Oakland Athletics Fans Should Look Forward to 2020, Not 2019

The Oakland Athletics lost to the New York Yankees in this year’s AL Wild Card Game.  With a barrage of injuries headed into the 2019 season, it seems unlikely that the A’s will make the playoffs next season. However, with a surge of young talent, the Atheltics have a chance to shine in 2020.

The Oakland Athletics surprised many people when they slipped into the 2018 postseason, especially after a slow opening to the season. Matters seemed to get worse when Bob Melvin was forced to rely on three older free-agent pitchers to support the rotation. So why did the Athletics make the postseason if their team was oft injured and filled with replacement players? They had an extremely cohesive clubhouse and the arrival of a few budding stars propelled hem to success.

The 2019 season is likely to be difficult for the Athletics. Sean Manaea, arguably the ace of the rotation, will be out the entire season after sustaining an injury in September. Top prospect AJ Puk, who underwent Tommy John surgery at the start of the 2018 season, is unlikely to pitch in the majors next season. The same surgery was also given to Kendall Graveman and Daniel Gosset, who are also not expected to pitch in 2019.  Jharel Cotton, who underwent Tommy John surgery around the same time Puk did, is unlikely to pitch at the start of the season. Shawn Kelley and Jeurys Familia, two dominant relievers the A’s acquired for their postseason push, are likely to leave as free agents. These issues only represent the problems the pitching staff will overcome. The position players will also be impacted this offseason, with veteran presences like Jonathan Lucroy likely taking his talents elsewhere.

Despite the apparent setbacks the A’s will take next season, they should be primed for a run for the postseason in 2020. With an abundance of players returning from injury and an influx of young talent, the A’s might be the dark horse for the World Series yet again in 2020.

Athletics 2020: Injuries

As mentioned above, the Athletics have been bitten by the injury bug. It is likely that they will begin 2019 with a full rotation of major-league starters on the 60-day DL (Manaea, Gosset, Graveman, Cotton, and Paul Blackburn). With Brett Anderson, Edwin Jackson and Trevor Cahill all pending free agents, the rotation is left depleted entering 2019.  One of the five pitchers currently projected into the A’s rotation, Andrew Triggs, was injured for the majority of the 2018 season. It is not guaranteed that he will return to the same level of production that he did before his injury; even if he does, Triggs has not shown that he could be anything more than a back-end starter. By 2020, all five of the injured starters should return to full health, enabling the A’s to maximize their rotation flexibility.

Injuries to minor league prospects may have the biggest impact on the A’s 40-man roster in 2019. James Kaprielian, who was acquired by the Yankees in 2017, has yet to pitch for an A’s affiliate due to Tommy John Surgery.  He also has not pitched above high-A ball when with the Yankees. Kaprielian will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter, allowing a team to swipe him from the A’s should they feel h is ready to move onto the next stage. Should the A’s want to ensure Kaprielian wit the organization, they must add him to the 40-man roster, taking a spot from a starter who may benefit the A’s rotation in 2019. The same scenario applies to Grant Holmes, acquired from the Dodgers two summers ago. Holmes, who is currently participating in the Arizona Fall League, is not expected to contribute to the A’s in 2019, but could be stolen by another team in the Rule 5 Draft. Both pitchers require more time in the minor leagues after their surgeries, and could negatively impact the A’s in 2019 by taking two roster spots that could be occupied by players who could impact the Athletics that season.