A’s: Team acquires righty starter Roark to go along with other stretchdrive acquisitions to bolster staff
The A’s wrapped up their tradedeadline shopping Wednesday by acquiring starter Tanner Roark to go along with another starter, Homer Bailey, added earlier in July, long with lefthanded reliever Jake Diekman.
Not as splashy as Houston’s Zack Greinketopped haul, sure. But the secondplace A’s didn’t surrender a prospect ranked higher than No. 8 in their system in July, and they addressed their biggest need, pitching depth, as they try to retain a wildcard spot.
“I think we’re in a lot better shape than we were at the AllStar break,” general manager David Forst said. “We went into the break worried about what happens when we have an injury, how does our rotation look? I feel a lot better about it now.”
Oakland sent No. 8 prospect Jameson Hannah, a center fielder drafted in the second round last year, to the Reds for Roark, 32. Cincinnati also will pay $2.1 million of the remaining $3.3 million on Roark’s deal. Like Bailey and Diekman, Roark will be a free agent at the end of the season.
“I like how he’s pitched this
year,” Forst said. “He’s a guy with a fourfive pitch mix, in the past has been a groundball guy, which works well with our defense. He’s tended more to flyballs this year, but that works well in this park.”
Roark comes highly recommended by those who’ve played with him. “He’s as good as they get,” former A’s starter Sonny Gray said via text.
“He’s an awesome guy,” said A’s reliever Blake Treinen, who played with Roark in Washington. “He’s a bulldog competitor. Where he’s at today is because of a lot of hard work. He commands the zone and he wants to go seven innings every time out. I’ve seen him go out without his best stuff and still go seven and get the win. He’s a great clubhouse guy, really fun, but team first. He’s a great addition to this team.”
The A’s are likely to move Daniel Mengden out of the rotation to make room for Roark, who pitched Tuesday night and could go Sunday for Oakland. With Sean Manaea’s rehab assignment due to end Aug. 7, Oakland’s rotation might soon include Mike Fiers, Brett Anderson, Roark, Bailey and Manaea — but Chris Bassitt has pitched well most of the season, and it’s possible that the A’s will choose to option Manaea to TripleA Las Vegas if they don’t believe he’s quite ready to hop into a postseason race.
Whatever the case, the team’s willingness to acquire more pitching demonstrates the organization is going for it, especially with Wednesday’s transaction: Roark was among the best options when it came to starters who will be free agents after the season.
“That’s pretty impressive, to be able to get two majorleague starters like that who’ve had nice careers to this point and to add Jake Diekman. This makes us a better team, without a doubt,” manager Bob Melvin said, adding that credit should go to Forst and vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane for the moves “and not just stopping after one or two acquisitions. Tanner Roark was a tough get for us, so hats off to them.
“To have this kind of pitching reinforcement is terrific and shows the team that the front office definitely believes in us.”
Melvin, a foodie, did get a kick out of hearing that Roark was at an Arby’s parking lot when he got the news; he’d stopped to get a beefandcheddar while driving to his home in Atlanta.
“That’s not an awful place to be,” Melvin said. “But yeah, we have some Michelinstar places around here we can probably find him a good spot to get a quick meal.”
The divisionleading Astros, meanwhile, became potential World Series favorites after trading for Diamondbacks starter Greinke and Toronto starter Aaron Sanchez on Wednesday. Houston also added Blue Jays reliever Joe Biagini and Cubs catcher Martin Maldonado. Greinke, the sixtime AllStar, was the headliner, joining Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole in the Astros’ eyepopping rotation.
“They seem to have gotten a little bit better, too,” Melvin deadpanned. “It’s rare you have three true aces, No. 1 guys, at the top of your rotation, so it makes our job a little bit tougher. But we’re more focused on what we’re doing right now.”