Is it time for lagging A’s to make a trade — or two?
G.M. sees positive signs despite team’s last-place standing
OAKLAND — It’s more than a month until the July 31 trade deadline, and A’s general manager Billy Beane already is fielding calls from other teams wondering if he would deal some of his veteran players.
The Washington Nationals are among the clubs that have asked about infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist and closer Tyler Clippard. Both could be free agents after this season. The New York Yankees have inquired about Zobrist; the Toronto Blue Jays have shown interest in Clippard. More teams seem likely to follow.
Beane has listened, but sources suggest the A’s aren’t ready to deal despite
1 entering Monday 10 ⁄ games
2 behind and in last place in the American League West. There still are 90 games left in the A’s season, and the team has won six of its last eight heading into a threegame series against the Rangers that begins Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
Beane says he likes some of what he’s seeing, including the A’s being 5-2-1 in their last eight series. They are 14-9 in those contests, and have gained three games in the A.L. West and four in the wild-card standings,
1 where they are 7 ⁄
2 games out.
“We’re second in run differential (in the division), which suggests we’ve performed better than our record shows,” the general manager said. “The starters have been good. We have the foundation of a good young staff; (Jesse) Hahn and Kendall (Graveman) for rookies have shown well. Marcus (shortstop Marcus Semien) has shown progress.
“There are some good things happening,” Beane said. “And the issues we have are pretty apparent. A lot are due to unplanned occurrences, injuries, etc.”
Closer Sean Doolittle has missed all but one game because of a left shoulder strain. Leadoff hitter Coco Crisp spent a month on the disabled list recovering from elbow surgery, came back for 13 games and is on the disabled list again with a neck strain. Doolittle and Crisp were considered key players, and now the A’s face the possibility of being without both for the rest of the season.
“If we do get them back, it will be late,” Beane said. “We are going forward with the assumption of not having them for a long time.”
The absence of Doolittle has been debilitating. Clippard has done fine in the closer’s role with 12 saves and a 2.97 ERA, but the eighth inning, which was supposed to belong to Clippard, hasn’t been filled well by anyone.
On Saturday and Sunday against the Angels, manager Bob Melvin used Clippard in the eighth in part because he had no one to fill that role. Clippard saved both games, but he worked a combined three innings and threw 62 pitches.
“The hope as it relates to bullpen stability is that someone evolves into taking over the role,” Beane said of the eighth inning. “That hasn’t been the case yet. You’d like to think somebody would step up. As a result, the biggest impact of the injuries has been in the bullpen.”
It hasn’t helped that Ryan Cook and Dan Otero, two bullpen stalwarts, pitched so poorly this year that they were demoted to Triple-A Nashville. Even without Doolittle, the A’s might have been OK in the bullpen if Cook and Otero could have handled the eighth inning. Cook came into the season with a 2.77 career ERA; Otero had a 2.35 mark.
“To some extent we need Cook and Otero here,” Beane said. “But that needs to come from them performing at that (Triple-A) level. Until there is a correction, we’ll have to wait. Our issues have been pretty acute. The loss of Doolittle has had a huge impact, more than I would have thought.
“The frustrating thing is it was a good team as planned. The injury issues, especially during the month of May, missing Zobrist and (first baseman Ike) Davis for a month, has made for an uphill struggle.”