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Oakland A’s one of six teams to not spend in free agency yet

By David Hill

OAKLAND, CA - MAY 3: Manager Bob Melvin #6 of the Oakland Athletics in his office with General Manager David Forst, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane and Assistant General Manager, Pro Scouting & Player Personnel Dan Feinstein before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at RingCentral Coliseum on May 3, 2021 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Blue Jays 5-4. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - MAY 3: Manager Bob Melvin #6 of the Oakland Athletics in his office with General Manager David Forst, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane and Assistant General Manager, Pro Scouting & Player Personnel Dan Feinstein before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at RingCentral Coliseum on May 3, 2021 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Blue Jays 5-4. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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The Oakland A’s are not a team that will make a series of moves at the start of free agency. They are more than content to wait until February, or even into spring training, before adding players to their roster. That is especially likely to be the case this year as the A’s are looking to slash payroll as much as possible.

As such, it should not be a surprise that the A’s are one of the teams that has not done anything in free agency. In fact, they are one of six teams that has not spent one dollar thus far in the offseason.

Oakland A’s continue clutching their checkbook

It is worth noting that this does not include spending money on a team’s own players. The Twins are one of those six teams that have not done anything in free agency, but they did hand Byron Buxton a $100 million extension. Likewise, they are listed as being in the market for several of free agents. It is not as though they are sitting passively by.

But the A’s have to wait. They need to find out whether or not a salary floor will be included in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement before their offseason can truly begin. Should there be no limit to how far down payroll can drop, then the A’s will be free to trade Matt Olson, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, and anyone else they would want.

However, even if they do embark on the expected fire sale, the A’s will still need to find players in different areas. Their farm system does not have enough major league ready talent to fill out the entire roster. Besides, those one year deals could end up providing trade chips at the deadline, allowing the organization the chance to add even more players to their farm system.

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No one should be surprised that the Oakland A’s have done little in free agency. They remain one of the franchises that has yet to spend this offseason.