It was mid-May and if the A's had a pilot, they'd be screaming a "Mayday" distress signal. Oakland's ship was sinking fast. Injuries had decimated the roster.
Francisco Lindor, coming off a career year in 2020, wouldn't be back until June with a sprained ankle. South Korean first baseman
Kam Minsu was hobbled with an ankle injury as well. The team's starting rotation was in even worse shape, with
Jharel Cotton and promising rookie
Alex Lange shelved with season-ending surgery. The team had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of
Chris Sale, who had yet to throw a pitch for the A's after straining his hamstring in the Cactus League. But his debut was inauspicious, failing to get out of the third inning in a 9-0 loss in Baltimore after getting hammered for 6 runs on 10 hits. The A's had fallen to 17-21 on the season, already 5.5 games out of first place in the AL West.
To add insult to injury, Billy Beane was having a field day at his old team's expense. The former A's GM had bought a stake in the LA Dodgers and become the team's top advisor. Oakland's current GM, Amit Patel, noticed Billy was doing a satellite TV interview on MLB Network and turned up the volume.
"...and I think we have an opportunity to do something really special here in Southern California," Beane said, as Patel caught the tail-end of the sentence.
"Billy," MLB Network host Brian Kenny asked Beane, "What's up with Oakland? They're below .500, Chris Sale just got bombed last night at Camden... are the A's headed in the wrong direction?"
"Well, that's a tough question for me to answer," Beane said with a smirk. "I can tell you they're probably not headed in the direction they'd like to be heading."
"How so?"
"I mean, I think I left the team in great shape," Beane continued. "If you put together a lineup and a rotation with guys that I got them, they'd be in first place, running away with the West. But they had to go big and get names for their new ballpark, and names don't win games."
Patel sighed as he put his head in his hands. Just then, A's President Dave Kaval walked in to the office.
"Are you seeing this?" Kaval asked, astonished.
"So you're saying the Oakland A's would be in first place right now if they just kept the team together that you built a couple of years ago?" Kenny followed up.
"Look at the lineup you'd have," Beane answered. "Your infield would be, what, Barreto at shortstop, Chapman at third, Schrock at second? I'd take that. And you'd have Kendall in center, and he's having an MVP season in Houston."
Kaval grimaced, glancing over at Patel, gnashing his teeth.
The results were staggering. You had to hand it to Beane. He had a point.
Jeren Kendall was on pace to hit .319, along with a staggering 35 HR, 123 R, 31 SB, .415 OBP, 1.036 OBP, and 10.1 WAR. He was the AL Rookie of the Year before he was shipped off to the Astros in the Carlos Correa deal. It wasn't lost on Beane that the A's current centerfielder, Akil Baddoo, was hitting just .186 in his second season in the big leagues.
Third baseman
Matt Chapman had already clubbed 11 homers in 2021, and was on pace to hit 50 for the season, all the while playing Gold Glove worthy defense on the hot corner. But he was gone to Cleveland in the Lindor trade. So, too, was second baseman
Max Schrock, enjoying another .300 season with the Indians (.318 in 2020, .302 a quarter of the way into 2021).
Beane must've especially enjoyed
Franklin Barreto's transcendent play at shortstop, hitting a career-high .323 and on pace to play a full 162 games for the Dodgers. He was part of a trade that brought reliever Grant Dayton and right fielder Johan Mieses to Oakland. He was the one player Beane insisted Patel never trade, and he was on the trading block the moment Billy left for LA.
Of course, all of this was revisionist history. Beane never mentioned free agent acquisitions Diasuke Imamura, Sueo Mihara, or Kam Minsu. Then again, Imamura and Mihara had both been traded by Patel, and Imamura was hitting .368 for the Red Sox after being dealt to Boston for Sale.
"Amit..." Dave began.
"I know, I know," Amit said, exasperated. "It's not a good look. But things will turn around. We'll get Lindor back in the lineup next month. Sale will pitch like Sale. The rest of the rotation will fall in line. You'll see."
We will...
Jaren Kendall, enjoying a career year in Houston with the first-place Astros.
Cleveland third baseman Matt Chapman, on pace for 50 home runs in 2021, and second baseman Max Schrock, in line for a third straight .300+ season to start his MLB career. Schrock's mustache drives the women in Cleveland crazy.