Oakland Athletics
2015 Win/Loss Record:
68-94, 5th in American League West
Last Postseason
Appearance: 2014
Last World Series
Championship: 1989
Key Arrivals: Jed
Lowrie (INF), Yonder Alonso (1B), Ryan Madison (P)
Key Departures: Jesse
Chavez (P), Brett Lawrie (3B), Drew Promeranz (P)
Manager: Bob
Melvin, 6th Year, W/L 393-354
(886-862 in 12 years with Mariners,
D-Backs and A’s)
Overall Review: The Oakland Athletics
have been a model for doing the most with very little since 2000. Despite
having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, the team has made the playoffs
eight times since the turn of the century. They never had any postseason success during
those runs though, as they only made it past the ALDS once and that was in 2006
when they were swept aside by the Tigers in the ALCS.
It appeared that Oakland took a
huge step back in 2015 when they lost 94 games, the first time they lost that
many since 1997. But Oakland’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations,
Billy Beane has built a legacy as a front office whiz when it comes to building
a competitive team with a penny-pinching ownership. The A’s traded away some of
their regulars from last year and have brought in the next wave of young
players and prospects (only three players on the 40-man roster are over 30
years of age) to try and reach the post season again.
Offense: One of the new players on the
A’s roster this year is first baseman Yonder Alonso, acquired in a trade with
the San Diego Padres. In 103 games last year, Alonso had a decent average at
.282, but has never been the power hitter a first baseman should be. He only
hit five last year and his season high was in 2012 when he hit nine. Jed Lowrie
is another addition, via a trade with the Houston Astros, and will play second
base. This will be his second stint with Oakland having previously played for
the team in 2013 and 2014. In 69 games with Houston last year, Lowrie batted
only .222, hit nine home runs and added 30 RBIs.
Centre-fielder Billy Burns has
the potential to be the best player on the team. He had the highest average on
the team in 2015 at .294. He only hit five home runs and drove in 40 from he
lead-off spot, but he also stole 26 bases. Right-fielder Josh Reddick is the
biggest power threat on the team. He hit 20 homers last year and drove in 77
runs. His average was a decent .272 and he did steal ten bases. Catcher Stephen
Vogt can also go deep as evidenced by his 18 dingers in 136 games.
Pitching: Sonny Gray is the best
pitcher in the A’s starting rotation. He posted a 14-7 record last season, with
a 2.73 and 169 strikeouts. Pretty decent numbers for a last-place team that
lost 94 games. Free agent signee Henderson Alvarez should help the rotation.
While he was limited to only four starts last season (he lost all four) he did
post a 12-7 record in 2014, and had a 2.65 ERA and struck out 11 in 30 starts.
The bullpen will be stronger
with three off-season additions. First is free agent Ryan Madson who joins
Oakland from the World Champion Kansas City Royals. In his first season in the
Majors since 2011, Madson saved three games and posted a 2.13 ERA in 60 games.
John Axford is another pick up through free agency. With Colorado last year,
Axford had a 4-5 record with 25 saves, a 4.20 ERA and 62 strike outs. The other
bullpen addition is Liam Hendriks who comes from Toronto via a trade. In 58
games with the Blue Jays, Hendriks had a 5-0 record and a 2.92 ERA while
striking out 71 batters.
 |
| A's pitcher Sonny Gray |
Prediction: Give the Athletics a couple
of years before Beane’s latest attempt to compete with the high spenders is
successful. While the pieces are slowly being put in place, another last place
finish in the AL West seems the likely destination. Rumours have abounded for
years about the city of Oakland losing their team. Last year, MLB blocked the
attempt to move the A’s to San Jose. A new stadium would be nice, but chances
are they’ll be stuck in the old Coliseum for a while.
Follow us on Twitter at @topofthethird
No comments:
Post a Comment