The A’s are looking good this season, despite losing their last two series to the Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners. They are sitting atop the American League West with a 20-15 record and a game and a half lead over the second place Texas Rangers. So yes, they are not in any danger right now and are looking like playoff contenders.
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Besides the pitching of former closer Jim Johnson, the A’s pitching has been strong which has been a surprise to many since they lost two of their starters for the year to Tommy John Surgery, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin. However their four and five starters have been slowing down the rest of the team. Not that Dan Straily or Tommy Milone have been terrible but look at it this way, the A’s are 16-5 when their top three starters Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez pitch, when the other two and one time call up Josh Lindbloom have pitched the A’s have a record of 3-10. That means something needs to change at the back end of the rotation.
Long reliever Drew Pomeranz pitched in the second game of the A’s double header Wednesday, looked strong and got the win (making the bottom part of the rotation’s record 4-10) so he is a possibility for the A’s. However if they truly want to contend, get past the playoffs and to the World Series it appears that they are going to need to trade for another starter.
There are quite a few candidates out there, good pitchers on flailing teams who are either inexpensive or nearing free agency so the, more often than not, frugal A’s wouldn’t have to invest too much money or too many years in that player unless they choose to at the end of the season. Also, the time for the A’s to win is now. Currently they only have a stadium to play in until 2015. This will more than likely change by season’s end, but what if it doesn’t? The team needs to win now. They are is good enough and with another starter would have a very legitimate chance at excelling in the playoffs.
The Cub’s are one of the worst teams in baseball and are currently in last place in the National League Central with a 12-21 record. It’s safe to say that they are not contenders this season. Their pitcher right-hander Jeff Samardzija has performed beautifully this season and has yet to record a win and that has nothing to do with his performance. He is 0-3 with a 1.62 ERA in seven starts. He has given up just nine earned runs in 50 innings pitched and has more than twice as many strikeouts (38) than walks he has allowed (15). He is going to be at free agent this off season and CSN Chicago Cubs’ insider Patrick Mooney writes that “Samardzija intends to test the free-agent market after the 2015 season, no matter what happens this summer.” I am sure would be just fine with the A’s. They could try to contend for him as a free agent or not, Parker and Griffin will be back in 2015. Plus Samardzija is only making $5,345,000 which the A’s wouldn’t have to pay much of, if at all depending on what they are willing to trade in return for the right-hander. Seems like a good deal, Samardzija goes to a contender where he can get wins and the A’s get a good starter to bolster the bottom of their rotation.
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The A’s do have other options. They could look at pitchers who they have had before, both on the Arizona Diamondbacks who as everyone knows by now are not even remotely in contention for the post season. They are rightys Brandon McCarthy and Trevor Cahill. Neither have the best ERA but they would have a better chance on the Athletics as well as they are stronger pitchers than the A’s bottom two. More options could include a number of the Blue Jays’ pitchers such as R.A. Dickey or Mark Buehrle, who just pitched a gem in his most recent start. The Tampa Bay Rays’ 28-year old southpaw David Price might be a fit for the Athletics as well.
Samardzija would look good in the green and gold and would be a perfect fit. The Cubs could use some prospects to start building their ball club back up. While there are many options for the A’s including not making a trade and working from within the organization, it would be interesting to see how many wins Samardzija would get as a member of the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics hope would be he could help them make a push past the first two rounds of the playoffs and on to the World Series. If that is their plan, they will need another pitcher.
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Filed under: A.J. Griffin, Chicago Cubs, Jeff Samardzija, Jesse Chavez, MLB, MLB News, MLB Rumors, Oakland Athletics, Sonny Gray Tagged: A.J. Griffin, Chicago Cubs, Free Agent, Jarrod Parker, Jeff Samardzija, Jesse Chavez, MLB, MLB News, MLB Rumors, Oakland Athletics, Scott Kazmir, Sonny Gray, Sports News, Tommy John Surgery, Trade
