2022 San Jose A's Preview
For the first time in recent memory, the expectations are relatively low for the A's, and that's just the way General Manager Billy Beane likes it.
"Everyone figured we would win 100 games and go to the World Series last year," Beane remarks. "But we wound up going 82-80. The only opinions I care about are the ones coming from our own team."
San Jose is used to seismic activity, and it felt shockwaves when Stephen Strasburg, Dylan Bundy, and Taijuan Walker were all dealt during the offseason. The only significant addition for the team comes in the form of NL Rookie of the Year Josh Sterling and B.A. Vollmuth, a former Athletic who rejoins the team after stints with the Mariners and Yankees.
"Nobody's giving us much a chance, but I couldn't care less," says Vollmuth, who will platoon at first base with Sterling and at third base with free agent acquisition Matt Dominguez, also an A's retread. "We've got a bunch of young guys who are hungry to prove themselves and win some games."
The offseason makeover is Beane's latest mad scientist creation, shedding payroll and strikeout pitchers for a group of groundball artists and defensive wizards. The theory is that A's pitchers will entice opposing batters to beat the ball into the ground, and will be backed up by a bunch of ball gobbling infielders.
"We're playing the percentages," Beane explains. "Each of our four top starting pitchers has at least a 65% groundball rate, and in a smaller ballpark like Cisco Field, that's going to have to be our strength. We made a concerted effort to improve our defense, and I think it will show this season."
Michael Pryor (.321 batting average in 377 career MLB games) is coming off his first-ever All-Star season and will make the switch from shortstop to second base to accommodate phenom Manny Colon (.255, 31 SB in 97 games as a rookie). They give the A's a formidable up-the-middle defense that should also set the table for the middle of the order.
Oft-injured outfielder Bryce Harper (.288, 12 HR in 82 games last season) will start the season on the DL with an intercostal strain. He will bat third in the order and will be protected by Sterling (.309, 41 HR, 116 RBI as a rookie for Colorado), Chauncey Jordan (.278, 29 HR in second full MLB season), and Vollmuth (.266, 31 HR, 95 RBI for Yankees in 2021).
Sancho Fajardo (.335, 32 2B, 51 SB last season) is the A's franchise player, inking a 7-year, $107 million extension in the offseason. A smooth swinging hitter without a lot of pop, he will hit anywhere from third to sixth in the order. Rookie Jason Dallimore, acquired in the Walker-Sterling trade with Colorado, earned a spot in the outfield out of Spring Training. Rule 5 pick Jorge Alfaro will be the team's starting catcher while the A's groom blue chipper Terry Coleman in the minors.
The pitching staff is anchored by Cliff Jensen, a once "can't miss" stud who faltered in two seasons with Boston, accruing a record of 19-26 with an ERA north of 4.60. That's a far cry from Jensen's final season with the A's in 2019, when he went 14-10 with a 3.23 ERA.
"Jensen's the same pitcher he was when we first had him a few years ago," claims A's manager Bob Melvin. "He just happened to have a mediocre defense playing behind him at Fenway. With our guys here, I wouldn't be surprised if his ERA was around 3.00 by the end of the season."
Rookies and youngsters Julian Riverva (8-12, 4.85 ERA, 182 IP, 158 K in first MLB season), Ken Taylor (2-0, 5.00 ERA in 4 late season starts), and Manny Luna (3-2, 4.31 ERA in 26 appearances) will give the A's a promising, yet unproven rotation behind Jensen. Lefthander Dedgar Jimenez (4-6, 5.90 ERA in 24 appearances last season) surprised everyone by claiming the final spot in the rotation, forcing Beane to deal veteran Michael Pineda to make room for Jimenez on the roster.
"Dedgar is the real deal," head scout Eric Kubota says of the 6'3, 270-pound Venezuelan, who yielded just 3 hits in 3 Cactus League starts, while striking out 12 batters in 12 shutout innings of work. "He throws right around 100 miles an hour and has a wicked changeup and a pretty solid forkball. He may have the most upside of anyone in the rotation."
San Jose's bullpen may end up being the X-factor for the 2022 season. Mike Harris and Andrew Brockett were discarded in a March deal for Indians minor leaguer Vincente Cortez. One-year rental Mario Cantu (44 saves, 2.28 ERA last season) comes to San Jose in an offseason deal with the Mets, and will supplant Lou Barnes, who will return to a setup role.
"I can't believe the lack of respect this team is getting," quips new slugger Josh Sterling. "We've got two .330+ hitters (Pryor, Fajardo), four guys capable of hitting 30 to 40 homeruns (Sterling, Harper, Jordan, Vollmuth), and some of the best young arms out there. I'd be scared if I was the Angels or Astros."