A’s likely to add help at trade deadline

The Oakland A’s have primarily sought pitching at the trade deadline for several years now, going back to the 2014 all-in trades for Jeff Samardzija and Jon Lester. They are setting up for more of the same again this year, targeting bullpen help. But they should do more to address their struggling lineup.

Despite skittering to a July record of 8-11, the A’s are right in the thick of a playoff push. They sit 5.5 games back of the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West and 1.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners for the AL’S second wild card spot.

The A’s should be serious about adding more pieces to their roster to bolster their postseason run. Expect them to add some bullpen depth, at least. But this month, it’s clear that the A’s underperforming offense could use a spark.

Matt Olson is arguably putting together a season worthy of MVP consideration. The rest of the A’s offense hasn’t been able to find its footing, a few key contributors in particular.

Matt Chapman is allowed a grace period after returning from his hip surgery last September, but he’s tumbled into far more cold streaks than hot ones. He leads baseball with 125 strikeouts, a statistic that doesn’t spell disaster when many hitters are sacrificing their strikeout rate to swing for power. But Chapman isn’t hitting for much power. He’s slashing .218/ .313/.372 with a .685 OPS and 12 home runs in 98 games. Chapman isn’t chasing out of the zone, but he’s struggled with pitches up, including a 40% swing-and-miss rate on pitches up in the middle of the plate. In other words, his timing still looks off and, at times, his at-bats aren’t as competitive as they have been.