 A’s: Oakland brings back Fiers.

Starter enjoyed success after coming over in trade last season

The A’s left Mike Fiers off their playoff roster and then non-tendered him, making the pitcher a free agent.

It appeared evident they weren’t keen on bringing the right-hander back in 2019. To the contrary ...

Not only is Fiers returning, he’s getting a two-year contract. According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the package will be worth between $14 million and $15 million.

Fiers, 33, was 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA last season. That included 5-2 and 3.74 with the A’s, who went 8-1 in his starts after he arrived from Detroit in a July trade.

From the season-ending rotation, Edwin Jackson, Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson became free agents, and Fiers was eligible for arbitration, but wasn’t tendered.

The A’s had said they were interested in reuniting with their free-agent starters, but nothing was consummated through the winter meetings, and Cahill signed a one-year, $9 million contract with the Angels.

Bringing back Fiers seemed a long shot, especially with how his season ended. When the A’s tried to pitch him in relief in his final regular-season appearance — by then, they were all in on the opener strategy — Fiers was hit hard in Anaheim.

For the wild-card game against the Yankees, the A’s kept just one starter on the roster, Jackson, who didn’t appear in the game. Opener Liam Hendriks gave up two quick runs, and the A’s lost 7-2.

“Wanting to help this team as much as I can, I feel I can do that a lot better starting,” Fiers said on the eve of the wild-card game, “because I made 30 starts this year and only one time I came out of the bullpen, which didn’t go well. I feel I would need a little more familiarity coming out of the bullpen.”

Had the A’s tendered Fiers, he could have made in the neighborhood of $9 million, which is more than the average annual salary in his two-year deal.

The A’s remain in the market for more starters, though they have several options inhouse, including Daniel Mengden, who often appeared as the second pitcher in games in which the A’s used an opener.

Other candidates include Paul Blackburn, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt and, of course, Jesus Luzardo, the highly touted left-handed prospect.

Extremely active in lastminute holiday shopping, the A’s in recent days acquired infielder Jurickson Profar from Texas and signed reliever Joakim Soria.

Jeff Chiu / AP Mike Fiers, who re-signed as a free agent, was 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA last season, including 5-2 and 3.74 with the A’s after a deal with Detroit. The A’s remain in the market for more starters.