Oakland A’s: 3 biggest disappointments of first half
The Oakland A’s may not be exactly where they had hoped for, but they are still in a decent place heading into the All Star Break. The A’s are within striking distance of the Astros for the AL West title and hold one of the two Wild Card berths. This is still a playoff caliber team at this point.
Of course, this does not mean that the season has gone smoothly. Oakland’s front office had to navigate a myriad of free agent departures, a shortfall in regards to available finances, and a farm system that did not have the types of prospects needed to bring in those pieces via trade. Nonetheless, they managed to do what they could to cobble the roster together, finding success in the first half of the season.
Three biggest disappointments for Oakland A’s in first half
Even with that success, some of these moves did not pan out. In some cases, injury has left those players unable to perform to expectations. In other cases, those players just have not performed well, unable to find success in 2021. Fortunately, the A’s have been able to withstand those struggles thus far.
Let us take a look at the three biggest disappointments for the Oakland A’s in the 2021 season.
Trevor Rosenthal
One of the biggest surprises of the offseason was that the Oakland A’s were the landing spot for Trevor Rosenthal. Although his contract included a great deal of deferred money, he was still expected to be far beyond their price range.
With Rosenthal in the fold, the A’s felt that they had their replacement for Liam Hendriks. He had been dominant in 2020, although he had struggled in the previous year in his return from Tommy John surgery. There was a bit of risk, but given his excellent performance during the pandemic shortened season, it was a risk the A’s felt they had to take.
In the end, Rosenthal has been a disaster. He may never throw a pitch for the organization, having undergone surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome just after Opening Day, and then hip surgery at the beginning of July. Maybe Oakland can bring him back on a minor league deal, but for this year, the A’s may as well have lit his salary on fire.
The Oakland A’s felt that Trevor Rosenthal would be their answer in the ninth inning. Instead, he has been a tremendous disappointment.
Jesus Luzardo
This was supposed to be the year that Jesus Luzardo took that next step forward. He was considered a dark horse candidate to compete for the AL Cy Young award, and was ready to ascend to his throne as the Oakland A’s ace.
The key was going to be Luzardo’s consistency. He had moments were he looked dominant, only to be completely ordinary in his next outing. If he was going to be the pitcher that the A’s, and the baseball world, expected, he would need to find a way to continue that strong showing almost every time out.
Instead, the 2021 season has been a disaster. Luzardo continued to be inconsistent, and then broke a finger while playing video games. The A’s put him in the bullpen when he returned from his stint on in the Injured List, only for Luzardo to be even worse in a relief role. He was finally sent back to Triple-A, only to struggle even more.
Through his 38 major league innings, Luzardo has posted a 6.87 ERA and a 1.632 WHiP, striking out 40 batters with 16 walks. He has been extremely homer prone, allowing 11 home runs, including at least one homer in his last five major league outings. Needless to say, the A’s expected a lot more from him this year.
Jesus Luzardo was supposed to take that next step forward this year. Instead, he is back in Triple-A, where his struggles have been even worse.
Mike Fiers
Mike Fiers was supposed to be the Oakland A’s fallback option this year – someone who would get the call in case of injury or is one of the other starters struggled.
He was the perfect option for such a role. Fiers may not have been much more than a back of the rotation arm, but he had a track record of providing solid innings and taking the ball every fifth day. For a rotation that had several injury related question marks, that was all that the A’s needed.
Instead, Fiers fell to the injury bug himself. He had a late start in spring training which held him back, and then he had just two outings before being shelved with a sprained elbow. Instead of being that fallback option, Fiers is on the 60 day Injured List, with his return completely up in the air.
Fiers had not exactly pitched well prior to his placement on the IL. He had allowed eight runs on 15 hits, including four homers, while issuing four walks over his 9.1 innings. Even though Fiers had struggled at times in 2020, no one expected this type of falloff this season.
The Oakland A’s had hoped that Mike Fiers would be able to be their ideal fallback option. Instead, he has proven to be a disaster.