Oakland A’s wasting prime opportunity to build around core

The Oakland A’s are seemingly in a prime position to supplement their core for a World Series run. Instead, they are doing nothing.

Small market teams such as the Oakland A’s have to be careful when they are spending. They have to be certain that these players are the right fits and that this is the right time to make such moves. Payroll and the window of opportunity are all factors. Unlike other teams, they cannot afford to make a mistake.

This would seemingly be the time for the A’s to make such a jump. Their current payroll sits at approximately $65 million heading into Opening Day. As the team has numerous openings on the roster, there is plenty of ability to upgrade and supplement their core.

The core? Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Frankie Montas all have three years of team control left. Ramon Laureano will not be a free agent for four more years. They have burgeoning young stars in Jesus Luzardo and Sean Murphy at key positions. The window to contend is wide open.

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Instead, the A’s are in the typical position where they are crying poverty. Yes, they have said the right things about wanting to bring back Tommy La Stella and Marcus Semien. However, aside from those statements, there have not been any rumors regarding the A’s in free agency or on the trade market.

Once again, the A’s are looking for the least expensive way possible to fill out their roster. They made four selections in the Rule V Draft, with two of those players seemingly ticketed for roles on the major league roster. Their minor league depth is likely to fill majority of the holes created through free agency. And there may be a low cost signing here and there to fill out the rest of the lineup.

And that is unfortunate. The A’s have the finances to improve upon a core that won the AL West and advanced to the ALDS in 2020. Adding one or two key players to this group could make a major difference, and may even allow the A’s to advance further in the postseason.

Instead, the Oakland A’s have remained silent thus far. A perfect opportunity to build around their core is being wasted.