Oakland Athletics Ready to Listen on top Names
By Jason Burke
The Oakland Athletics have been putting off a full rebuild for two years now, but as Ken Rosenthal reports, they are “more than happy to listen” to offers for their top players.
Of course the first name that comes to mind will be Oakland Athletics ace Sonny Gray, who has three years of team control left and is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility this winter. The other two names that could garner some intrigue are catcher Stephen Vogt, 32 and under team control under the same set of circumstances as Gray, and Sean Doolittle, 30, who is signed for another four seasons for a total of $19.51 million.
Vogt has been an all-star in each of the past two seasons and his offensive output in 2016 mirrored that of free agent Matt Wieters. The Oriole catcher has a little extra pop in his bat, but each held an OPS of .711 this season. Vogt could be an option for a team that is looking for fill a void at catcher but doesn’t want to shell out the millions it will take to acquire Wieters, or even Brian McCann, who is also reportedly available for a trade. Wilson Ramos had a potent bat with the Nationals in 2016, but his knee injury may be a bit worrisome to some clubs. Vogt could definitely have a niche market.
Doolittle is in a similar position, as he has been a dominant reliever at times, but has been recovering from injury the past two seasons. His fastball velocity started to climb towards the end of this season, and with that he should have a solid return to form. The market has big name relievers that will command large sums, but Doolittle is an option for a team that is on a budget and has prospects to spare.
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The big fish is Sonny Gray, whom the A’s may be wary of trading with his value at a low point after his rough 2016. Gray posted a 5.69 ERA, which is more than two-and-a-half runs higher than his previous high of 3.08. If the A’s can get their asking price for their ace, even after a down season, a trade could be in the works.
Teams that have the prospects to make a deal happen for Gray and a need to add to their rotation include the Red Sox, Dodgers and Yankees as the big market names. The Twins could also use a ton of help in their starting rotation, and with a new front office in place Gray would be a nice big splash for them to make this winter.
Miami could be another team to watch out for, as they could potentially move Marcell Ozuna in a deal, while Oakland needs a centerfielder, and some power in their lineup.
Teams with less of a chance but are worth keeping an eye on: Atlanta, Colorado and Philadelphia.
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If the A’s were able to land some outfield help, a first baseman of the future and some additional pitching, a potential deal would make a bit of sense from a long-term standpoint. The A’s have some pitching depth at the moment with Sean Manaea, Jharel Cotton, Kendall Graveman and others, so they could potentially look to supplement those that they already have with some younger talent (A.J. Puk and Grant Holmes are still a ways away) and some bats to help out their brutal offense. A series of trades involving fan favorites again this offseason would certainly be met with jeers, but it could be what the team needs to do to return to contention.