The Best Oakland Athletics Trade Chips in 2017
The Oakland Athletics have a roster full of trade candidates. Which ones are the A’s most likely to deal in 2017?
The Oakland Athletics enter the 2017 season with some low expectations. In a division packed with talent, they appear to be far behind what the other teams will do. We can certainly expect a major storyline for this season being who the Athletics might trade next.
This isn’t necessarily the worst thing. Rather than spend big and come up short, the Athletics can rebuild. If done correctly, the timing may even work out in their favor. The most important thing is that the Athletics capitalize on every trade chip they have.
Already, several of their offseason acquisitions look like guys they can flip at the deadline. Others, meanwhile, have been with the franchise for a little longer. This isn’t the first time they have been the subject of trade talks either as Oakland is regularly in a rebuild/retool mode.
Practically everyone on the Athletics’ roster could be placed on the trade block. For this list, only those who best meet the criteria will be included. This is for those players on the Oakland roster who possess talent, affordability, and can contribute to a contender.
So, there’s no Jed Lowrie or Yonder Alonso here. As much as the Athletics should attempt to move that pair, they look stuck in Oakland until their contracts run out.
When discussing trades the Athletics may make, Sonny Gray must be mentioned. It has been a topic of discussion for over a year now despite him being the franchise’s ace. This role did hit a road bump last year when Gray suffered multiple injuries and didn’t pitch like the Cy Young caliber starter that he previously was.
Despite this, Gray’s trade stock doesn’t seem to have dropped much at all. His very solid performance from 2013-2015 is enough to keep him as an option for many teams looking to find a stud arm. Because of this Gray remains, by far, the best Athletics’ trade piece on the roster.
It’s possible we didn’t see Gray traded this offseason because of his performance last year. A 5.69 ERA won’t return the best prospects and the Athletics know the asking price would be lower than it should be. However, a really good start to 2017—or even an average one by his standards —will make Gray someone the Athletics can flip for an abundance of young talent.
Last winter, the Athletics acquired slugger Khris Davis from the Milwaukee Brewers. As it turned out, the Athletics got a lot more out of him than they thought. Davis increased his trade stock exponentially last year with a 42 home run season in a pitcher’s park. We can expect much of the same from Davis as his home run numbers have continually climbed over the last three seasons.
It’s this terrific power that makes Davis a desirable trade chip for the Athletics. In addition to his on-the-field talent, Davis is not costly. He is just now entering his first year of arbitration eligibility. Anyone who employs him won’t have to worry about Davis reaching free agency until after the 2019 campaign.
Davis is no superstar outfielder. He has hit just below .250 for three consecutive seasons now and doesn’t put up great OBP numbers either. In the right environment, though, Davis is a solid contributor. Put him in a lineup where he can swing for the fences and Davis is a big threat. Due to a surplus of power hitters on the market, teams were less interested in players like him this offseason via free agency. In a trade, it’s a different story as Davis will not cost them much money at all.
Southpaw Sean Doolittle was one of the best left-handed relief pitchers in baseball back in 2014. His talents landed him the job as the Athletics’ closer that season. We also saw him earn his first All-Star appearance. Unfortunately, injuries knocked him out early in 2015 thus ending his campaign after only 13.2 innings.
When Doolittle returned from his injury he wasn’t handed the closer job back. This job now belonged to another potential Athletics’ trade candidate, Ryan Madson. It was probably for the best as Doolittle needed time to reestablish himself as a reliable arm out of the bullpen. He accomplished this by finishing the year with a 3.23 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning.
Anyone who understands baseball knows the value of a left-handed reliever. A strong start from Doolittle in 2017 means that plenty of MLB teams will take note. The Athletics shouldn’t balk at trading him either. Although signed to a favorable contract through 2020, he serves no real purpose in Oakland for a losing team. Someone will overpay for Doolittle. It’s up to the Athletics to pick the right return.
The Athletics signed free agent Rajai Davis this offseason. Everyone seems to assume this was for the lone purpose of trading him at the deadline. It’s fair to believe they will find a suitor rather easily considering his continued stolen base prowess. Just last season, at age 35, he swiped a league-leading 43 bags for the Cleveland Indians.
Davis is probably best suited in a platoon somewhere. On the Athletics, there’s a good chance he sees more playing time than that. While this may slightly hurt his stock if overexposed, it’s not his bat teams will watch. All everyone with interest in Davis should care about is whether or not he can still run. From what we’ve seen, there’s no reason to believe the stolen bases numbers will falter.
This season, Davis’ contract is worth $6 million. It’s not very much for a team to take on if he is the missing piece. Anyone looking for speed would gladly add him to the roster. Expect Davis’ time in Oakland to last only a few short months.
Outfielder Matt Joyce had a very strange year with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. He spent most of his time working as a pinch-hitter. Somehow, in this limited role, Joyce found his calling.
Through 293 plate appearances over the course of 140 games, Joyce had a .242/.403/.463 slash line. He smashed 13 home runs and drew 59 walks in the limited opportunities he had. It was quite an impressive feat especially since it seemed like Joyce had lost the chance to start anywhere following his terrible 2015 campaign with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Joyce is currently on a two-year deal worth a total of $11 million. It may look like a lot for a bench player—and it is—but as a pinch hitter option or in a platoon he might prove to be worth the money. After all, Joyce’s career OBP versus right-handed pitchers is a very favorable .353. After showing that he could hit in 2016, it’s up to him to prove he can do it more often in the first half of 2017. By doing this, Joyce can land himself a job on a winning team.