Call to the pen
Fansided

2019 MLB Season: Rating the AL West GMs

By Bill Felber

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Michael Brantley #23 of the Houston Astros in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 20, 2019 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Astros 10-6. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: Michael Brantley #23 of the Houston Astros in action against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 20, 2019 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Astros 10-6. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
2019 MLB Season: Rating the NL West General Managers
Adviser Sandy Alderson, General Manager David Forst and Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics was the MLB Draft in the Athletics draft room, during the opening day of the 2019 MLB draft. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /

2019 MLB Season: Rating the NL West General Managers

1. David Forst, Oakland A’s, +1.6

Given the uncertain fiscal and stadium-related circumstances that often influence operations in Oakland, the most productive step a general manager can take often involves taking out the trash. It not only prunes declining assets by spreading those assets among the competition, it creates room for rising assets to grow and possibly flourish.

David Forst is a first-rate garbage taker-outer.

Over the winter, Forst permitted seven members of the 2018 Athletics to run off to other teams via free agency. To this point, only reliever Shawn Kelley among the seven has produced a WAA in excess of +0.1. The cumulative impact of the seven – players of the stripe of Trevor Cahill, Jonathan Lucroy and Edwin Jackson — on their new teams? It’s -4.7 WAA.

The Athletics sit in third place in the AL West – in plausible wild-card contention – despite a famous rash of injuries that has basically destroyed what might have been an imposing rotation. Sean Manaea, Kendall Graveman, and Andrew Triggs made 43 starts last year; this year they haven’t pitched an inning.

What’s saving Oakland is a farm system that in previous seasons has produced talent of the stripe of Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Joey Wendle, the latter since traded to Tampa Bay.

So far this 2019 MLB season the system has produced nothing more profound than backup catcher Beau Taylor.

Nor has Forst had any luck in head-to-head trades. The fruit of those deals – Kendrys Morales, Jurickson Profar and lightly used pitcher Tanner Anderson – have generated a combined -2.7 WAA to Oakland’s cause.

In sum, Forst heads the list of AL West GMs this year due to his ability to unload non-talent, and due to the failures of his peers to improve their own teams.

Home/AL West