Six New Year's resolutions for A's heading into 2021 season
It looked like the A’s were in for some seismic changes this offseason when the Wall Street Journal reported Billy Beane could be leaving his post as the team’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations.But Beane is expected to stay with the front office this season as he awaits MLB approval for a deal to merge his RedBall Acquisition Corp. with John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group. Presented with a conflict of interest between the A’s and Red Sox, Beane was expected to go into the franchise acquisition business and make major financial moves in the global sports market.Instead, it appears he’ll be overseeing another penny-pinching season in Oakland. The pandemic tightened the vice on the franchise’s perennially small payroll and it looks like the offseason will be marked by several high-profile departures.Here’s a list of New Year’s resolutions the A’s can make to keep the team competitive in 2021.
Marcus Semien has been linked to big-money franchises like the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs and the A’s simply can’t compete with those deep pockets. You can hold out hope that the Berkeley, Calif., native will give Oakland a hometown discount, but he finished third in the MVP voting in 2019 at a prime position.
Semien only slashed .223/.305/.374 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in last year’s abbreviated campaign. He also regressed defensively but will still command a strong market as an established 30-year-old.
The A’s likely will have to rely on the free-agent market as well, since top shortstop prospect Nick Allen is still probably a year away from contributing at the big-league level. A veteran like Andrelton Simmons would make sense for the A's even though there'd be a massive drop-off in offensive power. He's still a solid defender and it would be fun to watch him and Matt Chapman working together on the left side of the infield.
A’s fans might as well wave bye-bye to All-Star closer Liam Hendriks, who is in line for a big payday as the premier ninth-inning option on the free-agent market this offseason. Reports have linked Hendriks to big-budget teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, among others. Akin to the Semien situation, the A’s just don’t look like a financially realistic destination for Hendriks.
Without Hendriks it appears the A’s are prepared to promote relievers in-house, starting with Jake Diekman. The southpaw, who turns 34 in January, dominated hitters with his sweeping slider last year and only allowed a single earned run over 21 1/3 innings pitched. He will earn $4 million this season and the team has a club-friendly $4 million option for 2021, which is much more aligned with the budget.
But who will step up to Diekman’s role as eighth-inning stopper?
Oakland’s bullpen was the key to its regular-season success last year and the team has a couple of in-house candidates to be the go-to setup man. J.B. Wendelken posted an impressive 1.80 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 25 innings last year but also walked 11 batters in that span. Lou Trivino showed flashes of his dominant 2018 self last year but still remains a wild card.
Hendriks’ seemingly imminent departure could have a major ripple effect on the strength of last year’s squad. Veteran right-handers Joakim Soria and Yusmeiro Petit remain free agents, meaning the A's bullpen will likely look a lot different in 2021.
Perhaps no high-profile A’s free agent is more desirable and affordable for the team than Tommy La Stella.
He made a big impact toward the top of the batting order last season and led MLB with an impressive 5.8 percent strikeout rate, putting him a class of his own when it comes to plate discipline. You know Beane and the A's love plate discipline.
La Stella will be 32 years old next year but will attract a big market due to his versatility on the infield and familiarity with both leagues. He can play second base, first base and third base and showed major pop in his bat during his All-Star 2019 campaign with the Los Angeles Angels that was derailed by a broken leg. Before his career year in Anaheim, he became a fan favorite during a four-year stint with the Chicago Cubs.
A’s general manager David Forst has said he’d be content with a mix of Tony Kemp, Chad Pinder and Vimael Machin at second base. Bob Melvin loves to plug n’ play as much as any skipper, but you can be sure he’d love to be able to pencil in La Stella every day in 2021.
This isn’t a resolution so much as a fingers-crossed wish.
The career of top prospect A.J. Puk has been marred by injuries. He underwent shoulder surgery in September but Forst said he is considering Puk a member of the 2021 rotation. As it stands now, Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea and Jesus Luzardo are penciled in to lead the 2021 rotation.
But it’s always risky going into the season with the oft-injured Puk as your fifth starter. Luzardo has never been through the grind of a full MLB season, either.
The A’s have a history of squeezing quality innings out of veteran pitchers on short-term deals and could hope for another Bartolo Colon-like find. There are plenty of candidates available this offseason to fill a similar role Mike Fiers held the past couple years.
Ramon Laureano is locked in to center field and Stephen Piscotty will be holding down right field. Mark Canha will probably get a bulk of the playing time in left field but Forst recently told reporters that adding a left-handed hitting outfielder has been among the team’s internal discussions.
The A’s always seem to find a veteran or two to fill the gap and will likely rely on the same formula this season. Canha is expected to earn $6.8 million in arbitration this year, per Spotrac, which would put him behind only Khris Davis ($16.75 million) and Piscotty ($7.58 million) in terms of salary. Canha's wRC+ of 140 since 2019 is the 11th-best in MLB. He's become a big part of the A's offense while playing left field, right field and first base.
Switch-hitting Robbie Grossman, who often got left-handed at-bats as a left fielder, is still on the market as a free agent. Internal candidates include Seth Brown and Skye Bolt, but both players are unproven at the MLB level.
Khris Davis’ precipitous drop in production has been mind-boggling. This marks the final season of the two-year, $33.5 million contract extension he signed in April 2019 and his $16.75 million salary looks like a beached whale.
Davis’ bat showed some life late in the regular season and into the playoffs last year but he’s got to regain the form that led to 133 homers between 2016-18. If Davis can come close to the 40-plus homer campaigns he was putting up, it would be like adding a major free-agent signee.
The 33-year-old designated hitter is at a huge career crossroads as he enters his contract year.
