Jarrod Parker’s Future With The Oakland Athletics

The 2014 season was notable for several reasons, but one reason fans don’t think about often is the loss of two starting pitchers who filled large roles in the rotation the previous two years. One of those two pitchers is right hander Jarrod Parker.

Parker emerged in the 2012 season as a part of a young core of players who helped lead the Oakland Athletics to the American League West Division Championship on the final day of the season. Parker became so important to the starting rotation that he was tabbed as the game one and five starter in the American League Division Series over the more experienced Brett Anderson. Although Parker was the loser in both contests, he held his own in the game one loss and, no matter how well he pitched in game five, Justin Verlander seemed determined not to lose.

The following season Parker returned fully healthy and went on a long stretch of starts where he did not take a single loss. His statistics were relatively consistent with his rookie season, but his earned run average jumped by 0.5 and his wins above replacement dropped from 3.9 to 1.8.

Coming off of his second full season in the league and, with high hopes for the team as a whole, Parker came into spring training expecting to be one of the top starters in the rotation, but instead he left Arizona to undergo his second Tommy John surgery.

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Parker was not derailed by his second surgery and was on the road to recovery in 2015. However, as he neared his comeback, Parker incurred a scary injury to his arm on the mound while pitching for the AAA Nashville Sounds. Luckily for Parker and the organization, it was not an injury to his repaired elbow. But, the injury would halt his comeback bid for 2015.

So what can the fans expect from Parker in 2015?

It is hard to say that you can expect the same guy who looked like a borderline ace over his first two seasons with the Athletics because it is hard enough to come back from one injury, let alone two back-to-back injuries. But, he very well could. The advances in modern medicine have come so far now that players have bounced back from injuries like this and have been as good or better than they ever have before.

A realistic expectation is that Parker could be a solid starter and fill a rotation spot until the likes of Chris Bassitt, Sean Nolin or any of the other minor league starters are ready to enter the rotation as full time starters. His determination alone will make him not only a solid pitcher, but a great role model for those young players.

At best, he could return to his old ways and step right back in as a top of the rotation starter and take some of the pressure off of Sonny Gray all while still influencing those young players with his determination.

Either of those two results would be a big lift to the organization, but what fans need to come to terms with is what I’m sure Parker and the front office have already discussed, he might not be able to come back from this. This latest setback could have hurt Parker in a way which he cannot recover from these injuries no matter how much determination he has.

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There is no way to know how things will turn for Parker until he is on the mound during spring training. For now, fans should take solace in the fact that if anyone can come back from this, it is Parker.