Oakland A's 2024 And Beyond Dynasty

[Paulie123]

and some more

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
15 November 2028
End of season awards for Dickson and Beane
By Bess Pitcher, Cy Young award correspondent

Oakland starting pitcher Karl Dickson has been rewarded for his fine performances throughout the season by picking up the 2028 American League Cy Young Award. The 26-year-old righty was asked by GM Paulie Beane to step into the shoes of departed superstar Jose Fernandez, and did so in some style. A workhorse as well as being consistently lethal on the mound, he threw 237.1 innings in 33 starts, earning a 20-9 record and 2.73 ERA. Overall in his career to date he has a 74-47 record and 3.02 ERA. The good news for A's fans is that the talented hurler remains under an affordable $14m per year contract for the next two seasons.

Beane himself was awarded his fifth American League manager of the year trophy, after previous victories in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026. "That's nice", he said.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
29 November 2028
A's complete early trades while Dominguez and Olson depart
By Gethin Early, fast offseason moves correspondent

Oakland's general manager Paulie Beane is not a man to take things slowly and patiently when he wants to get something done. It's unsurprising he has never been able to keep a girlfriend for any length of time.

Players have only today filed for free agency, but Beane marked this milestone by completing two trades to make his roster younger. The first was with frequent trade partner Atlanta, and essentially saw 29-year-old third baseman Leon Aponte depart the A's, with 23-year-old infield defensive specialist Derek Hopkins (23/R/2.5*, drafted 2026 rd 1 by Atlanta) joining the American League champions in return. Hopkins is a whizz in the field but barely mediocre with the bat. Aponte swung the bat with great power, but that got wasted by his uncanny ability to swing the bat where the ball wasn't. Makeweights in the deal included young closer Bart Carter, who frankly couldn't close a gate let alone a Major League Baseball game, leaving the A's, and second baseman Duane McBride (24/R/1*, drafted 2023 rd 3 by Atlanta) moving to the Coliseum.

The second trade saw 23-year-old catcher Miguel Rojas (23/S/1.5*, drafted 2023 rd 1 by San Francisco) join the A's organisation, in return for long-shot pitching prospects Ramon Sandoval and Ricardo Morin. Rojas's arrival is likely to mean reserve catcher Dylan Johnston is available to being made part of a larger trade if needed at some point during the season.

Meanwhile, first base stalwart Matt Olson and reliever Jose Dominguez have departed to become free agents. Olson was promoted from the minors by Beane as a September call-up towards the end of the 2016 season. He took over the first base job from Ike Davis at the start of 2017, and was a fixture in the side for the next 12 seasons. Over that time, he played 1831 games, hitting 269 homers with a career .350 on-base percentage. He has a great eye and earned over 100 walks in four separate seasons. He never made the all-star game, but must have been very close on several occasions. Toyokazu Watanabe and promoted hot prospect Liam Brown will between them share the first base job next season. Beane said, "Matt has our sincere gratitude for his many years of excellent service for this ball club. As an MLB Manager I have no minor league farm system nor coaching staff, but if I did, I would offer Matt a hitting coach job when the time comes he decides to retire from playing." Reminded by reporters that this was his imaginary world, and he could choose to pretend anyone he wants is a coach if he so felt like it, Beane replied, "Good point. Ok when he retires you may definitely consider him appointed. If I remember, of course." Jose Dominguez did very well at the club but played just one season so merits only this single sentence. Beane was pretty gutted to find neither player designated as a Type A free agent.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
16 December 2028
Oakland sign starter Gonzales for rotation depth
By Una Derwhelming, unexciting trades correspondent

Oakland have signed 28-year-old free agent starting pitcher Jose Gonzales (28/R/1*, drafted 2018 rd 3 by Seattle) on a one-year deal. The righty has been in the starting rotations of Seattle and San Diego the last two seasons and thrown a league-average ERA. With Oakland's great defense behind him, Beane believes the groundballer could be even more effective. Together with young lefty Ramon Mendoza, he forms a good quality reserve pair of starters on the A's minor league roster.

Beane also signed defensively outstanding and versatile free agent batter Mark Duncan (29/R/2*, drafted 2021 rd 1 by Washington) as further depth, again on a one-year build value deal. Duncan "played" for Oakland in 2023 and 2024, showing excellent ability to keep a seat on the bench nice and warm, before being shunted unceremoniously to Texas in the trade that brought to Oakland second baseman Josh Morgan. Beane is also rumoured to have also offered a contract to former A's outfielder Jim Thompson.

Beane says all these free agent signings are intended to add depth to the organisation. The more cynically-minded amongst the commentariat suggest that having these players around as potential throw-ins to larger trades if needed during the coming season, is a bigger consideration in Beane's mind than any contribution they might make to his own organisation's performances on the field.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
8 April 2029
Baseball is back! Bates features at #2 in Top 100 Prospects List
By Red E. Forbaseball, new season correspondent

The long, dark, interminable winter without baseball is over. The 2029 regular season begins later today with the odd and inexplicable tradition of a single National League game, before every other team sets sail on the Starship OneSixTwo tomorrow, on their journeys toward the distant Planet Postseason. Only ten teams will make it to that strange, far away world; the other twenty will crash into an asteroid, suffer acute radiation sickness, or drift off, forever lost in the black depths of space. We've taken this analogy far enough now.

The starting gun for every new season is the publication by the Baseball News Network of their Top 100 Prospects list. At least it is for this organ; we're so disorganised that we forget the baseball season is coming until the BNN press release pops into our inbox. A very pleasant surprise for Oakland, particularly given the team's emphasis on strong pitching, is the appearance of last year's first round draft pick, 18-year-old starter Carl Bates, at position #2.

Minor league manager Ron Washington-Deecy was pleased that the club placed 5 prospects on the list in total. Making their final appearance are Liam Brown (#26) and Gonzalo Avila (#54), who will begin the season on the A's active roster. Reliever Joe Byrd (#74) and offseason trade acquisition catcher Miguel Rojas (#84) complete the set.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
9 April 2029
A's should contend again if Vargas and Dickson stay healthy
The American League champions, the Oakland A's, kick off their 2029 regular season campaign tonight against division rivals LA Angels. They fell at the final hurdle in the World Series last November, but as they look to go one better this year, Dee Cent-Roster, our unusually optimistic player assessments correspondent, takes a look at their chances.

Rotation: It's Cy Youngs galore at the top of baseball's best rotation, as two-time winner Lucio Vargas (31/R/5*, 20-5 WL, 2.84 ERA in 2028) and last year's American League winner Karl Dickson (27/R/5*, 20-9, 2.73) are expected to again dominate opposition lineups. Brad Dundee (25/R/4.5*, 18-9, 3.92), the man with the motto "That's not a curveball; THAT'S a curveball", improved greatly during the second half of last year. The same can't be said of Nathan Hamilton (25/L/4.5*, 12-10, 4.24), whose charitable attitude towards batters served up 33 home runs in 187 innings pitched last year, and is clinging onto his rotation spot by his fingertips. Lefty Jon Dixon (30/L/3.5*, 13-7, 3.73) amazed everyone last season by not being utter tripe. The way this game works, a forthcoming season of tripeness seems, however, a racing certainty. Ramon Mendoza and Jose Gonzales are waiting in the minors for a chance.

Bullpen: Roy Ellis (26/L/5*, 5-2, 1.74, 26 SV) showed predecessor Eric Wright that the secret to being a good closer is no more complicated than just being a good pitcher. The setup pairing is talented but maddeningly inconsistent Jose Duran (25/L/5*, 8-4, 4.10) and the totally unexplainable success story that is Melvi Salazar (34/R/4.5*, 1-1, 1.91). In middle relief, Jose Martinez (25/R/5*, 1-1, 3.75) finally shook off his incompetencitis and performed somewhere near his ability levels. Scott Todd (26/R/4*, 2-0, 1.42) should, according to scouts' ratings, be fairly hopeless, but has a happy knack of retiring batters after he's let runners get on base. Youngsters Gonzalo Avila (21/L/4.5*, drafted 2025 supp rd 1 by Oakland) and Jorge Sanchez (25/R/4.5*, drafted 2021 rd 2 by Oakland) have been promoted from the minors.

Catcher: It looks like purely the lack of being arsed to search for a new starter may have prompted GM Paulie Beane to give ageing spellcheck breaker Jakson Reetz (33/R/4*, .302 OBP, 12 HR, 69 RBIs in 2028) a new two-year, $12m per annum contract. Pedro Trinidad (26/R/2.5*, .306, 10, 38) is backup and plays designated hitter against southpaw pitchers.

Infield: For what seems like the first time since the Dead Ball Era, Matt Olson will not man first base. Sharing the responsibility in his place are young promotee Liam Brown (22/R/2*, drafted 2026 rd 1 by Oakland) and tongue-twister Toyokazu Watanabe (25/R/3.5*, .327, 6, 31), who are both really middle-infielders just filling in. Second baseman Alejandro Gusman (26/L/5*, .385, 14, 76) is a beast with the bat but irritatingly keeps changing his mind about whether he prefers to bat top or middle of the lineup. Third base is a platoon of Patrick Snel (28/L/4*, .341, 20, 101) and wimpy new recruit Derek Hopkins (24/R/2.5*, 316, 4, 77). Snel's not best pleased about being platooned, but, perhaps because he's a fictitious, computer-generated person and therefore has no brain, hasn't worked out that if he wasn't so cretinous against lefties, he wouldn't be. Juan Jimenez (28/R/3.5*, .288, 3, 42) is an excellent defensive shortstop. Let's not spoil things by mentioning his batting. Javier Villanueva, Mark Duncan and Rich Weaver are the non-dross in the minors.

Outfield: Spinach-injecting Child of Thor Javier Cruz (26/L/3*, .315, 32, 97) fell away a little last year, and unexpectedly finds his left field spot under threat from fellow slugging man-mountain William Morris (25/L/3.5*, .403, 7, 38). Juan Torres (27/R/2.5*, .325, 13, 66) is the perfect stereotype of a successful A's centre fielder: brilliant in the field, marginally above average with the bat. All-star right fielder Luis Guzman (29/L/5*, .332, 26, 82) slightly disappointed last season after arriving to great fanfare. Playing designated hitter against righties is a man who is simultaneously Oakland's best batter and worst fielder, the Mike Trout / Billy Butler hybrid that is Dennis Hawkins (27/L/3.5*, .377, 22, 118). Reserves are Jim Thompson and forgotten former all-star Martin Wilson, whose ability to hit a ball has fallen apart faster than Iain Baker-Finch's did.

The A's have retained all their main pieces from last year and now should get a full season from ace Lucio Vargas. If they play this season like they did the second half of last, they'll waltz into the postseason with time to spare. Houston are nigglingly effective though, and LA Angels, who despite a $210m payroll budget have scandalously failed to win the Amercian League West during the 14 seasons of the Dynastic Era, have invested heavily over the offseason, and will improve on last year's last-place finish. So Oakland will by no means have it all their own way. After this season, Gusman and Snel will reach free agency, while Dundee, Hamilton, Cruz and Torres will reach arbitration. It will be this squad's last attempt at glory before owner Ban-ki Rupt's economising means Beane will have to get rid of some key players.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
23 April 2029
A's off to flying start as Guzman and Dickson dominate
By Sue Perstart, opening fortnight correspondent

Oakland general manager Paulie Beane has declared himself a new man this season. At yesterday's press conference after his team's 4-1 win against the Houston Astros, he told reporters he felt his destructive behaviour - in the sense of his habit of physically destroying any nearby furniture, windows, foodstuffs or pets whenever Oakland underperform in his eyes - was childish and unnecessary. In particular, he said club accountant Dee Loite has inflated the capital repairs budget, frequently raided to pay for replacement equipment following Beane's rampages, to over $2m per year, which was tangibly eating into his payroll budget for actual baseballers. So, Beane said, that typical violent, negative reaction to any setback has come to an end. This year, he has taken up yoga and started eating salads, in an effort to calm down.

On the basis of today's conversation with the media, that seems to be working. A measured and unflustered Beane said he was delighted with his team's opening fortnight to the season. The A's have started quickly, sweeping the LA Angels in the opening series in week one, and progressing to 9-3 and first place in the American League West division. All aspects of the team appear to be firing. The rotation has been excellent, with Karl Dickson, who is 2-0 with 3 quality starts and 1.11 ERA, the pick of the bunch. The offense has been all about right fielder Luis Guzman, who is sporting a .356 on-base percentage, and already has 6 home runs and 20 RBIs.

There was a slight flicker of rage from Beane when he was asked about the unusual decision by field manager Phil D'Manager in a game against San Diego earlier this week, when, having pinch-hit with third baseman Patrick Snel in place of young catcher Miguel Rojas, he kept Snel behind the plate as catcher rather than inserting usual catcher alternative Pedro Trinidad. "I was not in agreement with that decision, but I respect that it was D'Manager's decision to make. I'm calm about the situation", he said, not entirely convincingly. Rumours of continued tension between Beane and D'Manager may have some credence.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
1 May 2029
Dixon genius shuts out Astros, but defensive performances worry Oakland management
By Al Lowingruns, shoddy fielding correspondent

Jon Dixon, Oakland's 30-year-old lefty starting pitcher, is making a career out of confounding his critics. He had a fine season in 2028 when most observers considered his signing a dubious act of madness from GM Paulie Beane. And now he is attempting to confound those who felt sure his run of form must end and he'll struggle badly this year.

Admittedly, Dixon hasn't been hugely fluent so far this year, but in last night's 2-0 over Houston he was unplayable. He allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks in his 9-inning shutout of the Astros, and struck out 6. The A's appear to have got over last week's 3-0 series shellacking by the Texas Rangers, where they suffered three heavy defeats, and have moved to 12-7, good enough to retain first place in the American League West.

Beane's newfound serenity and zen-like state is being put to a stern test by having to watch his team's dreadful defensive displays. Their 20 errors in 19 games is the worst in the American League, and this from a team, with largely the same players, that allowed just 83 errors in the whole of last season. Beane said he is confident the tide will turn, but admitted it has made frustrating watching. Opposition teams have punished them good and proper, too. Of 84 runs Oakland have conceded so far, some 20, which is nearly 25%, have been unearned. Beane was visibly twitching as he spoke about it yesterday. I'm not sure he can maintain this calm demeanour much longer.

Meanwhile, Cy Young winner Karl Dickson is continuing to lay waste to batting lineups and was earlier today awarded American League pitcher of the month for April. In 4 starts, the 27-year-old righty went 3-0 with a 1.39 ERA. Quality.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
21 May 2029
Beane delighted with rookie Brown's superb start to his major league career, but dark clouds loom for Oakland
By N. Couraging, prospects correspondent

Paulie Beane's perpetually calm manner at press conferences is, if anything, starting to become a little unnerving. Those of us accustomed to the constant undertone of dissatisfaction and occasional snarl of menace in his comments are finding his nuanced and patient opinions these days somewhat unsettling. But then again, given the good season his team are having, maybe he'd be like this anyway right now. Yesterday's 3-2 win over the Yankees, largely thanks to two towering deep bombs from left fielder William Morris, moved Oakland to 23-14. They are in a familiar position in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of Seattle.

Beane was quick to praise the impact of his newly promoted infielder Liam Brown. The 22-year old is a middle infielder and corner outfielder by trade. Beane has slotted him into two platoons: at right field with Luis Gusman, sorry I mean Guzman, where Brown plays against lefties, and at first base with Toyokazu Watanabe, where he plays against righty pitchers. Brown has an excellent .413 on-base percentage, .904 OPS, and, more meaningfully, a .395 wOBA. Rookies who are finding life in the big leagues more challenging, however, are relievers Gonzalo Avila and Jorge Sanchez. It is obviously early days and sample sizes are small, but both have FIPs north of 7.00 so far. Beane told reporters there is no question of them being demoted back to the minors for more development at this stage. Probably. Beane did sign experienced veteran reliever Nick Burdi on a one-year contract shortly after the season started, so he does have ready replacements available. The bullpen as a collective is struggling, with a 4.52 combined ERA.

While the season is going well, a big, threatening dilemma is lurking on the horizon for Beane. Oakland's current payroll is $127m, easily affordable on owner Ban-ki Rupt's $150m budget. But on current arbitration estimates Oakland's payroll for 2030 will soar to a budget-busting $172m. And it gets worse, because second baseman Alejandro Gusman, who's in the final year of a club-friendly $7m per annum deal, is said by sources to want in excess of $20m per year for a contract extension. The logical thing would be for Beane to trade the hugely desirable Gusman, along with other attractive, high earners next year such as Javier Cruz or Nathan Hamilton or Luis Guzman, at the deadline in a couple of months for younger, minimum salary prospects. But that would irritate the fans and risk derailing this year's pennant charge. What to do, what to do? It will soon be time for Beane to really earn his coin.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
31 May 2029
Snel hits for the cycle as Oakland destroy Toronto
By Homer Triple-Doublesingle, hitting correspondent

A's third baseman Patrick Snel took the Blue Jays to the sword last night, as he led his team to a crushing 14-2 win. Snel now bats lead off, and showed Toronto pitchers no mercy as he walloped them for a triple in the 3rd inning, a double in the 5th, a 2-run home run in the 6th and a single in the 7th. That win progressed Oakland to 31-15, the best record in the American League. Seattle are keeping pace with them, however, and are only two and a half games back. It is Snel's third time hitting for the cycle, after achieving the feat twice during 2026.

Snel is another player whose future at the Coliseum looks uncertain. The 2026 all-star's $7.5m per year deal runs out after this season, and, much to GM Paulie Beane's annoyance, his representatives are seeking a deal for pretty much double the salary. Beane is long resigned to needing to break up this squad after this season. The only question is how much of that task he brings forward to mid-season, and how much is done afterwards. The smart money is on impending free agents Snel and Alejandro Gusman being traded at the deadline while they still have value. This newspaper, unfortunately, isn't very smart, so of course our money is on Beane doing something much less sensible and logical.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
1 June 2029
A's take starlet pitchers Hawkins and Boyd
By Eve N. Morepitchers, weak offensive drafts correspondent

Oakland GM Paulie Beane really wanted some batting prospects from the draft this year. But one of the problems of picking 30th, or thereabouts, as an MLB Manager is that usually all the good and even half-decent batters will have gone by the time it's your turn. Instead, hotshot relief pitching prospect Porter Hawkins was still on the board when Oakland's time came. Hawkins, the younger brother of A's star batter Dennis Hawkins, has a fragile injury history, but had "can't miss" written all over him. The A's scouts rate him as major league-ready now, and, if the current bullpen can't up its game, he could be in the majors before the end of the season. With their second pick, Oakland went for Nathan Boyd, who has borderline stamina for a starter but should become a decent reliever if he proves to be not cut out for the rotation. Both pitchers are projected to become five star pitchers.

Beane was visibly and literally biting his tongue when asked by reporters if he remained frustrated by the dearth of depth in draft pools these days. "No, no. Quite happy", he said through gritted teeth and with a forced smile. "It's wonderful that, to all intents and purposes, we'll only bag one decent prospect each year. No complaints here, move along". His mouth was grinning but his eyes were crying.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
2 June 2029
Beane signs up Dundee and Torres
By Newt Contracts, extensions correspondent

Starter Brad Dundee and centre fielder Juan Torres have avoided going to arbitration at the end of the season, after penning their signatures on new contracts to remain with the A's. Dundee, 26, has gone 6-1 with a 3.40 ERA so far this year, and has signed a $9m per year deal through to the end of 2033. General manager Paulie Beane has taken advantage of 27-year-old Torres having a slightly below par season with the bat to effectively con him into a cheapo 3-year, $4m per season contract. Torres remains defensively excellent, and this means Oakland have locked up a key position in their offense for a decidedly club-friendly wage. While representing huge increases on the players' current minimum salary contracts, both have accepted wages which are, in total, more than $6m lower than their arbitration estimates for next year.

It's the first step on Beane's difficult journey to put together an affordable roster for next year. Ladies and gentleman, welcome aboard the 2029 train service to Roster Affordability Station. The next stop is Trade Deadline Junction.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
25 June 2029
A's take charge in American League West
By Lee Dingtheway, midseason correspondent

Oakland GM Paulie Beane stepped away from his ongoing behind-the-scenes work to reshape his roster for next year and beyond, to talk to reporters about the excellent performance of the 2029 vintage. He was speaking after last night's 8-6 win over Texas, which completed a 5-2 week for the club including a series win over local rivals San Francisco, who are challenging to win their eighth consecutive National League West title. That win moved the A's to 47-23 for the season. They have the best record in the majors now, and have built up a commanding 7 game lead over Seattle in the race to raise the American League West division trophy.

This season's success just makes Beane's roster reshaping decisions all the more tricky. Does he keep the squad as it is, and push on to try and challenge for a sixth World Series title this year? The risk of that, he points out, is that impending free agents Alejandro Gusman and Patrick Snel may or may not qualify as Type A, and even if they did, could sign for teams with protected first round picks. In this game, when any decent prospects are usually gone before the second round of the draft, that in all likelihood means these key players will depart for effectively no compensation. That would severely damage the team's hopes in future seasons. But trading the players before the deadline for younger, cheaper players risks derailing their shot at glory this year.

"It's a pain in the brain, all right", Beane said yesterday. "Beane's bean is really getting a workout at the moment!", he said, curiously using the technique of referring to himself in the third person that is so beloved by sports coaches who have overinflated opinions of their own ability and think attempting a clever way with words might distract colleagues and fans from their poor performance. In his case, it was just a means to allow him to do that silly piece of wordplay.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
16 July 2029
Stats Amazing: World Series winners
Welcome to the first edition of our new occasional column, where our resident statistician and sabermetrician, Joe Nahill, presents some of the history of the Dynastic Era of Baseball.

What is now commonly termed the Dynastic Era of Baseball began in 2015 when Paulie Beane took over as general manager of the Oakland A's. And the A's have certainly been the dominant force during the Dynastic Era, winning five World Series trophies and finishing runner up in their sixth fall classic appearance last year. The only other multiple winners are Cleveland and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who both have two championships apiece. Thanks to Oakland, the American League have the head-to-head edge, having won 9 of the 14 Dynastic Era World Series match-ups so far. Those winners in full:

2015 - Oakland
2016 - Cleveland
2017 - LA Dodgers
2018 - Pittsburgh
2019 - Texas
2020 - LA Dodgers
2021 - Minnesota
2022 - Atlanta
2023 - Oakland
2024 - Oakland
2025 - Oakland
2026 - Oakland
2027 - Cleveland
2028 - Chicago Cubs

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
17 July 2029
A's enter the all-star break out in front, but will Beane pull the trigger and trade away Gusman?
By Hugh Knows, ill-informed correspondent

Oakland starting pitcher Jon Dixon threw a complete game last night, his third of the season, as he led the A's to a resounding 10-1 victory over hapless divisional rivals the Los Angeles Angels in the final game before the annual waste of time that is the all-star game. With star second baseman Alejandro Gusman out injured for the last couple of weeks, Oakland have stuttered a little recently, but with yesterday's win have progressed to 59-30. That keeps them with the best record in Major League Baseball, and an 8-game lead in the American League West over the Seattle Mariners.

Gusman is reportedly fit to play again from today, but seemingly did not return from injury in time to receive a call-up to the all-star game. There seems to be a reasonable chance, however, that Gusman may already have played his last game for the A's. With Gusman reportedly unwilling to accept a new contract of less than about $20m per year, and A's owner Ban-ki Rupt unwilling to allow Beane to offer extensions anywhere near that amount due to possible arbitration awards for potential super-two qualifiers such as infielder Toyokazu Watanabe, a trade looks very likely. Unless Beane can weave some magic and pull some kind of rabbit out of the hat.

Despite Gusman's injury absence, Oakland were rewarded for their fine season with four all-star selections. Inevitably, the A's one-two pitching combo, Karl Dickson and Lucio Vargas, were both chosen. It's a third call-up for Dickson and an eighth for Vargas. Closer Roy Ellis is rewarded for his 22 saves and 1.15 ERA with a third call-up. Meanwhile quality designated hitter and woeful outfielder Dennis Hawkins cemented his status as Oakland's premier batter with his third appearance on the all-star roster.

Meanwhile, Boston's outstanding infielder Yoan Moncada received his eleventh consecutive all-star call-up. He has been without doubt the premier offensive player in baseball over the first fifteen seasons of the Dynastic Era.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
17 July 2029
Beane looks set to keep Gusman as Snel, Guzman, Trinidad and Martinez are traded away, while Trujillo, Vasquez and Dyment arrive
By Mya O. My, crazy trades correspondent

The nice way to put it would be to say that Oakland fans' faith in the decisions of general manager Paulie Beane is being put to the test. This is one of those days where we'll look back later and either realise it was a demonstration of Beane's unrivalled managerial genius or conclude it was where his bumbling incompetence was finally exposed. The 59-30 A's may currently have the best record in MLB, but Beane, in his distinctly finite wisdom, has, with his eye on the future, traded away some key elements of his side in two stunningly surprising moves today, replacing them with younger and cheaper alternatives. The initial reaction of even the most Beane-loving of supporters was to be utterly baffled.

The main motive of Beane's strategy, if you can go so far as to call it that, was to try and replace several high earners with major league-ready minimum salary players, of similar of near-similar ability, thus opening up enough budget room to allow him to afford to tie vital offensive second baseman Alejandro Gusman to a lucrative long-term deal. Beane explained to reporters that his moves were designed to maintain his current team's strength, while giving the club an affordable payroll for the coming year or two. However, the foolish Beane seems to have forgotten his team is leading the charge towards the playoffs, and fans are worried he has effectively blown up his lineup.

Let's unpick what he's done today. His first mistake, sorry trade, was with Pittsburgh. Third baseman Patrick Snel, backup catcher Pedro Trinidad and long-forgotten-but-still-on-$3m-per-year outfielder Martin Wilson joined the Pirates. The main return for the A's was slugging corner outfielder Rob Dyment (22/R/1.5*, drafted 2027 rd 1 by Minnesota). Also heading to the Coliseum are improbably-named catcher Miguel Mason (22/R/2*, drafted 2027 supp rd 1 by Pittsburgh) and fabulous defensive third baseman Max Scherzer Jr (25/S/1.5*, drafted 2026 supp rd 1 by Pittsburgh). Dyment and Mason look like they could develop into useful squad players. Scherzer is probably trade bait. Miguel Rojas is promoted from the minors to take Trinidad's place as backup catcher to Jakson Reetz on the active roster, while Liam Brown moves across from first to take Snel's third base berth.

The other trade of the day was potentially more important for both Oakland and trade partners Detroit. Beane let the Tigers have underperforming former all-star Luis Guzman, which came as a great relief to newspaper sub-editors who will now avoid the constant confusion between Guzman and Gusman. The 29-year-old Guzman still had two-and-a-half years to run on a $15.5m three-year contract, but has struggled to justify that wage this year and was ripe for a trade while he still had great value. Underwhelming reliever Jose Martinez moves with him, and will become Detroit's closer. Minor league infielder Duane McBride also moves to the Tigers. In fairness to Beane he did receive two good young players in return. Luis Trujillo (23/R/2.5*, drafted 2026 rd 1 by Detroit) will step immediately into the A's first base role. The young slugger runs as slowly as a snail, but packs a punch with the bat and projects to all-star calibre. Oakland also acquired promising pitching prospect Anastasio Vasquez (19/L/0.5*, drafted 2028 rd 1 by Detroit), who was named BNN's #15 prospect at the start of the season. He'll remain in the minors for his development. William Morris takes over full time as Guzman's replacement in left field. Jim Thompson gets the nod over newly-acquired Dyment as fifth outfielder on the roster purely because of his defensive versatility. Draft pick Porter Hawkins makes an expected quick jump to the majors to take Martinez's bullpen spot.

Those moves reduced Oakland's 2029 payroll by an incredible $40m, taking it to just below $99m. But the projection for 2030 is now just beneath Beane's expected $150m budget. The main reasons for that significant projected increase next year are estimated increased salaries for Gusman and arbitration-eligible powerhouse Javier Cruz. Despite an already breathless day, Beane finished by used his newly found budget headroom to open negotiations with Gusman on an extension. A multi-year deal around $20m per season looks likely.

We should attempt some analysis of these trades. A critical summary would be that Beane has torpedoed this season's championship charge purely in the interests of reducing payroll and has replaced proven performers with cheap, young prospects that may never deliver. A more generous assessment is that he has only marginally weakened his roster this year and will still challenge for honours, while ensuring the club should remain competitive in the next few years too. Only time will tell which is the more accurate appraisal of what has been a remarkable day.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
30 July 2029
Fast start for Trujillo, rewarded with American League player of the week honours
By I. Foraplayer, youth recruitment correspondent

Paulie Beane does seem to have a good eye for a player, even if he does say so himself. With the dust still settling on Beane's controversial double trade ten days ago, newly-acquired first baseman Luis Trujillo has been on a one-man mission to prove his general manager is a genius. The 23-year-old slugger has made a wonderful start to his A's career. In 10 games, he has gone 22-41 at the plate with 5 home runs and 12 RBIs. He has a .545 on-base percentage and 1.594 OPS. His displays culminated in him yesterday being named as American League player of the week.

The A's team Trujillo has joined have continued to play well, despite two diabolical starts during that time from all-star pitching hero Karl Dickson. They have gone 6-4 during that stretch and have extended their lead in the AL West division. They stand at 65-34, now 9.5 games ahead of a stuttering Seattle side.

However, the bad news for Oakland fans is that Beane has yet to announce a contract extension for Alejandro Gusman, with negotiations reportedly tense as trade deadline day arrives tomorrow. Beane was overheard cryptically muttering yesterday to a member of his back room staff that "I'm usually able to fleece the computer AI for a cheap wage but the swine won't let me this time".

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
1 August 2029
Gusman saga finally over as he cashes in with lucrative new contract
By Rich Sods, overpaid baseballers correspondent

After amicable yet protracted discussions and negotiations, star second baseman Alejandro Gusman has finally signed a new deal to remain at the Coliseum, and will avoid free agency at the end of the season. Oakland fans were unequivocally delighted. Club general manager Paulie Beane was pleased too. For him it was mission accomplished. But clearly the size of the contract has taken the edge off his joy.

The deal will earn Gusman $23m per year for the next four campaigns. That's an incredibly huge contract for a small-market team like the A's, but he's a high quality batter who they would not be able to adequately replace from the free agent pool at the end of the year. At age 26, despite the hefty contract, Gusman should retain trade value for some time, so Beane will presumably be confident of being able to flip him to another team should he need to free up that payroll. That locks up a key piece of the A's offense, but Beane is clearly uncomfortable about the cost.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
13 August 2029
Doubters go quiet as Beane's A's go on the rampage
By Nev Erdoubtedhim, punditry U-turns correspondent

One day, when Oakland GM Paulie Beane makes a surprising trade, fans, journalists, pundits and players alike will learn to give him the benefit of the doubt, and not rush to a snap critical judgements. When he traded away Luis Guzman, Patrick Snel, Pedro Trinidad and Jose Martinez shortly before the deadline las month, they said he was sacrificing glory and success this year at the altar of financial sustainability. Sport is all about glory, they said, even if it means mortgaging your future for just the hint of a glimpse of a shot at the World Series. Keep the winning team together and go for it, they counselled.

But Beane, it seems, knew better. Not only did he slash the wage bill to bring his payroll for the next couple years within budget, but he also seems to have made the team better in the short-term. Last night's 8-3 defeat to the Houston Astros was their first loss this month and brought to an end a superb 12-game winning streak. That burst of form has seen the A's surge to a 77-35 record, giving them a 15.5 game lead over Seattle in the American League West division, and 9 wins more than any other team in the majors. New first baseman Luis Trujillo has smoked pitches to all parts, smashing 7 home runs in just 22 games for the A's. In the rotation, Ramon Mendoza, Lucio Vargas and Brad Dundee have been unplayable. All-star closer Roy Ellis has 33 saves from 36 opportunities. At .433, second baseman Alejandro Gusman has the second best on-base percentage in the entire league. Bookmakers have stopped taking bets on Oakland winning their fifth divisional title in eight years.

Can Beane's troops overcome the inconsistent form of youth and finish the job? No sane person would doubt him in this. So, of course, the journalists on this newspaper say, we're not so sure.

[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
3 September 2029
Oakland's 7-0 week sees them home in on another divisional crown
By Seve Enoh, clean sweep week correspondent

Just as this newspaper always predicted, honest we did, the Oakland A's are heading towards another American League West divisional title and a spot in the postseason. While other merchants of doom predicted that Beane's midseason trading frenzy would lead to the destruction of his own team, at this organ we never doubted him. Ahem. Yes, never. Ahem.

Last night's 7-2 win over the Kansas City Royals completed a magnificent 7-0 clean sweep this week of both them and Oakland's nearest divisional challengers Seattle. The A's are 88-43 and proudly sport baseball's best record. They have a surely unassailable 17 game lead over Seattle in the AL West.

GM Paulie Beane's efforts to remain a calm and steadying influence this season continue, and appears to be benefitting the team. It is certainly benefitting the state of repair of Oakland's front office suite at the Coliseum; for the first time in recent memory there are some chairs and tables which have lasted 3 whole months without needing to be replaced due to damage sustained from a baseball bat-wielding, frustrated general manager. It seems only local furniture suppliers and journalists looking for juicy quotes that dislike Beane's level-headed temperament these days. He has now taken up crosswords as a means of relaxing, it appears, which he spent most of yesterday's post-match press conference doing rather than answering reporters' questions. We did eventually manage to extract out of him the jaw-droppingly unexpected information that he was really please with his team's performances.