GM Forst: A’s may make trades before July 30 deadline.
GM sees splash at trading deadline as unlikely
The A’s reached the All-Star break this year at 12 games above .500. A reliable rotation carried them in the first half and balanced an upanddown offense and a bullpen that could be shaky at times. An early 13game winning streak pushed them into first place for most of May and June. A lull saw them spend the past three weeks in second.
Oakland ended the first half 31⁄2 games behind Houston in the division. Friday marked two weeks until the nonwaiver trade deadline and for the A’s front office to try to bolster the team for a secondhalf run.
“As a baseball operations group, we are certainly preparing to have conversations to add at the deadline,” A’s general manager David Forst said in a phone interview Saturday. “Whether that happens or not is always sort of up to other teams; you have to find a partner. But as we continue those conversations, our focus is on potentially adding to this group.”
A splash may be unlikely.
Recent A’s teams in good position in July leaned toward lowerprofile trade additions, especially on the pitching side, to augment the existing roster.
“I think we feel the same as we did in the offseason, that the pieces to compete for the division are definitely here,” Forst said.
“We’ve seen (Matt Olson) carry us at times, we’ve seen Jed (Lowrie) do a bulk of the lifting on the offensive side. We’ve seen contributors like Seth Brown at times or Tony (Kemp) have a great run. There are a lot of really competitive players here that are going to allow us to stay in this. So I don’t think we’re necessarily looking for an overhaul at any position.”
One area where the A’s could look to add is the bullpen. Forst said relief help is a “natural fit for any contender” and “we’ve been monitoring that market.”
The A’s had hoped Trevor Rosenthal could return from shoulder surgery in the second half, but the closer recently had seasonending hip surgery. Forst said that does not make a “huge difference” in evaluating bullpen needs.
“It’s a little different math now that Trevor’s not going to be part of this group in August and September, but I think we still see the bullpen as a place we would hope to augment,” Forst said.
Would the A’s now be more inclined to pursue a reliever with closing experience? “I don’t know that we’re going to have the luxury of picking someone who’s closed or not,” Forst said. “Look, Lou (Trivino) has done a fantastic job, Jake (Diekman) when he’s been called on to close games has done it well. I think our focus is just on best pitchers available and not necessarily guys who have experience closing.”
The A’s could draw relief help from TripleA Las Vegas. Forst said A.J. Puk “has pitched much better of late, and I could see him being someone that gets called on up here.” Daulton Jefferies, starting at TripleA, would be a candidate to bolster the A’s bullpen. Jesús Luzardo continues to start at Las Vegas: “We’ll see ultimately what Jesus’ role ends up being for the rest of the year,” Forst said, “but he obviously needs to get some things straightened out down there before he’s a consideration to come back.”
Oakland’s offense was middling in the first half. The A’s ranked eighth of 15 AL teams in OPS and runs scored. Losing leadoff hitter Mark Canha to injury in late June had an effect. The A’s averaged 3.8 runs in 16 games without Canha, who returned to the lineup Saturday.
The A’s were 13th in the AL in OPS from the left field and DH spots and 14th in OPS from their right fielders. While the DH spot can offer AL teams flexibility in possible pursuit of
a bat, the A’s have used the DH at times to give regulars a partial rest amid the 162game season.
“You look at how (manager Bob Melvin) has set the lineups in the first half, and that’s a big part of keeping guys fresh is rotating them through the DH spot,” Forst said. “It’s been used for Jed and Ramón (Laureano) and Canha. And I think that’s a consideration for anything we do, is if you bring in someone who’s going to primarily get their atbats out of the DH spot, how does that affect the rest of the roster?”
Oakland’s .613 OPS from shortstop is last in the AL, but Elvis Andrus entered Saturday batting .290 in 59 games since May 7. Forst was firm when asked about Andrus, whom the A’s traded for in February with Texas.
“Elvis is the shortstop,” Forst said. “I’m not sure where we’d be without him the last month.
“We know it’s a long season and guys are going to have ups and downs. … He struggled for a month and since then he’s been exactly what we expected. His defense has been outstanding, his energy and positivity in the clubhouse never waned. I know Bob will tell you how valuable he’s been off the field, and his onfield play the last six weeks has absolutely matched that.”
After going 051 in six series starting in New York in midJune, the A’s ended the first half with two wins at Texas. FanGraphs projects them as a playoff team, while PECOTA projects them on the cusp. They began Saturday with the AL’s fifthbest record.
“We played well early, we sort of banked a lot of wins, and over the course of six months I think we know there are going to be ups and downs,” Forst said. “So I still like the position that we’re in.”