As the regular season winds down, the Athletics are staring at a season that swung wildly from one extreme to the other. They had control of the AL West in June, which was far beyond what anyone expected at that point. Then came two ugly stretches, and the glow around the year disappeared fast.
The pitching has been the biggest drag all season, and that was true even when the club was sitting on top of the division. With a new GM in place, the priorities are pretty clear: the staff needs help, and it needs help from top to bottom.
Still, there’s at least a path to making the roster better without trying to fix everything at once. Jacob Lopez, JT Ginn, and Gage Jump have mostly looked like serviceable arms, which leaves the Athletics needing to address just one spot in the rotation unless Luis Severino decides not to use his player option and stays with the team. That gives the front office a chance to concentrate resources on one area instead of spreading them too thin.
The reason there’s any optimism at all is the offense. Zack Gelof, Lawrence Butler, Henry Bolte, and Jeff McNeil all put together strong second-half stretches, and it’s fair to wonder what this lineup could look like with its top-three home run hitters back in action.
Nick Kurtz’s absence took a huge bite out of the Athletics’ power, and that part is not really debatable. Add injuries to Shea Langeliers or Tyler Soderstrom, and the hit becomes even clearer.
Even with those issues, the team has flashed real pop. Over its last three games, the Athletics have scored 7.7 runs per game and hit 11 home runs.
That kind of depth creates a new kind of problem: too many playable pieces in too few spots. Shortstop is one of the clearest examples, with Jacob Wilson, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, and Alika Williams all in the mix.
All three are talented enough that, if moved, they could bring back a strong return. Given how Williams and Kuroda-Grauer have performed this season, it would not be surprising if the Athletics chose to deal one of them in order to patch the pitching staff.
Leo De Vries could join that shortstop conversation in two years, which only adds to the congestion. The outfield could get crowded in a hurry too. Players like Soderstrom or Lawrence Butler could also fetch bigger hauls, and those kinds of trades would open the door for farm-system names such as Drew Burress or Devin Taylor to step into the picture.
This season has been rough, no question. But the talent is stacking up, and the future looks better by the day. If the Athletics make a few offseason moves and get a healthier year, they could be in the playoff mix one year from now.
In Other News...
Athletics Rotation Shakeup Puts Two Young Arms In A Tough Spot
The Athletics rotation has taken another hit, leaving the club to sort through its young pitching depth at a time when the margin for error is already thin. Jack Perkins was sent to Triple-A Las Vegas after having trouble working deep into games, and the move reflects how much his pitch counts and control issues have made it tough for him to settle in at the big-league level.
J.T. Ginn is now being evaluated for lingering soreness, adding even more uncertainty to a staff that has already been forced into adjustments. With rookie Kade Morris under consideration and Joey Estes back in the mix to handle rotation and bullpen duties, Oakland is trying to piece together innings while the long-term outlook for one of its young starters remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
A's Top Prospects Just Reached A Crucial Test On Fast Track
Two of the Athletics most promising young players have been pushed another step up the ladder, as Jamie Arnold and Devin Taylor have both landed in Triple-A Las Vegas after standing out at Double-A Midland. Arnold, the clubs No. 3 prospect, earned the move after finishing his time in Midland with a 2.43 ERA and 73 strikeouts over his final 13 starts, while Taylor, ranked No. 7 in the system, kept forcing the issue with a strong bat that played at both High-A and Double-A.
For Oakland, the timing matters as much as the production. Triple-A is where prospect buzz starts to turn into real organizational urgency, and both players are now being asked to prove they can keep carrying that momentum against a tougher level of competition. Arnolds first taste of Las Vegas went well, and Taylor has already shown he can impact a game in a hurry, leaving the As with more reason to pay close attention to how quickly each one adapts from here. [Read more 🡒]
A's Unleashed A Power Surge Seattle Couldnt Recover From
The Athletics spent one inning turning a tight night in Seattle into one of those box scores that gets checked twice. In a 7-6 win over the Mariners, Oakland broke through in a big way and then leaned on its bullpen to protect the lead, finishing the job after the third inning and never letting Seattle get fully back in front.
The burst was historic for a club that has been waiting a long time for that kind of punch. Oakland had not put four balls over the fence in a single inning since April 27, 2002, and the third-inning avalanche gave the A's exactly the kind of jolt that can change the feel of a road trip, even if the game still stayed tense down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]