The Athletics left Boston with more than a series win. They left with a blueprint, or at least a hint of one.
Against the hottest team in baseball, the A’s didn’t just survive. They looked comfortable doing it, and that matters for a club that has spent the past two months watching a promising season slip away.
At 47-71 and 12.5 games out in the AL West, the climb back is steep. But if there’s any path left, it starts with the kind of pitching and lineup stability they showed in this series.
The biggest reason for optimism is the rotation. It has been historically bad for much of the season, but there are signs it has started to turn.
That showed up in Boston, and if Jacob Lopez, JT Ginn, and Gage Jump can keep delivering in their remaining starts, the Athletics could theoretically close the year on a 26-18 run. That kind of finish is unlikely, and it still wouldn’t solve everything, but it does point to a more interesting question: what happens if this rotation keeps settling in while the lineup gets healthier?
That second part remains the problem. Nick Kurtz and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer are still rehabbing slowly, and Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers are done for the rest of the season.
Even so, Zack Gelof could be back soon. He needs 20 to 25 at-bats before returning, and given that he once had the longest hitting streak in baseball and has generally been a net-positive, his arrival would matter.
For a team that just handled Boston cleanly, that’s a tough addition for opponents to ignore.
The bullpen is still a mess, though the win over the Red Sox offered a better version of how it can work. Brady Basso handled the seventh, Elvis Alvarado took the eighth, and Hogan Harris finished the ninth. That kind of structure made a difference.
Too often, the Athletics have gone the other way, putting the wrong arms in the wrong spots even when better options were there. Luis Medina’s appearance against the Diamondbacks was a good example: he was used in the bottom of the 10th, and it collapsed, which fit his struggles in high-leverage situations.
If the A’s can keep some order in the bullpen and continue making better pitching choices, they may not be as far from relevance as their record suggests. The turnaround is still a long shot. But Boston gave them something they haven’t had much of lately: a real reason to think it might be possible.
In Other News...
Former Dodgers Arm Just Landed In An Interesting AL West Spot
The Athletics have added another arm to the organizational mix, signing right-handed pitcher Matt Sauer to a minor league contract. Sauer brings some useful versatility to the table, with experience working both as a starter and out of the bullpen across multiple leagues, giving Oakland a deeper option as it tries to sort through its pitching depth.
For a club that is always looking for arms it can move up when needed, Sauer fits the mold of a low-risk add with a chance to make himself relevant quickly. He is expected to give the Triple-A staff a boost first, but the fact that he has major league experience keeps the door open for a longer look if the opportunity presents itself. [Read more 🡒]
As Front Office Shakeup Just Put Mark Kotsay On The Spot
The Athletics are heading into another reset, and this one reaches all the way to the top of the baseball operation. After more than 25 years with the organization, David Forst is out, leaving the club to look for a new general manager while Mark Kotsay remains in the dugout for now. For a team that has spent much of the season searching for stability, the timing only adds to the sense that bigger changes are still coming.
What makes the next step so important is the scope of the job the new hire is expected to inherit, because the person stepping in will have broad authority over both roster decisions and the overall direction of the club. That puts Kotsay squarely in the spotlight as the Athletics continue to struggle, and it raises the possibility that the front-office shakeup may not be the only move before long. [Read more 🡒]