Oakland Athletics: Will the A’s Contend or Rebuild in 2016?
Will the A’s Contend or Rebuild in 2016?
The Oakland Athletics have a lot of areas in which they need to improve. They also have a lot of very good players, like Sonny Gray and Sean Doolittle, who would easily belong on a playoff team.
In 2014, the A’s got wiped out in the Wild Card game, and last season, they only won 68 games all year. It’s shocking to go from being a playoff team to being the worst club in the American League, but what’s even harder is to get back to the postseason after such a rough season.
Many of the Athletics’ top prospects – Sean Manaea, Matt Olson, Chad Pinder – were at Double-A Midland last season. Others, most notably Joey Wendle, spent the year at Triple-A Nashville. Will they be ready in time to join the A’s in 2016?
With those thoughts in mind, the Swingin’ A’s staff tried to answer this week’s featured question:
Will the A’s be contenders in 2016, or will this be a rebuilding year?
Here’s what the staff had to say:
Next: The Optimistic Side of the Coin
The Optimistic Side of the Coin
Scott Harris: Although Billy Beane has tempered expectations for next season by saying it will be a rebuilding year, we will still start off the 2016 season with a very strong starting rotation which has been the key to the successful Beane teams of the past. If unproven starters such as Chris Bassitt, and possibly Sean Nolin can build upon their 2015 season, the A’s might be able to surprise many in the West.
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Rebuilding a disappointing bullpen is not as daunting as adding a middle-of-the-lineup bat so I believe the A’s can mend much of what went wrong in 2015 without breaking the bank.
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Cisco Perez: I don’t believe the A’s are that far away from contending in 2016. The A’s should be getting help in their rotation by adding Jarrod Parker and AJ Griffin. They can shift all financial resources to rebuilding the bullpen. Aside from Dull and Doolittle, the whole bullpen will need to be rebuilt. Offensively the A’s have a good core coming back. Josh Reddick, Billy Butler, Stephen Vogt and Brett Lawrie should be a good core to build around. I think Butler will have a bounce back year and with additions of minor leaguers (Joey Wendle and Matt Olson), the A’s should be a decent offensive team next season. As far as the AL West goes, the league is always tough. The Mariners should be better this season but are still short a couple bullpen arms. The Rangers will be tougher as they will have Yu Darvish back, and a full year of Cole Hamels. The Astros will have a tough time repeating the success they have had this year. The Angels, in my opinion, are just getting older.
I think the A’s can get 85-90 wins this year. That should be good enough to start contending.
Next: Contention Is Possible, But Not Probable
Contention Is Possible, But Not Probable
Steven Luke: Could the Oakland Athletics compete in 2016? Yes, because recent history has shown that they can surprise the world and come out and win a division title on the last day of the season.
Will the A’s compete in 2016? No.
This team is strapped by two big contracts on offense, Billy Butler and Coco Crisp, who are not as productive as they were when they were given those contracts. The starting rotation behind Sonny Gray will either be backed by an inexperienced group or a group that includes two pitchers who haven’t pitched in the big leagues in nearly two full seasons. The bullpen was a train wreak in 2016, and while there are plenty of free agents and young arms in the system to fix it, a full repair is going to take more than one season.
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It’s nearly impossible to count the A’s out any year before the season starts because you never know what Billy Beane and company will come up with. Even with that in mind, it’s hard to imagine they leap frog the three teams in the division they would need to pass in order to be in line for a wild card spot.
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Rich Paloma: Contenders? Yes.
The likelihood though, I’m not so certain.
The A’s have a long way to go from last year to overcome the obstacles that resulted in last place. An overhauled bullpen is needed, and I don’t know if Beane can go out and acquire sufficient bullpen help including a closer that will put Doolittle back as in the set up role.
If more power can be added to the lineup (via left field or first base), or some existing bats improve – Lawrie, Reddick, and BUTLER – the A’s can contend rather than just continue to rebuild or “just exist’ in the AL West.
Next: The Not-So Optimistic Outlook
The Not-So Optimistic Outlook
Samantha Riley: As of right now, I do not think the Oakland Athletics are capable of contending in 2016. There are too many areas that need to be fixed that this upcoming season will ultimately be a rebuilding year. The bullpen needs numerous new arms, the infield needs some depth ideally in the form on a veteran middle infielder, and the outfield needs to be re-evaluated and trimmed of excess players.
Additionally, the Oakland Athletics noted that team chemistry was a problem in 2015. This does not fix itself overnight. And, more new personalities may be added to the clubhouse if the A’s are going to make trades and acquisitions this offseason. Even if those newly acquired players are top-tier baseball players, individual skills will not help propel the A’s to the post season. The Athletics are going to need to work hard to come together as a team in order to be successful.
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However, I must note that there is always the possibility of them contending in 2016. Just look at 2012, which was suppose to be a rebuilding year. The A’s ended the season as the American League West Champions.
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Andrew Dambrauskas: The 2015 Athletics were what bad baseball looks like. 2016 will not be a case of making one or two tweaks to make the team a contender. 2016 will be a write-off season while some of the organization’s better talent makes progress in the minors.
The A’s do have a starting rotation that might be able to buoy the club to more than the 68 wins they earned in 2015, but there are simply too many weaknesses elsewhere for that to matter. The reality is that the A’s finished only ninth in the American League in runs scored, and fourth to last in the AL in total OPS. Josh Reddick can’t be the answer to propelling this team to the offensive level it needs to be a contender, Stephen Vogt is not going to have another year like 2015, and Billy Butler is Billy Butler.
Next: Another Vote for Rebuilding
Another Vote for Rebuilding
Katrina Putnam: Personally, I think the A’s are still at least a year away from being legitimate contenders. Their defense has holes, their offense has holes, and their pitching has holes. Yes, Sonny Gray, but then who? Two pitchers recovering from multi-season absences? Young arms like Kendall Graveman and Chris Bassitt? Jesse Hahn, who is still presumably hurt? Those aren’t guarantees. It might be hard for A’s fans to hear, but objectively, they need too many pieces in too many different areas to really have a shot at the postseason.
To fill the bullpen with legitimate, playoff-team-caliber arms – not Dan Otero and Pat Venditte, but relievers like Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar – the A’s would blow their entire budget. To add one big bat – a Chris Davis or someone similar – would equally sink the payroll. The contracts of Coco Crisp and Billy Butler really have the team tied up, and until the A’s get rid of at least one of those deals, it will be hard to field a competitive team via free agency.
That leaves the trade market – and the front office has already said they’re not going to deal the prospects at the top of the system. The end result is that the A’s will likely be not-so-good next season, again. However, I think 2017 is the year when things will really click for them. Don’t be too impatient – the Royals waited 29 years to get back in the postseason, and now their World Series Champions. A pair of consecutive bad seasons is absolutely worth the wait.
Of course, it is baseball, so who knows what could happen? They wouldn’t be the first team who is bad on paper to become legitimate on the field.
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Next: Athletics Should Sign Dae-ho Lee
What do you think? Are the A’s headed towards another year of disappointment, or will they be able to make enough moves to have a legitimate shot at the playoffs? Vote in our fan poll and leave your opinion in the comments section below.