A’s have no shortage of bullpen candidates — including their own
With four relief pitchers hitting free agency, the A’s face the possibility this offseason of having to retool a bullpen that was one of baseball’s best in 2020.
If so, they’ll find no shortage of options.
As MLB’s virtual “winter meetings” began Monday, more than 80 relief pitchers were available on the freeagent market, a sign of teams’ reluctance to spend in the wake of a pandemicshortened season that diminished revenues. The flood of arms figures to create a buyers’ market for teams that, like the A’s, are looking for bullpen help.
The A’s have been willing in the past to pay for relief pitching. Three of their seven largest prepandemic salaries in 2020 were due to relievers: Joakim Soria ($ 8.5 million), Yusmeiro Petit ($ 5.5 million) and Liam
Hendriks ($ 5.3 million). Those three, with T. J. McFarland ($ 1.8 million), are free agents, their salaries coming off the books.
Like many teams, the A’s aren’t expected to be big spenders this winter. Hendriks, to whom the A’s opted not to extend an $ 18.9 million qualifying offer, is expected to have deeppocketed suitors. Other top freeagent relievers — including Brad Hand, Trevor Rosenthal and Alex Colomé — could command multiyear deals out of Oakland’s price range.
The A’s might have to dig deeper to rebuild a bullpen that could lose its closer, two setup men and one of its two lefthanders. Here are five freeagent relievers they could consider:
Shane Greene
Greene, the former Atlanta righthander, might push or surpass what the A’s are willing to spend. He was on a oneyear, $ 6.25 million deal with the Braves last season, and the analytics website FanGraphs projects a oneyear, $ 5 million deal this offseason. The 32yearold has experience in lategame situations, including closing. Greene saved 32 games for Detroit in 2018 and was an AllStar in 2019, compiling a 2.30 ERA in 65 games for the Tigers and Braves. He handled setup duties for Atlanta in 2020, posting a 2.60 ERA in 28 outings. His strikeout rate dropped this past season ( 6.8 per nine innings, compared to 8.4 for his career), but he was still effective with a sinker-cutter-slider combination and pitched well in the playoffs. His history handling different roles could help an A’s team that currently has no defined closer.
Jeremy Jeffress
Jeffress, 33, signed with the Cubs last offseason on a oneyear, $ 850,000 deal but probably won’t be such a bargain this winter. The righthander went 41 with a 1.54 ERA in 22 games and proved a suitable fillin when closer Craig Kimbrel struggled, recording eight saves. Jeffress’ upanddown recent history is reflected in his ERAs the past five seasons: 2.33, 4.68, 1.29, 5.02 and 1.54. He was an AllStar for Milwaukee in 2018, with 89 strikeouts in 76 2⁄3 innings, and dealt with injuries in 2019. Like Greene, he has closer experience, with 17 saves for the Brewers in 2016. Jeffress cited a splitfinger changeup as key to his success in 2018 and relied on it more than ever in 2020; he threw it 34% of the time and opponents hit .122 against it, per Brooks Baseball. FanGraphs projects a oneyear, $ 3 million deal.
Jose Alvarez
The A’s navigated 2020, the first season of the three batter minimum, with two lefthanded relievers and rarely used McFarland down the stretch. If they’re looking for a lefthander, they might consider Alvarez, who pitched well in eight games with the Phillies before a line drive struck him in the groin and he missed the rest of the season. Alvarez had made 64 or more appearances each of the previous five seasons — four of those in the AL West with the Angels, so the A’s are familiar with him. He has allowed a career .279 average and .765 on-base-plus-slugging to righthanded hitters but held lefties to a .241 average and .663 OPS. He has thrown a sinker more often the past two seasons and induced a groundball rate of nearly 50%, which could complement Oakland’s typically good infield defense.
Chaz Roe
Roe, 34, pitched in 10 games before missing the rest of 2020 with an elbow injury, so signing him carries some risk. But the upside could be high. Roe made 132 appearances with Tampa Bay in 201819 and averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He stranded 76% of his inherited runners in those two seasons. Roe’s calling card is a nasty slider that he throws more than half the time — memorably, A’s lefthander Jake Diekman asked a Twitter user for Roe’s slider grip early in the 2020 season and coopted it to great effect during his dominant year. In 2019, Roe pitched a careerhigh 51 innings and allowed just three home runs. He could provide a righthanded change of pace as bullpens are built more on velocity — again, if he’s healthy.
Yusmeiro Petit
If the A’s and Petit can reach a deal that satisfies both sides, a reunion makes sense. A’s manager Bob Melvin has utmost confidence in Petit and will use him in any situation. Petit has embraced that role and been one of the league’s most valuable relievers for a few years. He had a 2.71 ERA while leading the AL with 80 appearances in 2019 and posted a 1.66 ERA in 26 games in 2020. Petit just turned 36 but has compiled some of his best seasons in his mid30s, relying more on precision and wile than velocity. Given all that, Petit could be the likeliest of the A’s freeagent relievers to be back in Oakland next year.