The Athletics had a real chance to reshape their roster at the trade deadline, and they came out of it with the same pitching problem that has been hanging over them all summer.
That issue showed up again in this series against Kansas City. The A’s were in position to win each of the first three games, only to let games two and three slip away after the eighth inning. When a staff keeps handing over late leads like that, the missed opportunity at the deadline starts looking even bigger.
The clearest path for the A’s was to turn some of their infield and outfield depth into a young, controllable arm. Instead, they moved Colby Thomas for Seth Johnson and largely stood pat.
There was at least some chatter around Shea Langeliers before it became known that he would miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus. Jonah Heim was also floated as a possible trade piece. Another idea on the table was moving infield depth, including Tommy White, in a deal for Mariners starter Emerson Hancock.
That kind of move made sense because the A’s have a crowded future infield picture. Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson look set at first base and shortstop, while Leo De Vries, baseball’s top-three prospect, figures to fit somewhere at second or third base down the line.
Even if De Vries is removed from the equation, the options keep coming. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer has looked like another Jacob Wilson, and Tommy White, Max Muncy, Darell Hernaiz, and Alika Williams have each had productive stretches this season.
With that kind of depth, the A’s had the pieces to put together a package for a young starter who could have helped a depleted pitching staff. They never made that move.
Heim feels like the clearest example of what they left on the table. The A’s had no shortage of potential suitors for a switch-hitting veteran catcher, especially one who has been one of their most clutch hitters all season. He is also headed toward free agency, which makes a return next season look unlikely.
The A’s probably asked for too much in return for Heim, but the smarter play would have been to lower the price and take whatever value they could get. Instead, he now appears likely to walk away for nothing.
That would be a frustrating outcome on its own. It looks even worse with the A’s still staring at a pitching staff that keeps giving games away and a playoff path that was already hard to see.
In Other News...
As Turned A Winnable Game Into Another Brutal Bullpen Collapse
Jeffrey Springs gave the Athletics what they needed for most of the night, working 5 2/3 innings and limiting the Royals to two runs while Oakland held an early lead in the second-to-last game of the series. For a stretch, it looked like a winnable one for a club trying to piece together enough pitching support behind a starter who had done his job.
Then the game slipped away in the later innings, with Kansas City mounting the kind of late push that has become all too familiar for Oakland this season. The bullpen could not hold the line, and what had been a manageable night turned into another painful finish, leaving the As to sort through how a lead and a solid start still ended in a loss. [Read more 🡒]
Shea Langeliers Has A Hobby As Fans Will Love
Shea Langeliers has found another way to keep himself busy away from the field, and it is the sort of hobby plenty of Athletics fans can appreciate. The All-Star catcher has built a serious collection of Marvel and sports trading cards, to the point where the cards now fill two suitcases, and he has even pulled teammates like Nick Kurtz into the mix.
Langeliers card habit has also become a conversation starter beyond the clubhouse, creating connections with players on other teams along the way. For now, the collection stays packed away, but he already has a plan for it down the road, with hopes of putting everything on display in a dedicated space at his future home. [Read more 🡒]