The Oakland A’s are not expected to be contending for the postseason any time soon. They have begun their cyclical rebuilding process once more, with Chris Bassitt, Matt Olson, and Matt Chapman all being traded away. It is a matter of time before Sean Manaea, at the very least, joins that trio as former members of the organization.
Those upcoming trades also make it difficult to predict how many wins the A’s will have in the upcoming year. At this juncture, USA Today is expecting the A’s to win 70 games during the 2022 season.
Oakland A’s win projection may be optimistic
At this point, the A’s are likely ticketed for the bottom of the AL West. The rest of the division has gotten stronger, and while the Astros did lose some pieces, it was not at the same rate as the A’s. The basement is theirs to lose.
But it is also difficult to determine their win total for the coming year. They have added solid veterans to fill out the roster, albeit on budget friendly contracts. However, Stephen Vogt and Jed Lowrie could end up being respectable additions that improve the lineup more than expected.
There is also the potential for improvement amongst their remaining players. Sean Murphy has drastically underperformed his batted ball metrics and could finally have his breakout season. Ramon Laureano could finally put together a complete season when he returns from the rest of his PED suspension. Cole Irvin’s new pitch could help him take the next step forward. A.J. Puk could emerge as a dominant reliever.
Yes, there are a lot of things that need to go right for the A’s to have a successful season. And success is far more likely to be measured by the progress made by their young players than by win totals. As such, those projected 70 wins may be optimistic considering how many things likely need to happen for that total to be reached.
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USA Today is predicting that the Oakland A’s will win 70 games in 2022. That projection feels rather optimistic considering their roster.