Oakland Athletics Roundup: Sonny Gray Misses Out on Gold Glove; Jarrod Parker’s Future; Kelly Johnson

Oakland Athletics Roundup: Wednesday, November 11

Athletics Nation poised an interesting question this week: should the Oakland Athletics sign a free agent at the expense of a draft pick? There are quite a few top free agents who come with qualifying offers attached this season, and almost all of them could help the A’s.

For those who don’t know, qualifying offers are one-year deals which can be offered to players who are about to enter free agency by their current teams. The value changes from year-to-year, and this winter, it’s set at $15.8 million. Any team who makes the offer runs the risk of having a player accept it. However, teams typically only offer it to their very best free agents, because it’s tied into next season’s draft. The team who makes the offer will gain an extra first round pick if the free agent signs with another team. That first round pick comes from the team who signs him.

Major League Baseball’s theory is that this prevents a team from not just signing all of the free agents, but drafting the best players, and its intention is to maintain some competitive balance between small- or mid-market teams and organizations like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who can draft stars and then pay to retain them forever.

The Athletics fall into a special category, thanks to their horrific record last season. The top ten picks in the draft are protected. This means that if the A’s were to sign a free agent, they would lose their second pick in the draft instead. That gives them a better opportunity to sign a free agent without truly being penalized, but will they take advantage of it?

My bet is on no, they won’t. All draft picks are valuable to the A’s, and considering that even second-tier players like Ian Kennedy and Colby Rasmus were given qualifying offers, it won’t be hard to find that kind of talent without the added expense of a draft pick. For more on this, be sure to check out Athletics Nation’s article.

More from White Cleat Beat

• Oakland A’s giving Drew Rucinski a chance to prove himself
• The pain of the Oakland A’s first round draft picks
• David MacKinnon joins Oakland A’s alumni overseas
• Oakland A’s select Walker Jenkins in first MLB mock draft
• Cody Thomas worth Oakland A’s hanging on to

In Case You Missed It:

Why It’s Okay That Sonny Gray Didn’t With a Gold Glove – Awards season has begun, and the A’s walked away empty handed on Tuesday night. Neither Sonny Gray nor Josh Reddick picked up a Gold Glove award. Samantha Riley explains why that’s not a big deal.

Acquisitions That Built the Winning ’88-’90 Teams – Rich Paloma continues his series on the off-seasons that made the A’s into winners, this time looking the moves that made the 1988-1990 teams so very good.

Jarrod Parker’s Future With the A’s – Does Jarrod Parker fit with the A’s long-term? Steven Luke analyzes Parker’s future with the A’s, and whether it will be a story of success or failure.

Is Kelly Johnson a Realistic Free Agent Target? – The A’s could use some help at second base. Samantha Riley looks at a potential target in utility man Kelly Johnson, who is a free agent this winter.

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Next: Will the A's Contend or Rebuild in 2016?

Around the Web

Climbing Tal’s Hill: Jose Altuve, Dallas Keuchel Take Home Gold Gloves – Climbing Tal’s Hill reflects on the seasons of Jose Altuve and Dallas Keuchel, who both won Gold Gloves on Tuesday night. Keuchel beat out the A’s Sonny Gray to win the AL pitcher honors. Will he do the same in the Cy Young contest?