Why A’s didn’t extend qualifying offers to Semien or Hendriks
The A’s did not extend qualifying offers to shortstop Marcus Semien or closer Liam Hendriks. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.
This decision doesn’t squander hope that Semien or Hendriks will be with the A’s for the 2021 season and beyond.
As free agents they can now negotiate a contract with Oakland or any other team. It means the A’s didn’t want to risk being locked into two one-year, $18.9 million contracts for the upcoming season that is economically impacted by the pandemic.
The typically stingy A’s aren’t the only team to turn their nose at the qualifying offer.
Just six players were extended offers: infielder DJ Lemahieu; outfielder George Springer; catcher J.T. Realmuto; pitcher Trevor Bauer; pitcher Marcus Stroman and pitcher Kevin Gausman. The six teams that extended offers: Yankees; Astros; Phillies; Reds; Mets and Giants. The common thread ties together elite players who might demand a yearly salary around the qualifying offer and teams willing to pay the price to keep franchise players close.
Notable players who didn’t receive qualifying offers include Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius, Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and Astros outfielder Michael Brantley. Payroll trims began with some eye-popping moves, including when the Cleveland Indians placed Brad Hand on outright waivers after declining his $10 million club option. The Tampa Bay Rays declined Charlie Morton’s $15 million option just a few days after their World Series loss. The Yankees declined Brett Gardner’s contract option, the Red Sox declined Martín Perez’s and the Cardinals declined Kolten Wong’s.
It’s important to note that the A’s have never paid close to $18.9 million for any player for a single season. Khris Davis, one of a handful of players on the A’s books now, will earn $16.75 million in 2021 — the most of any Athletic currently signed for next season.
Sure, it would be nice if the A’s would pony up $37.8 million to secure two faces of the franchise — both of whom became league stars under Oakland’s tutelage. Truth is, given the free agency market’s uncertainty, Semien, Hendriks and almost all qualified would be smart to leap at the qualifying offer.
Semien would almost certainly take the $18.9 million because there’s little promise he will earn more in free agency considering both his down 2020 season and what should be a hostile market. He’s ranked as one of the top free agents in baseball, but the A’s may be able to lock him in on a more team-friendly deal with an opportunity for the 30-year- old to re-up his value for what will hopefully be a more stable 2022 offseason.
The good news for A’s fans: Both sides have said they want a reunion.
Semien, a Bay Area native, lives with his family in the East Bay. Close to the franchise that traded for him and rebuilt him. He’s said he wants to stay with the team that gave him confidence, tools to mature as a hitter and the coaching to develop a more reliable glove at short. As the longesttenured Athletic in the socially- distanced clubhouse, he become a leader and captain.
The A’s have a handful of infield prospects in their system, including stellar defensive shortstop Nick Allen and first-round pick Logan Davidson. But a year without minor league baseball didn’t help their development. Billy Beane said publicly that the A’s feel best with Semien, their ironman, in the lineup in the short term.
“I don’t feel good about anybody better than Marcus at this time, let’s put it that way,” Beane said in the days following the A’s postseason elimination. “I know David (Forst) and Bob (Melvin) feel most comfortable with Marcus. That’s probably a thought that we should be having, but we are trying to put that out of our mind right now.
“Replacing a guy like Marcus, no matter who it is, it’s going to be difficult. The guy was third in the league in the MVP last year, and the two guys above him weren’t shortstops, so that’ll tell you the shoes that need to be filled. There are very few guys like him.”
The feelings are mutual, but the stars may not align. If the A’s and Semien can’t agree on a deal, Oakland could look elsewhere for a temporary replacement.
That’s a risk the A’s had to take when they decided not to extend a qualifying offer — all told, it’s not a huge risk even if it is an unpopular one. Even in a stable economy, when have the A’s ever been given the budget to keep popular players?
Hendriks is almost certainly out of the A’s reach, but a qualifying offer wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Why?
After being designated for assignment in 2018, Hendriks turned himself into one of the game’s best closers, at the top of the reliever free agent list with Alex Colomé. Because he was one of the few players in all of baseball who could put together an exceptional 60-game season, Hendriks is assuredly circled on the offseason lists of spend-happy teams looking for one big arm to glue their bullpen together. Think the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels or even the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maybe the Yankees or Giants.
Because Hendriks is more likely to demand a hefty contract in free agency, it was possible the A’s could see the advantage to extending him an offer. Knowing he would most likely decline it for another offer, the A’s would receive a compensatory pick in consolation.
Though Hendriks’ return to Oakland seems far less likely than Semien’s, there still remains the possibility that the two sides can reunite. The reigning AL Reliever of the Year certainly settles heartbeats when he takes the mound, posting a 1.79 ER with 161 strikeouts and 39 saves over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Not only is he consistent, Hendriks is affable and extroverted; if the A’s wanted to carve another face of the franchise, Hendriks looked more than willing.
But the A’s couldn’t spend $18.9 million on anyone, not even one of the game’s best players. All told, the A’s have the tools to stave off risk. They can create another Hendriks in their lab. Jordan Weems, with a high-90s fastball and nice splitter, could be their next project. And so goes the cycle.
The A’s have a lot of players to juggle this offseason, including 10 free agents and 10 players in arbitration. They laid off 20 percent of their staff in both the business and baseball operations.
The budget is always decidedly tight, and this year un-mitigable circumstances made it tighter. Would it have been nice to see the A’s try to lock down two very good players with it, or at least get a pick out of the offer? Sure. Is it worth the financial risk in 2020? We’re learning quickly that the A’s, and most other teams, aren’t messing with risk.