With the trade deadline arriving tonight, the Athletics have stayed relatively quiet - but Jonah Heim is the kind of name that could still move before the day is over.
The A’s have already made a couple of smaller deals, including the move that sent Aaron Civale to the Chicago Cubs. Civale has been sharp since leaving, allowing no runs in three outings after giving up one in his first appearance with Chicago.
Oakland also sent infielder Brett Harris to the Boston Red Sox for a minor league arm. That trade helped a Boston club short on infield depth, and the Red Sox also added Curtis Mead, though he was injured in his debut in Sacramento.
The catcher market, though, has not come together the way many expected. Ryan Jeffers, Hunter Goodman, and Tyler Stephenson still have not been dealt, which suggests some teams may prefer to keep their backstops. That same thinking has already been applied to Shea Langeliers, and the logic likely extends to the other clubs holding catching help.
Still, Heim stands out as a player the A’s could move.
Since losing Langeliers for the season, Oakland has turned to Heim as an everyday option. Even before that, he had carved out regular playing time by giving the A’s a clutch bat and a switch-hitting look that works well for Mark Kotsay’s lineup construction.
Heim has put together a .723 OPS with a .232 batting average this season, while also giving solid work behind the plate. He is not the flashiest catcher on the board, and contenders have better options if they want to spend big. But that is exactly why Heim makes sense as a trade candidate: he should cost less, and he is more likely to be available.
For clubs looking for catching help, that matters. Heim is a veteran who has caught for good teams before, and he could still deliver useful production down the stretch without requiring the kind of return the bigger names would command.
There are a number of teams in the market for catching, including the Yankees, who are “very much” in that mix, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They are also pursuing multiple relievers, with a starter and middle infielder on their radar as well.
Even so, the position remains a tricky one to trade from because it is such an important part of a team’s defense, while also carrying offensive value. That is part of why names like Jeffers, Goodman, Adley Rutschman, and Langeliers were all floated as possible trade pieces.
Heim, though, fits the profile of a player who could actually go. He is on a pending free agent deal, the A’s are sliding out of contention, and there is a real chance he is dealt today.
In Other News...
Jack Perkins Is Forcing An Athletics Rotation Question Late This Season
With the season winding down, Mark Kotsay is using these last weeks to take a longer look at young Athletics pitchers, and Jack Perkins has pushed himself into the conversation. The right-hander has shown enough progress to make this stretch matter beyond the standings, because Oakland is still sorting out what its future rotation could look like and who belongs in it.
Perkins added another layer to that case in a recent outing against the Tigers, where he gave up three home runs but also struck out a career-high nine over 5 1/3 innings. The mixed line fits the broader evaluation Kotsay is trying to conduct, and Perkins has made it clear he sees himself as part of the clubs rotation picture down the road, even if the exact timeline still leaves room for questions. [Read more 🡒]
As Rotation Plans May Depend On One Royals Deadline Decision
With Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker now expected to miss the rest of the season, the Athletics are already looking past the immediate pain and into how they can build a sturdier roster for next year. Pitching is a clear part of that conversation, and the Royals have become a team Oakland has to watch closely as the deadline approaches. Kansas City has already moved Lane Thomas, a sign it may be willing to keep reshaping the roster rather than standing pat.
One path for the A's could open if the Royals decide to push their retooling further, because the market for available arms often shifts quickly once a team starts dealing from the top of its staff. Oakland has shown interest in pitchers such as Kris Bubic and Seth Lugo, which puts it on the lookout for rotation help whenever a seller or a semi-seller gets serious. For a club trying to recover from a brutal stretch of injuries, the next move in Kansas City could end up mattering more than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]