Your 2021 Oakland Athletics

[thehatfield]

Note: This is a league that started with the arod/garlon database in 2006. Career leaders are only those who were active in this game world, i.e. Barry Bonds is the all-time home run leader. I simmed 15 years and then took over the worst team.

October 31, 2020

It was late at night on a humid and damp Halloween when I got the call. It was my old friend, minor league baseball manager, and agent Herb Watson huffing and puffing excitedly on the other end of the line.

“There’s an opening and they want you!”

“Calm down,” I replied as I got up out of my bed, scratching my head as I stood. “What’s going on?”

“It’s sunny; it should be great!” he said, his smile nearly visible through the happy tone of his voice.

I should have stopped right there.

It was the Oakland Athletics. In the 2020 season they posted the worst record in baseball with a 44-116 mark. In fact, in the 15 years since Major League Baseball fired Bud Selig, hired Fred Jones, and decided to seal off career records and “restart” Major League Baseball, it was the worst record “in history” and the first time a club had failed to win at least 50 games. Overall in 15 years the A’s have an unflattering 1,039-1,391 record with just two winning seasons, the last one way back in 2007 (84-78; the team’s only playoff appearance as well).

“It’s over for Silva,” Herb blurted about 58-year old Manuel Silva, Oakland’s former General Manager. “He’s out as of today. The owner is arranging some hasty interviews as a formality but he wants you over there now to start looking over the team. You’ve got three weeks until arbitration and free agency filings.”

“Wait a second,” I said, unsure of exactly what I should do next. “I haven’t made any decisions yet.”

I couldn’t really get the “yet” out as Herb stepped right on the end of my sentence with “oh no, you have to take this. We had a deal already you remember that – fair and square. And TV and newspapers already know.”

“What?!” I exclaimed, taken completely by surprise. “You can’t make my decisions for me like that you’re supposed to have my best interests at heart!”

“I do,” he answered with a confident but slightly insulted-sounding sigh. “This is going to be your chance to turn this whole thing around. Make the A’s a winner. Just think about it for a second - anything you do is going to be an improvement.”

He had a great point there. Even if I was a bungling idiot I could probably still win more than 44 games. I was sure of it. Just the sort of no-lose situation I was looking for.

“Okay,” I said as thoughtfully as I could, “send me what you have.”

My blackberry went off instantly with some files giving me a financial breakdown of the club. Last year the A’s had the 29th highest payroll… out of the 30 MLB clubs. Only Cleveland’s $23,952,800 was lower than Oakland’s $34,127,000. By contrast, the reigning American League Western Division Champion Angels boasted the highest payroll in baseball last season at $154,021,400. Not great news to have a spender like that in the division to be sure.

More bad news was that our payroll of $34,127,000 was $4,000,000 over budget. Why would I want this job again?

Surprisingly, Oakland’s finances have remained in the black over the last 15 years. Seemingly available funds of slightly over $38,000,000 might give the team some breathing room going into the 2021 season. Another beep on the blackberry revealed that 9 players on the 25-man roster were at least 32-years old and that 16 players were either eligible for free agency or arbitration. One positive of the situation is that no one on the current 25-man roster has a contract lasting longer than 2022 so the next two years had tremendous opportunity for change. And changes obviously needed to be made.

I told Herb I’d take the job and he said the team was sending a car over to take me to the airport. I ran to the bathroom for a quick shave and to check to make sure my pits didn’t smell too badly. Everything worked out.

When we got to the airport it turned out to be the first time a car I had ridden in had ever simply driven straight onto the tarmac! The private flight check-in was at its own exit apart from the rabble waiting for passenger flights - the easiest and most stress-free experience I had ever encountered.

Herb met me on the flight. In fact he was already aboard and sipping a gimlet when I a bit nervously climbed up the short metal steps and into the cabin.

“Jim,” Herb said, “grab a drink and let’s take a look at the staff.”

I nodded to him as casually as I could manage and made my way over to the bottle of gin sitting inside a cut-out portion of an ice sculpture of an Oakland Athletics baseball cap, the cut-out being where the A’s’ logo would normally appear. I dropped some ice cubes into a short glass and smothered them with gin, a little steam visible the instant the liquid hit the ice. A splash of tonic and I move over to Herb and take the seat across the table from him.

“No lime?”

“Gin on the rocks, amigo,” I answered dryly. If I smoked I would have lit a cigarette right then for emphasis. I kind of felt badly that I didn’t smoke because I didn’t want to furrow my brow but I did it anyway instinctively because I didn’t have anything to distract myself.

“Okay, so what do you think?”

Herb gave me folders on the existing Oakland coaching and scouting staff. My immediate instinct was that the manager, whoever he was, would have to go so that I could put an initial stamp on the team. It would be easier to have my own guy on the managerial hotseat and symbolically it would say to the fans that the Athletics are not going to put up with a manager leading the team to the worst record in league history. Speaking of the fans, though, only 445,239 came out to watch the hometown team last year, a dismal 5,497-per game. Herb’s crack marketing team rated our market size and fan loyalty as “almost non-existent.” On a scale of 1-100 the marketing professionals gave us a 9 for fan loyalty.

The manager, 46-year old Mexican-born Miguel Padilla, had a contract in place for $552,000 per year through the 2024 season. Getting rid of him was going to hurt but it had to be done for us to begin our new era. The same thing for his bench coach Jiten Caunce, a 45-year old from Glencoe, Illinois, signed through 2022 at $534,000 per year. Aside from perhaps replacing 50-year old Ohio native Nesto Rodriguez, the pitching coach, the rest of the staff and the entire scouting team seemed more than adequate for the season ahead. Keeping a bit of consistency within the previously existing power structure was always in the plans and exceptional hitting coach Millard Barton and head scout Gaspar Zelaga and his team fit that role perfectly.

I looked over to Herb.

“Let’s see who’s out there first.”

“Okay, Jim,” Herb agreed. And so we went to work.

[MikeSlugga]

Sounds like it will be good, looking forwards to it!

[thehatfield]

Sunday, November 1, 2020

There were bound to be skeptics; in this business skeptics are about the only things aside from the money that’s a dead guarantee. A large part of my energy would certainly be spent attempting to prove the skeptics wrong but as I’ve written before I’ve got the feeling that pretty much anything I do is going to help this organization build something to be proud of in the future.

After having the night to sleep on it I decided to make an immediate splash with the coaching and backroom staff in order to announce my arrival with authority. It would only make things easier for everyone to have my hand-picked manager down in the trenches everyday – no chance for any early controversies or worse, insubordination. In homage to a bygone era I had telegrams sent to A’s Manager Miguel Padilla and Bench Coach Jiten “Gunner” Cownce letting them know that their services were no longer required at the club. The notes were pointedly sardonic; I think they both said something along the lines of “on behalf of the entire Oakland Athletics organization we would like to congratulate you for the role you played last year helping to lead the team to set new Major League Baseball records for fewest wins, and, of course, most losses. You’re fired. Love, Jim.” Something like that.

For much of the day I had nice long meetings with the remaining staff. Hitting Coach Millard Barton was staying. Regardless of the fact that he’s a top-notch hitting coach my favorite president is unlucky #13 Millard Fillmore and my little league baseball was a Clara Barton league. Just a no-brainer there.

Pitching Coach Nesto Rodriguez was supremely interesting and seemed like a perfect candidate to move up into the empty Bench Coach position. I wanted to keep and even promote a member of the current staff into a more visible role to give the impression that I wasn't just making changes for change's sake. An internal promotion would show some commitment to the existing structure in terms of keeping some personnel already familiar with the players in place and I thought it would be a masterstroke in public and internal relations. From the information I had received from my toady, Herb Watson, I knew there were better Pitching Coaches out there. For someone as well-rounded as Nesto I think his talents will be better served in a more general staff position. I offered him the role of Bench Coach and he accepted.

I fired up the old blackberry for two after lunch phone conferences involving some early coaching targets. I wanted to move quickly and decisively to give the impression that I had come to the organization with a plan. If that meant making a couple of hastily arranged hires of new folks then that’s what it meant! One of my main goals as a brand new General Manager is to keep giving off the impression to the media and the fans that everything is in order even if I have no clue about what was going on.

Out of contract 58-year old Missouri native Calvino Sanchez came highly recommended as a possible Pitching Coach. Nesto even mentioned Sanchez as a possible replacement when I was speaking with him about perhaps switching to Bench Coach. I put in a preliminary phone call and Sanchez’ agent let me know he’d take $290k per year if we give him a 5-year deal. The agent said this may well be Calvino’s last contract and he just wants to go somewhere where he knows he’ll have a little security. I chucked to myself thinking about our recently departed Manager and Bench Coach but made the formal offer anyway. I wanted an immediate answer and Sanchez signed on the dotted line.

There was really only ever one choice for manager; 52-year old Jeffery Hance was superior to just about every other uncontracted candidate in just about all areas from personality to methods of teaching. His agent demanded a steep $630k per year for 5 years. Tying up over $3 million in a manager probably wasn’t going to be viewed by the fans or media as prudent business practice but you don’t show up for the ball in a beaten-up pickup truck do you? The easy spin was that he was the best manager available and the “new A’s” are not going to settle for less anymore. It was a bit of a parting shot towards the old regime and some brash meaningless talk to maybe get some fans back interested.

So the hiring of Hance completed the staff:

Manager: Jeffery Hance, 52
Bench Coach: Nesto Rodriguez, 50
Hitting Coach: Millard Barton, 53
Pitching Coach: Calvino Sanchez, 58
Head Scout: Gaspar Zelaga, 46
Scout: Lucio Ubeda, 62
Scout: Oldemar Adino, 59
Scout: Anselmo Martinez, 58
Scout: Wayne Maness, 61
Scout: Alex Laguer, 53
Team Doctor: Rick Hartshorn, 56

Not the spryest of staffs but luckily they weren’t going to be involved in any relay races or obstacle courses or that sort of thing. I might have to start scouting out replacement scouts for my aging but very solid scout team. But that would be for another day, up next would be a look at the current pitching staff.

[mikev]

As a total A's homer, I'm bound by contract to follow any A's dynasty. :woohoo

[thehatfield]

Monday, November 2, 2020

First thing when I wake up my blackberry is all blown up with awaiting messages and my computer screen is crammed with instant messages. Many of them are from reporters attempting to rail me for making a hasty managerial switch. I understand how folks could think firing the manager one day and hiring a new one, especially a relative unknown, the very same day was a hasty move. But really I had a plan going into the job and had some candidates already in mind. At least that would be the spin from the General Manager's office this morning.

One of the few non-shakeup related notes was a rather coy trade proposal from Florida Marlins GM Stephen Frow who wanted our 30-year old shortstop Humphrey Ostendorff. My first inclination was to reject the trade because Hump has too good of a name but they dangled a 3rd round draft choice (requesting our 25th pick back along with Ostendorff) so I really had no choice but to accept. Humphrey was originally a 2nd round pick of the Chicago Cubs back in 2013 and was released at the end of the 2018 season after having been a bit player at the major league level for his last 3 years there. The very same day the Los Angeles Angels signed him to a 1-year deal, immediately placed him on waivers and we picked him up. He hit .262 for us in 2019 but appeared in just 24 games. Last season he spent the entire year with our AAA team Sacramento River Cats and didn’t seriously challenge breaking into our poor major league lineup by hitting .219. I wished Hump well and told him I’d check in with him later in the year to see how he was making out.

Well, it was Monday – time to start digging in and doing some in-depth evaluating of the talent in the team. Herb Watson my jack-of-all-trades assistant, new Manager Jeffery Hance, Head Scout Gaspar Zelaga and I all made our way to Reef on Embarcadero, the most expensive Oakland restaurant that I knew to get down to business.

Starting Pitchers

#33 Neifi Villaluazo 25, $350,000, Righty (4-14 5.16 ERA 34GS)
Neifi was a 3rd Round draft choice of the A’s back in 2013, 64th overall. He became the undisputed ace of the staff in 2019 when he posted a 7-7 record, sub-4.00 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .227 before a fractured elbow put him out for 7 months. Last year he didn’t seem fully recovered from the injury with the 5.16 ERA, .302 OAVG and a WHIP over 1.5. In his 34 starts he gave up 30 home runs. Neifi has above average stuff, movement and control but tops out at around 86 miles-per-hour and has only average endurance. Elsewhere he’d probably make a solid #4 or #5 starter. This off-season he’s headed to salary arbitration but we might try to get him now to sign a multiple-year deal even with a history of finger blister problems and coming back from the elbow trouble. Neifi has posted a 17-36 overall record with a 5.39 ERA in 82 career starts in Oakland.

#68 Rich Harden 37, $6,910,000, Righty (8-20 5.52 ERA 36GS)
Rich Harden has spent his entire 18-year career with Oakland, finally breaking the 20-loss barrier last year after hitting 19 losses twice (2009 & 2018). At the age of 37 he was the only A’s starter to pitch at least 200 innings last year. Even with his diminishing control and stuff he still has above average endurance and gets a tremendous amount of ground ball outs. Since the rebirth of MLB he leads Oakland in almost every career pitching category including wins (194), losses (230) and strikeouts (3,307). Harden is signed through 2021 at $6,910,000 but is certainly winding down career-wise. If a contending club comes in with an offer and wouldn’t mind the contract it might be nice to give Harden a shot with a winning club in what might be his last year in baseball but then again fans and columnists have already made it clear it just wouldn’t seem right to see him win his 200th game in another uniform. Harden’s 125 walks last year led the American League.

#9 Ash Stapely 35, $5,190,000, Righty (9-21 6.37 ERA 35GS)
Wearing Reggie Jackson’s unretired #9 on his back, Ash Stapely was originally the 47th overall pick of the Minnesota Twins back in 2007 and was a .500 pitcher when he was traded to the A’s in 2013. Stapely pitched very well on some bad A’s teams even making the All-Star team in 2016 for the first and only time in his career. In 2017, shortly after signing a new long-term deal, a torn back muscle put him out for 7 months. Since his return he’s lost some control and stuff and is a shell of his former average self losing 19 games two years ago and 21 this season. His 21 losses tied teammate Stacy Renteria for the Major League lead and he also gave up 40 homers in 35 starts. He too is signed to that $5 mil contract through 2021 – that’s about $12,000,000 between Harden & Stapely who combined for 41 losses last year.

#23 Rick Stanley 24, $350,000, Righty (1-3 10.57 ERA 4GS)
Stanley was a September call-up when Gib Glaus was injured and may remain in the rotation next year. He has slightly below average control and average stuff and movement. Lasting deep into a game wouldn’t be much of a problem for him with his superior endurance and he really keeps baserunners close. At Triple-A Sacramento he was 12-9 with a 3.77 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and .243 OAVG in 26 starts. Stanley was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2014 and bounced around in the Colorado & Washington organizations before ending up with Oakland. His 4 starts this year for the A’s were the first 4 in his Major League career and is an auto-resign at $350k.

#30 Stacy Renteria 29, $630,000, Righty (5-21 7.51 ERA 32GS)
Another journeyman who bounced from the Royals to the Twins to the Mets before landing in Oakland in 2016, Renteria was the Major League co-leader in losses, gave up 39 homers in 32 starts and had the worst ERA of any regular starter in baseball. The fact that my predecessor Manuel Silva signed him to a 2-year contract extension at $740,000 per year after the regular season was one of the final straws that led to his firing. He’s 48-80 with a 6.49 ERA in 165 starts in his 10-year Major League career.

#26 Gib Glaus 27, $1,540,800, Lefty (3-5 6.88 ERA 14GS)
The not-so-crafty lefty walked 66 batters while fanning 41 and sported a WHIP of 2.09 with opponents hitting .312 against him this past season. Even though at the end of the year he ended up at AAA with the River Cats rehabbing an injury he allowed only 9 homeruns while with the big club. It's always good to have a lefty in the starting rotation at the very least for a change of pace and Glaus is arbitration eligible this year so we may actually bring him back. Glaus has never lived up to expectations after being selected with the 3rd overall pick in the draft by the Royals in 2014. He has above average movement but combined with average control and below average stuff he earned a trade out of Kansas City after going 9-15 in 2017, his first full year in the Majors.

On The Farm
You’d think that an organization that has been losing for year after year would have a stockpile of young arms developing and chomping at the bit to break into the Major League setup. Nothing could be further from reality though. 30-year old River Cat Reid Brown is the only other starter on the 40-man roster and he’s just clogging up a spot. He was up for a cup of coffee in 2019 and 2020 but used solely as a reliever. He gets an auto-renewal for 2021 at the minimum but we may very well try to package him in a trade or just release him if no one’s interested. The only “sure thing” prospect in the entire organization, in fact, the only starter at any level that can break 90-m.p.h. on a radar gun, is the raw 17-year old Harry Hatfield who spent his first year as a professional with the Vancouver Canadians in the Rookie League.

Analysis
We need starting pitching. Lots of it. It’s going to be a major focus during the winter meetings and free agent period.

[thehatfield]

Relievers

#93 J.P. Howell 36, $930,000, Lefty (0-7 7.73 ERA 46G 7GS 1SV)
Spot starter and mop-up man Howell is another Oakland player with Kansas City roots and another player who did a circuit (K.C. -> Chicago White Sox -> St. Louis Cardinals) before joining up with the A’s in 2017. In his time in gold & green Howell has gone 8-26 with a 6.78 ERA and 3 saves. Although he is the hardest thrower on the entire staff with a 92 m.p.h. fastball Howell is eligible for free agency this year and at 36-years old likely won’t be retained. He’s got below average control and stuff and just barely average movement on his pitches these days. It’s time to start bringing in some younger, more lively arms and Howell is the perfect fit to clear some room on the roster.

#29 Emesto Salgardo 32, $350,000, Righty (3-6 7.80 ERA 72G 1SV)
Salgardo was a 7th round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2009 and moved across the bay in 2014 after being released outright. A two-time AAA All-Star, Salgardo has not been able to translate his minor league dominance into a successful Major League career. In 2018 a comebacker to the mound bounced off the heel of his glove and fractured his eye socket leaving him blurry-eyed and with virtually no control of his pitches. Despite that fact, my predecessor signed him to a 2-year extension at $370,000 per year as Salgardo’s contract expired at the end of this season, no doubt one of those “final straws” that led to the former GM’s firing. Any velocity Emesto had was ruined when he ruptured a tendon in his tricep in 2019, forcing him to miss the entire season. The only bright spot was his return last year to appear in 72 games although late in the year it was clear from the declining stats that the Costa Rican had been overused and had nothing left in the tank. We have to try to get rid of him this year.

#37 Ed Sourley 34, $350,000, Lefty (5-2 5.56 ERA 78G 1SV)
Sourley, now in his second stint with the A’s, has been with 7 different organizations and 8 different teams over the last 10 years. Whenever he would come into a game last season he would get as wild cheers as are possible from the 5,000 fans in attendance as he was one of only two pitchers on the Major League roster with a winning record. Between Sourley’s 2 stints in Oakland he has an amazing 11-4 record with a 5.07 ERA which makes him one of the 25 pitchers with career winning records out of 120 that have ever appeared in an A’s uniform. He’s a free agent, yet another completely average pitcher with a fastball in the mid-80s and unlikely to be brought back despite his kitschy folk-hero status.

#21 Josh Frank 25, $350,000, Lefty (2-1 3.99 ERA 55G 1SV)
Josh Frank has been one of the few recent bright spots for the A’s. Drafted in the 18th round of the 2013 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, 516th overall, Frank has wicked stuff and slightly above average control even though his pitches sometimes come in very flat. The old regime thought enough of Frank to trade highly regarded 21-year old defensive catching prospect Dene Dillman, himself a former 1st round pick, to the Orioles prior to the start of last season. Despite coming out of nowhere, Frank appears to have a decent Major League career ahead of him and will be bound to the club automatically for next season. Last year he worked his way into position as the left-handed setup man and he’ll certainly be a large part of the bullpen in 2021.

#11 Ed Robinson 25, $1,035,000, Righty (0-2 6.94 ERA 23G 1SV)
Yet another hurler that can barely break a wet paper bag with his fastball, Robinson was acquired from the Orioles prior to last season in one of the great steals of 2019 for 20-year old blue-chip shortstop prospect Robbin Granier. Even a casual look at Granier reveals a man with the talent to become an All Star talent for years to come. Unfortunately Robinson, the right-handed setup man, is nowhere near in that class. His only asset is his great movement and otherwise he’s below average in terms of control and stuff. If he can learn to pitch the deal might not be a total and complete ripoff. If the A’s had kept their old GM we may have been forced to accept arbitration on Robinson for next year just so we didn’t have so much egg on our collective face but if an opportunity comes to dump him I’m going to do it.

#33 Jonathan Leverett 29, $2,451,200, Lefty (4-10 4.16 ERA 54G 21SV)
Leverett has been our closer for the last two years and isn’t a bad pitcher – a former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays acquired in a trade prior to the 2018 season. His 56 career saves for the A’s is 9th all-time on our career save leader list. He’s got average stuff but above average movement and control and can actually hit 90 m.p.h. on the gun. We’re going to take a look at extending his contract but even if those talks break down we’ll have the chance to bring him back through arbitration. If we can find a shutdown closer in the off-season the organization and I would feel a lot better about dropping Leverett back into a Middle Reliever slot.

#47 Anastasio Aviles 26, $350,000, Lefty (2-4 6.66 ERA 68G 1SV)
The last regularly appearing reliever on the staff, Aviles earned his save on the last day of the regular season last year giving every A’s reliever at least 1 save. It’s becoming a far too familiar analysis – Aviles tops out at 86 miles-per-hour, has no movement on his pitches and has average everything else. Another auto-renew making the league minimum salary, one has to wonder what the previous management was thinking by constructing a staff of nearly identical pitchers. If we can get rid of him we shall.

On The Farm
Once again the farm is barren in terms of arms. There are plenty of pitchers, but none that are likely to help us in 2021.

Analysis
After looking at the starters too I don’t think we need lots of pitching. We need enormous amounts and at every single level of the organization. There isn’t a prospect anywhere near being ready to step in and none that can throw hard. Unless we can pull off some magic this winter we are going to have an absurdly poor pitching staff.

After all that it was time for some sleep. Looking at the pitching staff has been so depressing I've asked Herb, Jeff & Gaspar not to reconvene for a couple of days at which point we'll take a long look at the hitters.

[thehatfield]

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The financial situation of the team – a $35 million payroll on a $30 million budget – made having such a dreadful pitching staff a little easier to at least understand. Harder to understand is a healthy cash reserve that has hardly been dipped into. The club has been shy in terms of splashing the cash in recent years but we were going to need to do something big this offseason to start bringing fans back to the ballpark. While looking over the pitching staff yesterday with the new Manager, my assistant, and the Head Scout, Hance, Herb, Gaspar and I joked that new Pitching Coach Calvino Sanchez was going to have to work miracles for us in 2021 unless there were some big changes.

By the end of our analysis we were able to identify one major area for change: having so much money tied up in so many losses. Clearly the worst part of the pitching setup wasn’t the “my dead grandmother can throw harder, and she’s dead” velocities, it was that Rich Harden and Ash Stapely combined for $12 million and 41 losses. Throw the $740,000 due Stacy Renteria next season into the mix and we are locked in to pay nearly $13 million next season for pitchers who combined for 62 losses in 2020. If we could trade two or all three players we could really free up some precious funds for the looming free agent period. Speaking of free agents, spot starter and long reliever J.P. Howell and his $930,000 will be off the books next year as we will not offer him a contract extension. Cult hero Ed Sourley wouldn’t be back either even though he was on the league minimum of $350,000. So loosely we’re already thinking about replacing five slots on the pitching staff. Next week when we start negotiating contract extensions with our own players is when we’ll also make some preliminary trade proposals and start to get the first glimpses of what 2021 is going to offer.

But first it was time to start looking at the position players. I was surprised by the fact that the club had five catchers on the 40-man roster. One of the young men looks like a Rule 5 Draft protection as he is still with AA club Midland RockHounds and the other four all saw some time with the A’s last year either at catcher or DH.

Catchers

#52 Tanyon Meagher 23, $350,000, bats Switch, throws Right (.199 0HR 27RBI 286AB 22BB 88K)
Young Tanyon Meager was the 244th overall pick in the 2015 draft and has spent his 5-year professional career in our organization, breaking into the Major League setup in 2019. Although you wouldn’t know it from his .199 average or 88 strikeouts last year Meager is actually a decent contact hitter and a pretty good catcher with a solid arm. He started 74 games at catcher last year which was 20 games more than platoon-mate Colby Sunday. He doesn’t have much power and his .286 OBP along with the impatience makes him a good bet to be gone before 2021.

#57 Colby Sunday 32, $350,000, bats Right, throws Right (.256 8HR 35RBI 242AB 13BB 62K)
Scrappy Colby Sunday was a 10th round pick of the New York Mets in 2010 and was traded to Toronto before ending up with Oakland in 2018. In 2020 while playing in a platoon with Tanyon Meagher he hit more homeruns than he did in 2019 when he had 200 more at-bats. He’s an average catcher and a below average hitter. Sunday doesn’t figure to play a major role in 2021 and is arbitration eligible this winter. It might be nice to keep the veteran around as a backup but if we did that he’d probably have to accept a demotion to the River Cats and clear waivers. I don’t think the waivers part will be the problem.

#12 Cornelius McInally 23, $350,000, bats Right, throws Right (.290 3HR 18RBI 107AB 1BB 30K)
Talk about impatient, it doesn’t seem like young Cornelius McInally is ever going to draw a lot of walks in a season but according to our Head Scout he has a chance to develop into an above average hitter of the ball. He’s already a superior defensive catcher with a good arm. McInally was drafted in the 4th round of the 2015 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates and was acquired by Oakland on a minor league deal in 2016 after being released. His 107 at-bats and 25 starts at catcher with the A’s in 2020 were the first at-bats and starts in his Major League career. An auto re-sign making the minimum, I don’t see any reason why McInally couldn’t be one of the big club’s catchers going into next season.

#49 Thomas Goodloe 22, $350,000, bats Right, throws Right (.318 2HR 20RBI 198AB 23BB 34K)
Slow as a turtle with four broken legs, Goodloe is another late-round draft pick to make good getting scooped up by Oakland in the 18th round in 2016 and making his Major League debut last year. Goodloe is an average catcher with little power but is an above average hitter with the best plate discipline of the four catchers on the Major League roster. Goodloe only played 9 games behind the plate last year, appearing 41 times as the designated hitter. He’s developing well and will probably challenge McInally for the starting catcher position next year.

On The Farm
Slow-developing 24-year old Steve Lesswick is the fifth catcher on the 40-man roster and is the best catching prospect in the organization. He’s got a below-average arm but could develop into a quality hitter. He’s presently with AA Midland RockHounds and was a 14th round pick by the A’s back in 2015. Lesswick’s RockHounds teammate Aaron Rice, also 24, is the best defensive catcher in the organization with a cannon for an arm. Rice is eligible for this season’s Rule 5 Draft so a decision will have to be made on his future because I think someone might try to snag him. The organization is otherwise filled with catchers that will never see the Major Leagues.

Analysis
I wouldn’t say I’m pleased with the catching situation but at least it’s covered. We’re paying minimums all around so that's a positive and many of these players still have room to develop. Unless something too good to be true presents itself we will not need to strengthen the catcher position this winter.

[thehatfield]

First Basemen

#5 Jose Arce 27, $2,730,000, Bats Left, Throws Right (.257 23HR 96RBI 587AB 151K 99BB)
As you might expect from a man that knocked in 96 runs on a team that lost 116 games, Jose Arce was an American League All-Star last season. The 27-year old has spent his career in the Athletics’ organization since being drafted out of high school in the 10th round of the 2010 draft. Arce was the primary designated hitter last season, starting 110 games at DH while also starting 50 times at first base. Arce is a good hitter with slightly above average power and even though he strikes out a lot he usually makes the pitcher earn it. He’s got virtually no range and is not exactly the fleetest of baserunners but Arce was paid to hit and he led the team in homers (23), RBI (96), runs scored (85), doubles (34) and walks (99) last year. He’s 108 hits away from 1,000 for his career and 40 home runs away from 200. He is eligible for free agency this winter and will probably want more money than his arbitration-awarded $2.73 million contract last season. If he’s willing to stay with Oakland for next season and beyond I think we’re obliged to try everything possible to meet his contract demands.

#38 Victor Corliss 28, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.296 16HR 74RBI 398AB 68K 29BB)
A 12th round pick of the A’s in 2011, Corliss is a good contact hitter with modest power and a .292 career batting average in four full big league seasons. Victor started 100 games at first base last year where he’s pretty sure-handed despite his limited range. Corliss was once thought to be one of the best pure hitting prospects in the game but for some reason the previous management cut his playing time after a fantastic .327, 22HR, 103RBI sophomore Major League season in 2018. I can only wonder if his development has been permanently affected from the decreased playing time. He’s up for arbitration this season but at the same time is exactly the sort of solid role-player that might bring us back some quality young arms from a contending club. The only way I would have kept Victor was if we would guarantee him the first base job for the entire 2021 season but since we have other options it’s a good bet we’ll move him.

#18 Luis “Love Machine” Guevara 36, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.226 1HR 5RBI 62AB 17K 5BB)
The Love Machine has had a modest 14-year career that has seen him play on 7 different teams. Since a 6-year stint in Atlanta ended after the 2012 season Guevara somewhat puzzlingly hasn’t been an everyday player despite decent ability. His contract is up and if there’s a comparable, younger first baseman available through free agency Guevara has likely played his last game in an A’s uniform.

On The Farm
Harry Hatfield aside, the dearth of pitching prospects in the pipeline means we do actually have some hitting prospects including two first basemen. The first is 22-year old Californian Cranley “Houdini” Merrell, first baseman for Short Season A-level Kane County Cougars. Houdini was the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 draft and has been labeled by Baseball America as a “can’t miss prospect.” Head Scout Gaspar Zelaga thinks Houdini has the talent to become a legendary hitter but unless we rush him he probably needs at least one more full year in the minors. The other is 21-year old Cuban Andres Ceno who is much closer to making the big club after spending the entire 2020 season at Triple A Sacramento River Cats. He can really bash the ball but like most big swingers he pays for it with virtually non-existent plate discipline. The Scouts give the former 10th round pick in 2017 credit for his hard work saying he’s getting the most out of his talent.

Analysis
It’s nice to have some talent in the wings and most everyone is just counting the days until we can pencil in Houdini’s name everyday. But until then if we can re-sign Jose Arce he will remain an important part of the club for next season and depending on other moves may be forced to play everyday at first. It’s starting to get safe to assume that aside from a handful of players nobody’s spot on the roster is safe and we’ll be scouring the waiver wires and free agent pool for reasonably-priced upgrades at just about every position. I wouldn’t mind spending some money on a reliable first baseman with a good glove but we might be able to live with Arce there as long as his bat is productive.


Second Basemen

#22 Ken O’Bryant 26, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.294 16HR 76RBI 506AB 65K 75BB)
A fantastic waiver pickup in the middle of the 2019 season, O’Bryant is an average second baseman but a pretty good hitter. He started 131 games and committed 10 errors at second base last year and played several games at third as well. He doesn’t have the best range or arm but can turn the double-play and his bat was one of the few positive factors about the 44-win 2020 Athletics. He’s eligible for arbitration but I think it will be worthwhile to see if he’d be interested in signing a longer-term deal. If not, he’s a quality player and would certainly bring back some decent talent in a trade.

#31 Gabriel Rojas 29, $405,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.250 2HR 4RBI 32AB 8K 3BB)
Veteran second baseman Gabe Rojas started just seven games in 2020 and was used mainly as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. His contract is expiring and will not be renewed to clear up another slot on the 40-man roster. Rojas interestingly was drafted by the A’s in 2009, traded to Tampa Bay in 2010 and then traded back to Oakland in 2011 where he’s remained until now.

On The Farm
26-year old left-handed hitter Artie Page at AAA Sacramento is the third and final second baseman on the 40-man roster. He’s a solid, versatile player who had a handful of games with the A’s last year at both second and third base. In a pinch he can also cover the shortstop position which makes him the favorite to take Rojas’ spot next year at the Major League level. 19-year old Henry Cullus spent his first season in professional baseball with the Rookie level Vancouver Canadians and with some hard work has a chance to be an outstanding hitter. But, like first base prospect Cranley Merrell, is probably a solid year or two away from making a substantial contribution.

Analysis
Page is probably a lock to go up and spend the full year with the big club in 2021. We’re debating the positives and negatives of bringing our big ticket prospects to spring training next year. The evaluation squad all agreed that we need to target a strong college-level second baseman in the next Rookie Draft. As previously stated we’re not going to overlook a talented free agent that might be willing to give Oakland a try.


Third Basemen

#7 Jacob Cumberford 28, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.290 16HR 68RBI 503AB 90K 33BB)
You certainly wouldn’t know from his name on the lineup card but the rumors are true, Jacob Cumberford is 100% Mexican! Cumby was originally a 5th round choice of the Washington Nationals before being traded to the A’s two years ago. He’s eligible for arbitration this year and even though he was productive last season and started 131 games at third base he’s a completely average talent and easily replaceable. It may seem cruel but even new Manager Jeff Hance isn’t convinced that Jake will be able to come back and be the productive player he was after suffering a season-ending fractured skull from a batted ball in September. Cumby is still on the disabled list and a likely candidate to be released.

#45 Jim MacFall 28, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right
MacFall became a minor league free agent in November of last year and has been out of baseball since. He is a former 18th round pick of the Pirates in 2011 and has done time with several organizations. The previous regime signed him to a 1-year deal in September of this year, one of several factors leading to their dismissal. MacFall, sadly, will likely be released outright. MacFall has never appeared in a Major League game.

On The Farm
There aren’t a lot of potential third basemen in the organization at this time. The best prospect to-date in terms of possibly making the big club one day is 19-year old Blanco Costello at Rookie level but he’s certainly not a big-time prospect.

Analysis
The evaluation squad is agreed that we’re making sweeping changes at third base this winter. While it wasn’t a weakness last year I want to completely upgrade our production and defense at thrid and don't think we should settle for simply average talent at the position. At the same time replenishing the minor leagues with some quality prospects at the position is a simultaneous goal. It’s easier said than done but I think it’s necessary if we want to improve for next season.

[thehatfield]

Shortstops

#55 Reydel Vazquez 29, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.277 1HR 6RBI 65AB 13K 8BB)
American Vazquez is a good defensive shortstop with an average arm and a solid gap hitter. He’s an automatic re-sign and even though he only started 17 games at shortstop last year he’s the sort of versatile veteran that can play the entire infield that are handy to have on the roster. Vazquez is a .281 career hitter with a lifetime .335 OBP in 391 career at-bats. Vazquez was originally a 16th round pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2011 and has also spent time with the Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds.

#27 Arturo Montanio 26, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Right (.250 1HR 11RBI 100AB 32K 4BB)
Montanio doesn’t seem to like to walk and it showed with a .279 OBP in 100 at-bats last season. Montanio started 17 games at short last year but also played a little third where he was actually better defensively and second where he was considerably worse. He’s an auto-resign but he ended the year with AAA Sacramento and he’s really just a spare part. Whereas versatility worked in favor of veteran Reydel Vazquez, Montanio’s non-mastery of any position is just something that we won’t need going forward.

#19 Vicente Rosas 25, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.238 0HR 1RBI 21AB 4K 0BB)
Rosas was a defensive replacement at shortstop last season, appearing in 19 games before torn ankle ligaments ended his season in May. He’s still on the disabled list. He was drafted in the 12th round in 2013 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and went to the Florida Marlins before becoming an A on a minor league deal prior to last season. We’re not going to be able to evaluate him accurately until we see what he looks like in spring training but he might not last long enough with the organization to get that look.

On The Farm
25-year old Sacramento second baseman Ken McCree was actually the starting shortstop for the Athletics last season. The former Pittsburgh Pirates property hit just .223 with a .274 OBP & .279 SLG in 86 starts and 319 at-bats. He’s not ready for the Majors in my opinion and I want him out of the organization. Stockton Ports’ A-level shortstop Brandt Margerson is a tremendous defensive talent with a strong arm, the best natural shortstop in the organization.

Analysis
Well what do you know? We need a shortstop too! This will be a focus during the free agent period, throughout the winter and for the rookie draft.


Left Fielders

#14 Patrick Sanner 27, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.271 21HR 91RBI 598AB 156K 39BB)
The everyday left fielder last season, Sanner is a good corner outfielder with an average arm and is one of the names being mentioned when folks talk about the American League Rookie of the Year. The former Detroit Tigers prospect came to the A’s prior to last season after appearing in three games for Detroit in 2019. Still, he was a 12th round pick, strikes out far too often and doesn’t figure to ever be a huge homerun threat. He may be a great bargaining piece this winter especially if he is able to capture the ROY award.

#39 Rohan Hanshaw 32, $405,000, Bats Right, Throws Left (.219 3HR 12RBI 228AB 55K 19BB)
Hanshaw had 50 starts in center field for the A’s last season and spelled Patrick Sanner in left when Sanner needed a rest even though he’s been playing left field for most of his baseball life. He’s got some speed which makes him a stolen base threat and he’s got pretty good range for a left fielder but the 10-year veteran and former 2nd round pick of the Los Angeles Angels just doesn’t hit consistently enough to justify a place on the team. I think we can find someone for the minimum salary that would be just as good defensive cover yet also carry a higher potential upside. Hanshaw’s contract is expiring this year and will not be renewed.

#59 Javier Raymundo 26, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Right (.500 0HR 0RBI 2AB 1K 0BB)
The last left fielder on the 40-man roster is Raymundo who has a tremendous upside but is getting close to the age where the talk is turning to him being a bust. He was a 1st round, 7th overall choice of the A’s in the 2016 draft and has failed to produce, spending most of last season with AA Midland RockHounds where he hit .312 with a .395 OBP in 382 at-bats. Raymundo will be invited to spring training with the big club as we’re not ready to give up on him just yet.

On The Farm
22-year old Pasqual Feliu, the #1 overall draft choice in 2017, is still one of the top prospects in baseball. He’s got a powerful arm and plenty of potential to develop into a quality hitter. He spent the entire season at Triple A last year and hit .296 with a .360 OBP and .412 SLG while knocking 12 homers and collecting 54 RBI. 125 strikeouts was certainly too many but he’ll have a chance to make the club out of spring training next year. 19-year old speedster Carlyle Chamberlain spent the majority of last season playing A-level baseball.

Analysis
We’ve got some talented left fielders coming up but we’re probably going to need a solid Major Leaguer to hold down the position for one more year before Feliu is ready to spend an entire season with the big club. We can be frugal and underspend to ensure Feliu will get some playing time or try to work out a trade with Sanner for a bit of an upgrade in terms of hitting. I’m leaning towards the latter


Center Fielders

#6 Vic “Devine” Dunn 25, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Left (.244 8HR 26RBI 365AB 103K 47BB)
Dunn spent time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners before coming to Oakland in a trade for a starting pitcher in 2015. He is a well-regarded fielder who in 2017 won the American League Gold Glove award for center fielders despite missing two months with a fractured cheekbone. His good speed helps with his outstanding range but he’s regarded as a below average hitter in all measurable categories. Dunn, the only center fielder on the 40-man roster, is another automatic re-sign and another player that might find himself either in a new uniform or looking for a new uniform before the end of the winter.

On The Farm
If 20-year old Colombian Francisco Quinenes can improve making contact this winter there’s no reason to believe that the man who blasted 40 homeruns at AAA Sacramento last year wouldn’t be an everyday center fielder next year. Quinenes was a second round pick of the Athletics and 39th overall in 2018 and has been improving steadily as he’s worked his way up the ranks. Otherwise there are slim picking between the rest of the center fielders in the system – a bunch of fast guys that can’t hit.

Analysis
We need outfielders! Once again we’ll be looking at center fielders in the draft and may try to sign a proven center fielder to a one or two-year deal to help Quinenes develop at a slower pace. We loosely determine that this position and starting pitching will be the main focus of the free agent market.


Right Fielders

#16 Bertram Holsinger 29, $350,000, Bats Left, Throws Left (.238 8HR 34RBI 412AB 109K 37BB)
Holsinger started 70 games in right and 30 in center field last season. He’s a former second round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 and the A’s aggressively went after him and acquired him the very next year. Holsinger made his Major League debut with the Athletics in 2017 and became a “mostly-regular” starter in 2019. The fact that this team didn’t commit to one lineup or have clear roles about starters and backups is a factor that I think really helped sabotage last season for Oakland. We were going to have more clearly defined roles within the team starting with next season. Bert didn’t have a great year at the plate and Gaspar says he probably never will. He’s got great speed and baserunning instincts but that’s not exactly what I want from a right fielder. Maybe we can try converting him to a center fielder.

#44 Tom Gregor 36, $350,000, Bats Right, Throws Right (.254 2HR 20RBI 319AB 105K 30BB)
Last year Gregor started 66 games in right field and 13 at second base! The former 20th round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2006 doesn’t have a lot of power and can’t make consistent contact with just 39 homers and a .260 career batting average in 4,178 at-bats. There’s absolutely no chance he’ll be part of the team next season.

On The Farm
27-year old San Diego native Ian Talbot is on the 40-man roster and hit .271 with 8 homers in 377 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. Also on the 40-man roster is the 3rd round pick of the Athletics in 2014 Fritz Toles who split time between AA and AAA last year. The fans want to see Fritzy up with the A’s as soon as possible just because of his name but he may never develop the sort of quality plate discipline required to be an everyday Major Leaguer. 19-year old Don Manning could probably make it to the big show one day but it was going to take a lot of work.

Analysis
What a surprise – we could use an upgrade at right field as well. It was going to be one heck of a wild winter that was one thing that was cerrtain!

Well we made it through each of the in-depth reports on the players taking up spots on the 40-man roster and we needed a break. We were going to wait until next Monday before coming back together to make decisions on contract extensions, trade proposals and pink slips with fresh eyes.

[GoCubsAndJays]

Can I make a suggestion? What about keeping Patrick Sanner until the trading deadline, and then unloading him to another team and letting Pasqual Feliu taking over the Left Field spot then.


Sanner didn't do a bad job for the A's last year, and if you save him until the trading deadline a team looking for some offensive help may bite on him.

[thehatfield]

Originally Posted by GoCubsAndJays

Can I make a suggestion? What about keeping Patrick Sanner until the trading deadline, and then unloading him to another team and letting Pasqual Feliu taking over the Left Field spot then.


Sanner didn't do a bad job for the A's last year, and if you save him until the trading deadline a team looking for some offensive help may bite on him.

That's a really good point - we could already have the "solid major leaguer" I think I need to find on the team already! I guess we're better covered at left than I had originally thought.

The reason I was contemplating moving him in the off-season is because Sanner & first baseman Victor Corliss are likely the only players that would be worth anything of value in return in a trade right now and the starting pitching is really a mess. I also want to see if Raymundo can do anything for the big club this season.

We'll see what happens!

[thehatfield]

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

It’s been a rather relaxed couple of weeks. We wanted to give ourselves as an organization some time to absorb everything we discovered while pouring over the club’s players before making any hasty moves. Within the organization 32-year old catcher Colby Sunday cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Sacramento. His 2020 platoon-mate Tanyon Meagher was also sent down while Cornelius McInally and Thomas Goodloe were brought up from the River Cats to the big club.

With just two days to go before the salary arbitration hearings we were able to announce a 2-year extension for 29-year old first baseman Jose Arce at $3,500,000 per season which amounts to about an $800,000-per-year raise from his previous contract but I think is sound business all-around because even if Arce doesn’t work out in Oakland he has enough talent that his contract won’t be a stumbling block in any trade negotations. We also locked up 26-year old second baseman Ken O’Bryant for the next three years at $3,000,000-per year, a considerable raise for O’Bryant but I think he’s on the cusp of putting together some really good years for the club. Current closer Jonathan Leverett hasn’t yet responded to the 3-year, $3 million-per-year offer he’s had on the table for a few days and he’s the only other arbitration-eligible player we were interested in bringing back for multiple seasons at this time.

While we were trying to relax over the last couple of weeks and forget about the players actually on our squad the league announced its award winners for 2020 so this might be a good point to pause on all the misery and take a look back at last season.

To be perfectly honest I wasn’t paying that much attention to baseball in 2020, hence the need for the rigorous examination of the entire squad as soon as I became General Manager. I knew that the Mets, posting a Major League best 107-55 record, had defeated the White Sox for the World Series title four games to two and that was about it. I was basically on the driving range developing my ugly golf swing all summer since I had hardly ever played a round of serious golf in my life, excluding the $100 per-person in high school we used to pony up for 9 holes of drunken pitch-and-putt. But when the award winners were announced there were a few players, of course, that caught my ears and eyes either from being mentioned on ESPN a billion times or just from me being a baseball nerd and remembering some obscure names because I thought they sounded cool (or funny).

In any event, Angels’ third baseman Danilo “Silencer” Tabarez, so nicknamed for his showboating index-finger across the lips whenever he hits a homer, won the American League Rookie of the Year Award for his 47 homers and 151 runs batted in while playing everyday for the division champions. Tabarez also picked up the Gold Glove Award for third base in the AL in 2020 making him the recipient of the media’s “best overall young player in the game today” label.

11-time All-Star Zach Duke won his 11th Cy Young Award while with the Boston Red Sox, posting a 22-5 record and a microscopic 2.03 ERA last season. The 36-year old future Hall of Famer has a 328-97 career record with a remarkable 2.13 career ERA and three World Series championship rings (2006 w/Pirates & 2017-18 w/Red Sox). He’s been the single most dominant pitcher in all of baseball for the last 10 years.

29-year old left fielder Teodor Revelez won his third consecutive (and overall) American League MVP Award for the American League Champion Chicago White Sox after belting 51 homers and knocking in 147 runs with a .329 batting average. Revelez, who has only made two All-Star teams despite his 3 MVP Awards, was originally a 7th round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 and was traded to Chicago in one of the great steals of all-time for Ivo Kapler, a 30-year old middle reliever that has pitched 300 career innings in the majors. White Sox catcher Roberto Darna, the best hitting catcher in all of baseball over the last several years, won his second straight Gold Glove as did light-hitting Cleveland first baseman Harold Alfred. Angels’ shortstop and four-time All-Star Reginald Lawry won his 5th Gold Glove Award in the hole last year.

The big news in baseball last year, though, was in the National League where Colorado Rockies center fielder and three-time All-Star John O’Hennessy won his first Most Valuable Player Award. Former 2016 Rookie of the Year Award winner O’Hennessy, now aged 29, captured the MLB triple crown last year leading all of baseball with a .368 batting average, a record-breaking 76 homeruns, and 179 runs batted in while playing on a third place club that finished 14 games behind the division champions. O’Hennessy has 304 career homeruns in five full Major League seasons and could be among the all-time career leaders before his playing days are through.

Also in the National League, 36-year old veteran and 5-time All-Star Roland Shealy won his 6th Gold Glove at catcher for the Houston Astros and 35-year old Padres second baseman Andres Blanco won his 4th overall Gold Glove and his third at second base, having previously won a glove as a shortstop in 2018. 22-year old Pirates catcher Bobby Silcock won the National League Rookie of the Year Award with a 35 homerun season and 20-4 New York Mets starting pitcher Brandon Radley, a seven-time All-Star, won his 4th Cy Young Award with the eventual World Series Champions while posting a miniscule 2.21 ERA.

It was now time to see who was going to stay and who was going to go. I called Herb, Gaspar, and Jeff to meet with me in Oakland as soon as the free agency filings were made. Certainly we weren’t going to start making any changes until arbitration had been settled and those we had decided to let go out of contract were no longer with the club.

[Lastplaneout]

This is really fantastic! I hope that you keep it running.

[thehatfield]

Originally Posted by Lastplaneout

This is really fantastic! I hope that you keep it running.

Thank you I appreciate that.

Monday, November 23, 2020

It was already the day: free agents file. And to say that I had bungled things just a bit in my first Oakland off-season was probably correct. I’ll mention, because I’m 32, that a 32-year old might be expected to make some mistakes in his first three weeks as a General Manager but that’s the last I’ll say of it. I was getting skewered in the local media and it wasn’t pretty.

The gist of the complaints were generated by my decision not to pursue a new contract for 25-year old starting pitcher Neifi Villaluazo prior to arbitration. Now, instead of having him wrapped up for a couple of years at a decent salary like we did first baseman Jose Arce and second baseman Ken O’Bryant, we’d only have Neifi guaranteed for next season and at a premium. And who knows what his mindset might be after having not been offered a new deal from a 44-win team. We had originally thought about offering Villaluazo a contract extension but the fact that he had a history of injury problems including chronic finger blisters and what seemed to be a devastating broken elbow made me think it would be prudent to go before the arbitrator. Apparently the judge was pretty impressed not only with Neifi’s injuries but also his 4-14 record and 5.16 ERA in 34 starts last year, awarding him $4,433,600 for 2021. That contract was going to cause us some problems for next season in terms of staying within the budget unless we started to get creative.

We had some spare money to spend but we wanted to save most of it for the free agent market to get one more bat and two pitchers. If I was hearing correctly when I took the job the ownership was willing to plunk about $15-20 million extra down into the club for a total payroll of about $50 million next year.

From a purely financial point of view the media was correct – we probably could have signed Neifi for the next few years and at less money per season. So, with Villaluazo’s injury history I really thought we’d get him at a cheaper price and quite frankly I didn’t feel comfortable locking up dollars past one year for someone coming back from a serious elbow injury. It just isn’t the safest of investments and I tried to play it conservatively here.

The Villaluazo contract, though, was simply an appetizer.

What really angered the local media, especially Frank Footer of Mills College’s “The Weekly,” was the departure of 37-year old starting pitcher and career Oakland Athletic Rich Harden, the last player still in the organization from the rebirth of Major League Baseball in 2006. It developed quickly over the last few days and began with us targeting 23-year old right fielder Travis “Animal” Byers, a Gold Glove winner last year in left field (where he’s equally as proficient) with the Baltimore Orioles. In two full big league seasons Animal is hitting .268 with a .304 OBP and .470 SLG, 53 home runs and 210 RBI. Byers is a great all-around investment: already a solid major league hitter that’s projected to grow into a perennial All-Star making the league minimum. I contacted Baltimore General Manager Jose Olivas to see what he thought about our 27-year old left fielder Patrick Sanner. Sanner is a comparable player to Animal at the moment but in the opinion of our Head Scout Sanner was as good today as he was ever going to get. Just to sweeten the deal I included a throwaway 24th round draft choice for next year. Olivas said he didn’t want Sanner, but wanted to know if we were thinking about unloading Rich Harden’s $6.9 million contract. Trading Harden, a pitcher at a stage in his career where his best days are certainly behind him, for an everyday Gold Glove-caliber right fielder with tremendous potential making the minimum was just too tempting. And so I pulled the trigger before Jose or I could change our minds.

The local media ran with stories that I was a completely heartless General Manager with no sense of history or tradition. They said we should have waited for him to win 6 games and get 200 career wins in an A’s uniform before trading him away because we probably weren’t going to be competitive next year anyway. The Sports Leader KNBR was killing us nonstop all day long and just about everyone was either upset that we traded him “out of nowhere” and now “everyone on the team was always going to be looking over their shoulders and that’s pressure a 44-win team doesn’t need” or they were upset by the idea that if we were going to make this move regardless of what they, the few remaining diehard fans thought, we should have at the very least attempted to get more for Harden.

Some of the criticisms were valid and some were just purely irrational emotional reactions. I was actually surprised that the media didn’t take a wait-and-see approach to my first couple of moves given the “laid back” reputation of the American western states in general and California in particular. Maybe the fact that this was my first ever General Manager job and I didn’t have many strong relationships with anyone in the Oakland area made me an easier target than most. But I found it hard to believe that from a purely baseball point of view that anyone could have a problem trading a 37-year old that’s never been very good for a 23-year old that won a Gold Glove out of his preferred position last year! Despite the criticism I was confident that Byers for Harden would prove to be a fleecing in our favor, one that would balance out Baltimore’s 2019 capture of shortstop Robbin Granier for below-average relief pitcher Ed Robinson; only time would tell. Byers let us know via phone from vacation in St. Lucia that he’d like the #8 jersey.

Before I take a look at the players that departed through free agency let’s have a quick look at who got what in front of the arbitrator. Most of these players will probably be back next year:

#30 Neifi Villaluazo, 25, $4,422,600
#33 Jonathan Leverett, 29, $2,619,700
#38 Victor Corliss, 28, $410,400
#26 Gib Glaus, 27, $360,000
#7 Jacob Cumberford, 28, $350,000
#57 Colby Sunday, 32, $350,000
#11 Ed Robinson, 25, $350,000

Jonathan Leverett got a new contract through arbitration for $2.62 million despite the fact that we had a 3-year deal on the table at the time. Even though he’s now signed for next year we attempted again – with a 3-year $7.5 million deal that would break out to $2.5 million per season and save us over $100k next year. We’re still waiting to hear back from the player or his representative.

All of the other arbitration hearings were very fair. Robinson, who made over a million dollars last season, was only awarded the league minimum which was some nice unexpected savings. But Robinson and 28-year old Mexican third baseman Jacob Cumberford would be two players we’d try to move at the winter meetings. I was still a bit undecided about 27-year old starter Gib Glaus as well but since we do have some financial limitations and since he was awarded over a million less dollars for next season we could deal - we obviously weren’t going to be able to rebuild the entire club in one off-season.

Now, to the free agency filings, we certainly got a lot younger in a blink of an eye. Here’s a list of who filed and departed:

#93 J.P. Howell, 36, RP
#37 Ed Sourley, 34, RP
#18 Luis Guevara, 36, 1B
#34 Gabriel Rojas, 29, 2B
#39 Rohan Hanshaw, 32, LF
#44 Tom Gregor, 36, RF

I had absolutely no interest in bringing back any of those players and I was pleased to see that the media agreed with me here – the East Bay Express and the Oakland Press both ran supportive articles under the harsh headlines “Adios” and “Good Riddance.” Herb Watson, my trusty assistant, let me know that he heard a couple of players on our roster were pleased that the numbers 18 and 44 had become available. I told him that fact was very interesting before hanging up on him.

So going into the free agent period we had to revise our target thinking a bit. Originally we thought we’d focus on pitching and a center fielder. Then after we had some time to think about the roster as a whole and what this might mean to our finances it became clear that for next season third base was a bigger hole to fill than our outfield where we already had some young players developing in our system. That meant we might be able to live with Cumberford as a backup player and switch right fielder Bertram Holsinger to center to platoon with Vic Dunn, leaving right field open for new acquisition Travis Byers. And then of course the man we had traded for Byers, Rich Harden, was gone and we were still thinking of trying to unload starter Ash Stapely so we had to make sure we brought back at least one quality starter. So third base, one starter and, if possible, one reliever was the plan. We were going to have to trade for some bullpen help that was becoming clearer and clearer. And… I was not adverse to breaking baseball code and signing a quality free agent with what little money we had available and then immediately trading him for quality young players at a couple of positions. I knew what the ramifications would mean for the short-term – many free agents becoming wary of signing with us – but if we were able to turn this club into a winner I don’t think free agent signings would be a big problem.

Much to our surprise, though, switch-hitting 29-year old left fielder Teodor Revelez, last year’s American League MVP and the MVP of the league for the last three years running, was available on the free agent market. We placed a very tentative phone call to his agent just to see what he was thinking about and he said he wanted something along the lines of $15,000,000 per-season over 5 years and wouldn’t immediately rule out the Athletics. I didn’t know whether to be happy or offended. Anyway, a contract like that, despite the ownership’s decision to plunk a considerable amount of cash into the team this winter, would probably severely limit what we were able to do not only over the rest of the winter but over the rest of the year. And it’s never a good idea in my opinion to be paying out $15 million to a 34-year old but these would probably be peak years for Revelez. I told his agent that I’d need a day to think about it.

At third base, nine-year veteran and three-time All Star Juan “Dome” Guevaro is available and he’s used to small markets having played his entire career in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. The 30-year old has a career batting average of .285 with a .338 on base percentage and .558 slugging. He also has 346 career home runs and over 1,000 runs batted in. Even thinking about adding another quality power bat like this (Guevaro had 47 homers and 36 doubles last year) makes us in my mind a slugging team that can’t pitch. Surprisingly, Guevaro is looking for over $7 million per year for 5 years, a figure that looks low to me.

33-year old left-handed starter J.D. Knisley, a 10-year veteran known for his strong leadership skills and 97 miles-per-hour fastball, looked very appealing and wanted just over $6 million per year for five years. We made a firm offer of $7 million for four years for the career 123-game winner and hardest throwing pitcher available on the free agent market for the simple fact that we needed a solid hard thrower to break up all of those similar arms on our pitching staff and Knisley had a career winning record at 123-94 despite spending the majority of his career on some bad Houston teams. Knisley was the Cy Young Award winner in 2019 when he went 20-6 with a 3.20 ERA, the only year he made the All-Star team and his only 20-win season.

Former Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect Rowley Dickson, a 25-year old starter with masterful control, was also available but would cost the club a #1 draft choice in addition to whatever financial compensation would be required. If somehow we were able to sign both Knisley and Dickson we might be best served with Knisley in the bullpen, perhaps as the closer. Overall, if we wanted to try and sign these four players we’d probably be very close to the entire payroll for the 2020 season. It could be done, but it would really strap us for all of next season and wouldn’t come close to filling all of the needs we had to address.

But it certainly would be a step in the right direction.

[thehatfield]

They Said It...

"Well, it is a bit of a surprise, you know, I guess it would have been nice to win my 200th career game in Oakland in front of all my family and friends. 18 years with one club is a long time. But at the same time Baltimore has a good young team and I'll be able to use my experience and knowledge to help out the younger guys. Who knows, maybe we'll be on a road trip in Oakland when I get to 200." --former Oakland Athletic Rich Harden on his trade to Baltimore.

"I was shocked when I got the call. It's not everyday you get traded to a 44-win team. (A's General Manager) Jim Fillmore seems progressive and is trying to bring in some young talent so we'll see how it goes." --23-year old new Athletics acquisition Travis Byers seems less-than-enthused about joining up with his new team.

"It's always tough to see someone like Richie go. He's like Mr. Oakland, ya know? Helped a lot of people get used to the club, used to the area. We're certainly going to miss him. But this Byers kid did pretty well last year and that's the kind of talent we should really be thinking about bringing in." --Oakland first baseman Jose Arce chimes in, for some reason, on the Harden for Byers trade.

"We're all on the same page here so far. It's only been three weeks though, bud. Come and talk to me next August!" --new A's manager Jeff Hance on his relationship with the front office thus far.


Man on the Street

"This guy Fillmore is a sack of crap. That's all I've got to say about it." --Tony Banoodle, 54, Redwood Heights

"He don't really save nothin cause Villaluazo gets a big contract so I don't really get it." --Alex Buddle, 25, East Oakland

"He's the homeless man's Steve Phillips." --Rick, unknown, homeless


Enough of the allusions - here's how last season looked:

  MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2020 FINAL STANDINGS

   AMERICAN LEAGUE           NATIONAL LEAGUE
   Eastern Division          Eastern Division
 Boston   100-62  -        New York    107-55 -  
 New York  91-71  9        Atlanta      87-75 20 
 Tampa Bay 75-87  25       Philadelphia 84-78 23  
 Baltimore 70-92  30       Florida      77-85 30
 Toronto   59-103 41       Washington   64-98 43

   Central Division          Central Division
 Chicago    105-57  -      Chicago    99-63 -       
 Minnesota   92-70  13     St. Louis  84-78 15
 Cleveland   82-80  23     Cincinnati 79-83 20
 Detroit     73-89  32     Milwaukee  75-87 24
 Kansas City 62-100 43     Houston    69-93 30
                           Pittsburgh 63-99 36
   Western Division
 Los Angeles 105-57  -       Western Division
 Texas        84-78  21    Los Angeles   94-68 -
 Seattle      80-82  25    Arizona       90-72 4
 Oakland      44-118 61    Colorado      80-82 14
                           San Francisco 80-82 14
                           San Diego     74-88 20 

Divisional Series
Los Angeles Angels defeated Minnesota Twins 3 games to 1
Chicago White Sox defeated Boston Red Sox 3 games to 2
New York Mets defeated Arizona Diamondbacks 3 games to 2
Chicago Cubs defeated Los Angeles Dodgers 3 games to 2

League Championship Series
Chicago White Sox defeated Los Angeles Angels 4 games to 3
New York Mets defeated Chicago Cubs 4 games to 3

World Series
New York Mets defeated Chicago White Sox 4 games to 2

PAST WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
2006: PITTSBURGH PIRATES defeated New York Yankees, 4-0
2007: MINNESOTA TWINS defeated Florida Marlins, 4-2
2008: HOUSTON ASTROS defeated Cleveland Indians, 4-2
2009: CHICAGO CUBS defeated Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-2
2010: BOSTON RED SOX defeated Colorado Rockies, 4-2
2011: HOUSTON ASTROS defeated New York Yankees, 4-3
2012: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS defeated Boston Red Sox, 4-1
2013: CHICAGO CUBS defeated Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-1
2014: LOS ANGELES ANGELS defeated Cincinnati Reds, 4-2
2015: CINCINNATI REDS defeated Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-3
2016: CINCINNATI REDS defeated Boston Red Sox, 4-3
2017: BOSTON RED SOX defeated San Francisco Giants, 4-1
2018: BOSTON RED SOX defeated San Francisco Giants, 4-3
2019: FLORIDA MARLINS defeated Los Angeles Angels, 4-1
2020: NEW YORK METS defeated Chicago White Sox, 4-2

[BadluckinOOTP]

Fantastic. My new favorite.

[Curtis]

You tellin' me? I was planning to do something like this with my Nippon Ham Fighters, but this is so much better than anything I could come up with that I've decided I'm a better reader than a writer.

By the way, purple guy, don't overlook the waiver wire and CHEAP free agents. My Fighters club has picked up something over forty cheap to free players in the first six weeks of my campaign. The majority will be cut again before spring training, but about five will make the IL club, probably the same in AAA and maybe ten in AA (the lowest level in the organization). They aren't going to bring me up to the first division, but I'm hoping they can add ten wins this year and help me transition to my 'goal' team in three or four seasons.

[thehatfield]

Thank you for the kind words.

See I'm really lucky in that the club has some money to splash around - basically I can sign those 4 big-talent free agents for next season for a combined $31 million. This would push our payroll to about $59 million overall and move us up from 29th to 19th in terms of total payroll. 2020's entire payroll was $34 million! The ownership is willing to do it but we won't have much more money on top of that so at that point I'll be scouring the waiver wire and checking out a couple of trades. I also checked our merchandise & gate revenue and they were only $2.5 and $5 million last year so comitting a lot of dollars this year will present problems for 2022 unless we do so well that we bring more fans out (if this team comes together we are going to be scoring buckets of runs).

[thehatfield]

Saturday, November 28, 2006

The New York Yankees made big news by re-signing their 34-year old right fielder Stewart “Bug” Tingle to a two year contract at close to $10 million per season. Bug is on his way to the Hall of Fame if he can keep his production up over the next couple of years, having compiled 2,335 hits, 434 home runs and 1,364 RBI with a career batting average of .311 in 7,515 at-bats. Last year for the second-place Yankees he hit .326 with a .402 OBP and .568 slugging, 34 homers and 42 doubles in 604 at-bats.

Our offers to the “Big 4” were out there and the players or their agents all seemed fairly taken aback. They weren’t quite sure if coming to Oakland was really the best move but I told them that if the money was comparable they should really think about what it might mean to the Oakland fans. These folks would be deified to choose Oakland over anyone else. Unfortunately Teodor Revelez was linked in two national news stories as going to either the Mets or the Phillies.


Sunday, November 29, 2006

I got a call early on Sunday morning from my toady Herb Watson.

“Turn on ESPN,” Herb said in a raspy voice. He sounded half-awake or perhaps like he had had a long night.

I flip on TV and fumble for the right channel and it’s right there as clear as day: A picture of 30-year old third baseman Juan “Dome” Guevaro in an Oakland Athletics cap was positioned behind the shoulder of some slick-looking talking head sports geek. They were just finishing the story when I found the channel and mentioned his $7 million per-year for the next four years. I was happy the 2009 #4 overall pick of the Washington Nationals was coming but I would have liked to know about it before the media did. Pangs of doubt about him being able to fit in immediately crept into my head but the guy is a 3-time All Star at third and has 346 career homers and that was all we wanted from him.

My phone rang. I figured it was going to be Dome. It wasn’t.

“Hey, is this Jim Fillmore?” asked the voice on the other end of the line in a surfer-dude slow, looping cadence.

“Yes,” I replied.

“This is Rowley Dickson, man, can I speak with him?”

I took the phone away from my head for a moment and shook my head while exhaling loudly and slowly.

“This is Fillmore. What do you want?”

“Oh, right man,” Dickson said, “yeah, sorry about that you know sometimes I just like don’t really know what’s happening and…”

“Yeah, Mr. Dickson,” I interrupted sarcastically, the Jersey in me boiling to the surface, “I’m trying to put a team together here what do you need?”

“Yeah, man,” Dickson replied slowly, “well, I was just watching ESPN and saw you got Juan Guevaro. I’m actually a good friend of his and you guys got in touch with my agent anyway a few days ago. I think you’ve got some stones to try and bring in a guy like that. You want good players to come here not for a quick fix but to make something magical. And that’s just what I’m looking for in an organization – a chance not to just be a spoke in some giant corporate wheel but to really create something special. You guys are willing to go four years at $4.5, if this works out I want to renegotiate after two years. What do you think? Oh, and I only come to Oakland if I get #10. How ‘bout it?”

“I say welcome aboard!”

The Devil Rays will now get our #1 overall pick in next year’s draft but I feel this signing is going to be well worth it both in the short term and in the long run. The 25-year old Dickson, if he can keep his head on straight, should be a top of the rotation starter for years to come. The lefty sinkerballer doesn’t have a tremendous amount of velocity but he throws all of his pitches with fantastic control and that sinker coming in from his lanky frame and fluid delivery looks like it could be anything.

The local news was starting to catch on and there were now some voices of reason starting to creep in saying folks should “wait to pass judgment on the new GM” whereas just a few days ago they wanted my head on a pike. While they weren’t convinced we should be trying to sign Juan Guevaro they didn’t really come out and say it was a bad move to make either. He was, after all, the best offensive third baseman available and one of the best power bats in the league. I said third base was a goal and we went and got our player so that was helping my credibility all around. They were delighted that we had brought Dickson over despite losing the draft pick. They saw nothing but upside and were putting a lot of expectations for the whole franchise at his feet. As of right now he’s obviously the new ace of the staff and he’s going to be under a lot of pressure to deliver with some weak arms at the back of the rotation.

Now with two pretty good names signed I hoped it might strengthen our position with Teodor Revelez who remained on the open market being linked, it seemed, with everyone but us.


Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Not much on the free agent front for a couple of days as organizations started looking at their entire rosters to see if any prospects needed protecting or looked tempting enough to plug holes in their clubs. You guessed it - Rule 5 draft day. We weren’t planning on taking anyone but we did decide to add 23-year old shortstop prospect John Tardif and 24-year old catcher Aaron Rice to our 40-man roster to ensure they’d still be with us going forward.

Only four players switched clubs in the Rule 5 draft this year and the Milwaukee Brewers took two of them – 22-year old center fielder Miguel Cruz from the San Francisco Giants and 22-year old shortstop Cole Williams from the Texas Rangers. Neither player made it to the majors last year but they both ended their seasons on an upswing at the AAA level and with a good spring I think both have a solid chance of making the Brewers. The World Champion Mets took 27-year old career minor league outfielder Pin-zhen Eng from the Detroit Tigers for some reason and the Los Angeles Dodgers swiped 25-year old second baseman Alberto Morin from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

[thehatfield]

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

I wake up to urgent emails that the Florida Marlins actually have the inside track on signing MVP Teodor Revelez with the Mets and Phillies still in pursuit. It didn’t seem to me that the national media took us seriously as one of the players in the sweepstakes and whether they were being fed that information from the player or his agent I had no idea. But I wasn’t really hearing anything at all coming from his direction in the days since we made an offer so I remained detachedly optimistic.

The next day the Dodgers announced the signing the of San Francisco Giants’ 36-year old starter Cory Wheeler to a two-year deal at a cool $8 million per-year. Many around baseball thought Los Angeles overpaid for the righty especially since we were able to get a talent like Rowley Dickson for under $5 million per year. But he’s a 3-time All Star and has a 202-126 record in 457 career starts split primarily between the Angels and Blue Jays (he only spent his last two years with San Francisco). It’s been a long career and drop-offs in talent at this age are not uncommon but if next season Wheeler can reproduce anything close to the 20-10 record and 3.64 ERA he gave to the Giants last year this deal will be well worth it.

The Mets made news by announcing the re-signing of 29-year old first baseman Hippolyte “Workhorse” Ashe for four years and a combined $40 million. Ashe, a four-time All Star and former number two overall pick (back in 2010) was a cornerstone of the team that went on to win the World Series title and blasted 70 home runs while knocking in 170 during the season last year. Ashe has 249 home runs in 5 full seasons with the Mets. The Mets also signed 15-year veteran starting pitcher James Barnes from the Atlanta Braves to a two-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed. In 424 career starts Barnes is 155-181 with a 4.68 career ERA. He’s 290 innings away from 3,000 career innings pitched.

The Chicago White Sox dealt the Champion Mets a blow by acquiring 28-year old left fielder Brandt Wurz from New York. Over the last five years Wurz has averaged over 35 home runs and 125 RBI per season. Wurz is a two-time All Star and hit .302 with a .426 OBP and .541 slugging percentage for the Mets last year in 573 at-bats.

But it was on Saturday, December 5th that things really started to pick up…