The A’s are running out of room for soft landings, and Jack Perkins is right in the middle of that conversation.
Tonight in Kansas City, Oakland needs a win badly. At 49-76, the club is tied with the Angels for the worst record in the sport, and another loss could leave the A’s alone at the bottom by the end of the day. Perkins gets the ball as the team looks for its 50th victory, but the assignment comes with real baggage.
Perkins was viewed as one of the organization’s better pitching prospects just last year, and the 26-year-old right-hander showed enough in his first taste of the majors to keep that optimism alive. In 12 games and four starts during his big league debut last season, he looked solid. This year was never supposed to be a star turn, but there was still an expectation that he would be able to hold his own.
That has not happened. Perkins has flashed enough to hint at the pitcher he might become, but the consistency simply hasn’t been there. He opened the year in the bullpen before moving into the rotation, and while that kind of shift can be a tough one for any pitcher, his results have been rough.
Since joining the starting five, Perkins has made 11 starts and posted an 8.17 ERA. The most recent stretch has been even harder to ignore: in his three August outings, he’s allowed at least five runs every time. That has to change if the A’s are going to get anything useful out of this start.
The numbers beneath the ERA are a little less ugly, but not enough to erase the bigger picture. Rookie adjustment is part of it.
The midseason role change is part of it. The ballpark and the defense have taken some share of the blame too.
Still, most of the burden falls on Perkins himself.
That doesn’t mean the book is closed on him. It does mean the A’s have a real decision to make.
Is Perkins a starter long term, even after spending this season among the worst in the sport in that role? Or is he better suited as a longman, working two- or three-inning stints out of the bullpen?
The club is expected to add starting pitching depth this offseason, which would push Perkins further down the ladder. But the bigger question is whether the A’s can settle on a role for him and stick with it. That’s the issue hanging over tonight and beyond: what role should Perkins have on the next playoff contending A’s squad?
Oakland has not yet named the opposing starter for Kansas City. First pitch is set for 4:40.
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