The Oakland Athletics had a dismal 2015 season. They ended the year with a 68-94 record, the worst bullpen in Major League Baseball, and bad team chemistry. Thankfully, 2016 is a new year. How could they improve themselves for this upcoming season? Here are three New Year’s resolutions for the Oakland Athletics that could help them have a successful 2016.
Sustain a Healthy Starting Rotation
Almost every pitcher who started for the Oakland Athletics at any point throughout the 2015 season ended up on the disabled list. This included everyone from rookies such as Jesse Hahn, Kendall Graveman, and Chris Bassitt to more established starters like Scott Kazmir and Sonny Gray. The additional issue was that some of the A’s starters began the the 2015 season on the disabled list, which put Oakland at a disadvantage because it limited the depth in that position.
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In order to have a successful 2016, the A’s need to have a healthy starting rotation. Right now, it is questionable as to if this can be achieved. There are still some pitchers on the disabled list who may not be ready to pitch at the start of the season including Hahn, Jarrod Parker, and Henderson Alvarez.
Oakland needs a strong starting five to begin the 2016 season. They cannot have three solid starting pitchers, who are going to be in the rotation for the entire year and then have two backup starters who will be switched out once a different pitcher becomes healthy enough to take the mound. The A’s need to be confident with their rotation right off the bat. They need to ensure that the pitchers they are putting on the mound at the start of every game will stay healthy and productive throughout the entire 2016 season.
Maintain Bullpen Stability by Defining Roles
It is an understatement to say that the Oakland Athletics’ bullpen this past season was a disaster. The A’s pen was probably the worst in the majors. The relief staff could not hold on to a lead and were inconsistent overall when it came to performance. Thus, for 2016, the Athletics’ pen needs to be more stable. This can be achieved by defining roles within the bullpen.
Many of Oakland’s bullpen issues came from the fact that there were no clear roles among the relief staff. Without Sean Doolittle as the anchor, the relievers were thrown into a tornado of confusion as to what was their specific role within the bullpen. However, with Doolittle back and a handful of new relief pitchers, hopefully these roles can be established and provide stability among the relievers.
Besides the closer position, it would be helpful for the relievers to know things like: who will be the setup man, will there be someone specifically assigned to the seventh inning, is there a lefty specialist, and who will take on the middle innings? With so many new relievers on the staff, these roles need to be defined early, so there is no confusion in the bullpen. Each reliever should know his role by the start of the 2016 season, so that he is mentally prepare to pitch at a specific time or in a particular situation in each game.
Do Something with the Unproductive Veterans
Right now, there are two veterans on the roster that are not helping the team in any way. In fact, they may even be having a negative impact on the team. These two would be Coco Crisp and Billy Butler.
Crisp’s issue is that he cannot seem to stay healthy. He has a chronic neck problem that can only be fixed by career-ending surgery. However, he has chosen not to retire and rake in the $11 million left on his contract for the 2016 season. Unfortunately for Oakland, if his playing time is once again greatly reduced due to injury, then he will just be taking up a spot on the roster that could be filled by one of the A’s bright prospects. Crisp either needs to prove that he can play on a regular basis either as a starter or in a platoon situation, or he should sit the season on the bench.
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Butler is another story. He will be going into the second year of his three-year contract with Oakland and the hopes of him improving offensively are not high. Butler’s production at the plate has been slowly declining since 2012 and many fans want him gone after witnessing an extremely poor performance during the 2015 season.
Unfortunately, there’s not much the A’s can do. Not many teams would want Butler, so it would be difficult to trade him. Oakland could release Butler, but they would have to eat up the remainder of his contract. Or they could just bench him for the entire season, but then he would be taking up a valuable roster spot. Whatever the Athletics decide to do with Butler, one thing is clear: if he does not improve dramatically during spring training, he should not be in the lineup on a regular basis in 2016.
What do you think the Oakland Athletics’ New Year’s resolutions should be?