The Oakland Athletics have many decisions to make this offseason. Mainly, the A’s need to decide who they want to keep from the current roster and who they are going to let go. One of those players on the chopping block is relief pitcher Evan Scribner.
Scribner had an ok season. He performed quite well during the first half and even held the set-up man role for a short period of time. Scribner had a combined ERA of 2.13 during April and May and struck out 33 batters over 28.2 innings. However, he began to struggle during the second half of the season. Scribner’s 2015 season ended in early September when he incurred a torn right lat muscle and was placed on the 60-day disabled list. However, he is expected to be healthy for spring training, so should the A’s keep him around?
Scribner is arbitration eligible this offseason and is also a non-tender candidate. This means, that the Athletics do not need to tender his contract and he could become a free agent. However, there would be some upsides to keeping him on the roster.
For one, he would be cheap. MLBTradeRumors.com has estimated that if Oakland and Scribner go through arbitration, he will make $700,000 next season. This would keep the Athletics’ payroll low as they search for a veteran player – whether it be a starting pitcher or infielder – who may require a large salary. Additionally, the A’s are going to have to completely overhaul their bullpen anyways, so it may be smart to start with the least expensive player who has the potential to be successful next year.
That is another reason that Athletics should keep him – he has the potential to be successful in 2016. He showed this during the first two months of the 2015 season. Oakland did not have a designated eighth inning set-up man, but Scribner definitely fit the bill for those first couple of months. This may be due to the fact that he added a cutter to his pitching repertoire, which worked well for him this year.
Before this season, Scribner was just this fill in guy for when someone incurred an injury or for those blowout games. But, after four years in the Majors, he has proved that he could be more than that. Additionally, he has shown that he can still grow and learn as a relief pitcher – which means the possibilities are endless for Scribner. If he can recover from this inquiry and continue to improve his skills, he will to find success as a relief pitcher.
The Oakland Athletics do not currently have an eighth inning set-up man on the roster. It is worth giving Scribner another shot since he will be cheap and has been successful in this position in the past. The team may change quite a bit this offseason, but Scribner should be a familiar face in the bullpen in 2016.
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