Oakland Athletics: Should A’s Consider Trading Josh Reddick?
The Oakland Athletics Can Benefit From His Hot Start
First and foremost, it’s important to note that Reddick is simply punishing the ball in the early part of 2016. In his last seven games, he’s batting .560/.645/.600, with five RBIs and four runs scored, despite not hitting a single home run.
That’s an accurate depiction of his season. Reddick has just four homers in his first 33 games, but he has still managed to hit .317/.383/.460. His .843 OPS is the highest of his career (albeit with a long way to go in the season).
Perhaps what’s best about Reddick’s start, however, is that it continues a trend. In 2013, he had a .686 OPSin 113 games for the A’s. The following year, he posted a .763 OPS, and last year, it climbed even further to .781. With such a strong beginning to the 2016 campaign, it appears that his pattern of increasing success has continued.
That could be enough to raise his price in a trade deal. Where the A’s might have collected a pair of decent prospects before, they should now be able to pick up some better pieces. There are not a lot of upper-tier outfielders who will be up for grabs on the trade market, making Reddick a valuable pickup. He’s not going to net the same kind of haul as a Ben Zobrist or Josh Donaldson, but he could be about as valuable as Scott Kazmir was.
Next: Why the A's Should Deal Reddick: Reason #2
The Oakland Athletics Need to Be Realistic About Their Chances
Look, everyone loves the A’s never-quit spirit. Their whole theme is being a scrappy, small-market team who wins by any means necessary. But it seems that it would be a challenge for anyone to rationally, statistically show that the A’s have a decent shot at the playoffs.
Next season will be another story. Many people predicted Chris Bassitt to be a force in the rotation this year, and he had season-ending Tommy John surgery last week. Sean Manaea will have his rookie season (and all of the pressure that has come with it) behind him. Kendall Graveman will have another year of experience under his belt, and Jesse Hahn will hopefully have been forgiven for whatever he did that has resulted in his time in Triple-A this season.
Most importantly, however, all of the Athletics’ prospects – Matt Olson and Chad Pinder – will likely be poised to make their debut in 2017, if they don’t receive a September callup this season. The A’s will be rid of Coco Crisp‘s contract, and that will enable them to supplement young talent with one or two additional free agents.
There is simply no reason for the A’s to hang on to a valuable trade piece when they are out of the playoff race, and it looks like they’re headed in that direction. Unless something drastic changes in the next month, the A’s need to focus on the future, not 2016.
Next: Why the A's Should Deal Reddick: Reason #3
The Oakland Athletics Have Not Negotiated a Long-Term Deal With Reddick
Heading into Spring Training, Josh Reddick made it clear that he wanted any long-term deals with the Athletics to be signed and sealed by the start of the regular season. The A’s front office not-so-subtly told him to quiet down.
At the time, they explained that Reddick’s timeline was not the same as their timeline, and they had no intention of rushing into a lengthy deal. Both sides publicly said that they were interested in reaching an agreement, but there seemed to be no actual activity in terms of signing a deal. At one point, GM David Forst even said that it had been hard to catch up with Reddick and his agent, given everyone’s travel schedules – apparently Forst hasn’t heard of cell phones or email.
Many people speculated that this meant the A’s never planned to sign Reddick past 2016, and the longer he goes without a deal, the more likely this seems to be the case.
Reddick is almost certainly going to test the free agent waters at season’s end, and if the A’s continue on their current trajectory, there’s no reason to keep him until the end of the year, except to appease fans. That’s a poor reason to keep a player as valuable as Reddick, so smarter move would be for the A’s to deal their star outfielder and put up with the PR backlash that will ultimately occur.
Next: Another Perspective: Don't Worry, A's Fans, It's Only May
Don’t worry, A’s fans – there’s almost no chance he’ll be dealt before the Josh Reddick bobblehead giveaway day on May 28. But hopefully, sometime before the trade deadline, the Oakland Athletics will make the move. Reddick is an outstanding player and fun to watch – but it’s more important for the A’s to focus on improving their team for next season and beyond.