Oakland Athletics 2017 Team Preview
By Jason Burke
Key Subtractions
There wasn’t a team out there that could avoid making a deal with Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto this offseason. He made somewhere in the realm of 1,004 moves this winter for marginal upgrades and The Ringer MLB Podcast even wrote a song to introduce their discussions about what Dipoto did each week.
Suffice it to say, the A’s and M’s made two deals this winter, with one potentially making a big impact for Seattle and the other being a mere depth add.
The first trade was sending Danny Valencia to his seventh team in eight seasons for minor league pitcher Paul Blackburn. Valencia figures to fit in wherever he’s needed for Seattle and Blackburn held a 3.27 ERA between both the Cubs and Mariners Double-A affiliates. He should be looking at a stop in Triple-A Nashville for Oakland this season.
The second trade with the Mariners involved A’s 29th ranked prospect Dillon Overton headed to Seattle for 2016 draftee, catcher Jason Goldstein. Overton appeared in seven games last season, his first in the bigs, and held an 11.47 ERA when all was said and done. Goldstein was a 9th round selection of the Mariners last June and threw out 50% of potential base stealers in his time in pro ball between Rookie ball and Lo-A. He’ll likely get a bump up to Hi-A Stockton this season where his offensive numbers could take off in the California League.
Finally, the A’s traded Brett Eibner to the Los Angeles Dodgers a couple of weeks after agreeing to terms with Rajai Davis, adding to the Dodgers’ outfield confusion, while netting the Oakland Athletics third base prospect Jordan Tarsovich. It’ll be interesting to see how they play Tarsovich this season in the minors, as they already have Ryon Healy being displaced by Plouffe at third, and have Matt Chapman knocking on the door in the minors. With Tarsovich getting experience in Double-A last season, his proximity to the majors may lead to a position change. He’s already seen time at both second and short, so those would be the most likely solutions.
The main subtractions were done at the tail end of the 2016 season in Crisp being shipped to Cleveland and Butler getting some time in slimming pinstripes. Both of these subtractions, as well as the trade of Valencia, could lead to some better clubhouse chemistry moving forward.