Beane, Forst and the Oakland A’s front office: A mid-term grade for 2023
By Bill Felber
Acquired or traded
Whatever failings Beane and Forst have had to date in 2023, they did not flow from lack of activity. They obtained the services of 11 new players in transactions with other teams, at a cost of seven departures.
The problem hasn’t been quantity, but quality. In December, they completed a three-team trade with the Braves and Brewers that brought in four new faces. Outfielder Estuary Ruiz leads the league in steals (39), but his absence of power reduces his value to -1.3 WAA.
Pitcher Kyle Muller, another part of that trade, is 1-4 with an 8.04 ERA in 10 starts. That’s a -1.4 WAA. Meanwhile catcher Sean Murphy, traded from Oakland to Atlanta, may be the National League’s All-Star game starter at the position; he’s already piled up a +1.9 WAA for the Braves. And Joel Payamps is 2-1 with a 2.29 ERA and +0.6 WAA for the Brewers.
Pitcher Luis Medina, who came to the organization from the Bronx with J.P. Sears and Ken Waldichuk last summer, made his big league debut in late April. Medina may in time be a productive arm, but that time is not yet; in 10 appearances, he’s 1-7 with a 6.84 ERA, creating a -1.1 WAA..
The A’s had high hopes for outfielder J.J. Bleday when they got him from Miami for A.J. Puk last December. Thus far, Bleday is batting .205 with a 0.0 WAA; Puk is at +0.1 for the Marlins.
The one upbeat note has been the acquisition of outfielder Brent Rooker as a November waiver claim from Kansas City. Rooker is only hitting .242, but he has shown some power and halfway through the season rates +0.2 WAA.