The end of the Oakland A’s journey for Chad Pinder

Chad Pinder is the Oakland A’s player who stayed.

Through this most recent rebuild, and even with the trade deadline, Pinder remained in Oakland. His leadership and defensive versatility, as valuable as they may have been to other teams, were even more valued by the A’s. Even with his impending free agency, Pinder stuck around after the deadline to be a mentor for the younger players and one of the few viable major league options for the lineup.

Chad Pinder’s time with Oakland A’s may be over

But everything comes to an end. That is going to include Pinder’s time in Oakland. The A’s season comes to an end on Wednesday, a difficult year where ownership gave the middle finger to the fanbase and the fans responded by essentially boycotting the Coliseum. Once that final out is recorded, Pinder will face an uncertain future as he enters free agency for the first time.

It would certainly appear as though the A’s want him back. Manager Mark Kotsay was very clear on that point considering what Pinder means to the roster and clubhouse. He wants to return as well, to be a part of what the A’s are building with their latest crop of youngsters getting ready at the major league level.

In the end, it comes back to ownership. They have done everything possible to jettison payroll to the point where the A’s do not have a single player with a guaranteed contract for 2023. It is difficult to imagine that John Fisher will want to spend a few million to bring Pinder back when he is currently pinching pennies hard enough to make ol’ Abe Lincoln bleed.

Chad Pinder has been a part of the Oakland A’s organization for his entire career. In just a few short hours, his time with the organization will be over.