Oakland Athletics: Should A’s Consider Trading Josh Reddick?

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.