Evaluating Edward Mujica As Oakland Athletics’ New Closer

The Oakland Athletics Have a New Closer

As the fire sale continues, there are going to be many changes to the Oakland Athletics’ roster over the next few days. The biggest concern was the lack of a closer once Tyler Clippard was traded to the New York Mets. There were a few options, but in the end, Edward Mujica was chosen to be the Oakland Athletics’ newest closer.

Mujica was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Oakland Athletics in early May this year. Mujica did suffer a fractured thumb not long after joining the A’s, but was able to return from the disabled list about a month later. Mujica has been pitching well for the Athletics and has accumulated a 3.36 ERA during his time in Oakland.

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Mujica does have closing experience. Back in 2013, Mujica was selected as the closer for the St. Louis Cardinals after their previously appointed closer, Jason Motte, landed on the DL. During his time as the Cardinals’ closer, Mujica was able to collect 37 saves and blew only four save opportunities. With his experience, Mujica is probably the best reliever to fill in as the closer for the A’s.

However, it must be noted that Mujica’s contract is up at the end of this year. If the Oakland Athletics believe that he could be used in a trade to acquire some prominent prospects, Mujica could be gone before he even gets a chance to pitch in a save situation. Although, with Oakland outright appointing him as their closer, it is unlikely that they are considering trading Mujica.

If Mujica does get traded, Drew Pomeranz could be a possible replacement. He was considered for the closing role after Clippard was traded, but the Athletics like him in his current position as the multipurpose bullpen reliever. Overall, he would not be the best player to fill this role anyways since much of his minor and major league experience has been as a starting pitcher or long reliever and he has only pitched in one save opportunity situation in his five years in the MLB.

Additionally, the appointment of Mujica as the A’s newest closer makes many wonder how Sean Doolittle is doing and when he will be to returning to the big leagues. The A’s 2014 closer has been on the disabled list for most of the season and will not be available to pitch in the closing role until probably early September. This past weekend he threw two days in a row from flat ground and is expected to throw a bullpen session Thursday of this week. Even though he is likely come off the DL before the season ends, his return will not likely make a huge impact on the team’s success.

Even though I personally thought that the Oakland Athletics’ best bet was to go with a closer by committee setup in order to figure out which reliever was ready for the closer job, they seem to have faith in Mujica’s ability to close. He did not perform very well with Boston earlier this season, so hopefully he will continue down this successful path he has found here in Oakland. In addition, the A’s will ideally acquire an MLB-ready, reliable reliever at some point before July 31 in order to boost their floundering bullpen.

Next: Three Potential Trade Destinations For Oakland Athletics' Josh Reddick