 with a 5.26 ERA over nine outings. However, the 33-year-old is 77-68 with a 3.78 mark over his career.
Gott, meanwhile, hasn't pitched this season. However, the 31-year-old has a 16-15 record with a 4.65 ERA across 243.2 innings pitched since getting called up in 2015.
As for the healthy hurlers, McFarland leads the league with 51 appearances this season, which already ties his career-high. The 12th-year veteran has a 4.31 ERA over 39.2 innings.
Lastly, Alexander has looked the best of the group, albeit in limited action. The southpaw has a 3.00 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across 21 innings.
While the Athletics probably won't get any star prospects for these players, they could get a minor farm-system boost if they shop them to a contender looking for veteran pitching help.
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