According to reports, the next Oakland A’s player likely to be dealt will be starting pitcher Sean Manaea. Meanwhile, the team will reportedly evaluate how to proceed with another starting pitcher drawing trade interest, Frankie Montas.
The Oakland A’s are focusing on what could be their return by trading starting pitcher Sean Manaea
In a tweet from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, teams currently in discussion with the Oakland A’s about a potential acquisition of a starting pitcher are focusing in on left-handed starter Sean Manaea. Meanwhile, according to Rosenthal, Oakland “is waiting to decide how to proceed with RHP Frankie Montas.”
The 34th overall draft pick in the 2013 MLB draft, Manaea has a 50-41 record in his six seasons in Oakland. Last season, he went 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA/3.66 FIP/1.227 WHIP. He tied for the most starts in the American League last season with 32 while also tying with Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees for the AL lead with two complete games. Those two complete games, however, were also shutouts, giving him the most of any MLB starting pitcher in 2021.
Manaea will earn $9.75 million this season after settling on a contract earlier this week before entering arbitration. He is scheduled to be a free agent after this offseason.
Oakland has already gone through with a teardown of its roster this offseason, trading first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves, third baseman Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays, and another starting pitcher, Chris Bassitt, to the New York Mets. The team will certainly have a different look under first-year manager Mark Kotsay than last year’s squad that finished 86-76 and in third place in the American League West.
Where could Manaea be heading when a trade comes through? Among the teams regularly linked to the A’s in starting pitching discussions have been the New York Yankees, but five other American League teams (including New York’s division rival in the Tampa Bay Rays) have reportedly spoken to the A’s about their starting pitching as well.