The 2021 season has been a disaster for the Oakland A’s when it comes to Trevor Rosenthal. He was supposed to be their answer in the ninth inning, a solid replacement for Liam Hendriks who could handle the job for the year. Instead, he never threw a regular season pitch for the A’s, undergoing surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and on his hip.
Suffice to say, his contract with the A’s has been a disaster. They may as well have lit that $11 million in fire, especially considering the budget crunch the front office had to navigate this offseason. On the positive side, at least some of that contract was deferred, so the A’s did not pay that entire amount this year.
Oakland A’s can still get something for their money
This also makes Rosenthal a risky proposition going forward. He missed the entire 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, making this the second time he missed an entire season in the past four years. While he was brilliant in the shortened 2020 campaign, Rosenthal was equally terrible in 2019, bouncing around three different organizations and getting shelled in each stop.
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Chances are, Rosenthal will need to settle for a minor league contract during the offseason. His strong 2020 campaign, and previous track record of success as a closer, should get him a look during spring training. If he is healthy, it is entirely possible that he can still be an asset in the back of a bullpen.
This offseason will be another difficult one for the A’s bullpen. Several more relievers are set to be free agents, and while they do not need to replace their closer this time, the A’s will still need to restock their bullpen with what could be limited funds. Bringing Rosenthal back on a minor league deal would make sense.
Such a deal would not only give the A’s a potential lower cost option for the bullpen, but would allow them to get something for that original contract. As Rosenthal would likely want to join a contender where he would have a chance to make an impact upon the bullpen, the A’s would once again be a great fit.
Trevor Rosenthal’s first season with the Oakland A’s ended before it began. However, he deserves another chance on a low cost deal.