3 things to watch for during Winter Meetings for Oakland A’s

The Winter Meetings have begun, making the next few days critical for the Oakland A’s.

It is a chance for general managers and executives to speak face to face for the first time in years. Catching up at the ballpark may be great for personal relationships, but it is not conducive to getting deals done or figuring out the beginning framework for such trades.

Three things to watch during Winter Meetings for Oakland A’s

Considering that the A’s are still in the beginning stages of their rebuild, that makes the next few days all the more crucial. Even if trades do not happen, they could happen shortly thereafter as the A’s set up the beginning steps.

The Winter Meetings are finally back, making the next few days important to the Oakland A’s future. Here are three things to watch for.

Sean Murphy’s future

There have been plenty of trade rumors swirling around Sean Murphy over the past few months.

With Shea Langeliers ready to step into a prominent role, it makes sense that the A’s would look to part ways with Murphy. He is about to enter arbitration, and since he is going to make more than the league minimum, that puts him squarely on the trade block.

There is no shortage of teams that are interested. The Guardians, Rays, Red Sox, White Sox, and Braves have all been linked to Murphy over the past few weeks. More teams could join the discussion if Murphy is still with the A’s once Willson Contreras signs.

It is understandable as to why Murphy has such a hot market. He led the A’s with a 120 OPS+ last season, hitting 18 homers and 37 doubles in his 612 plate appearances while making improvements in his walk and strikeout rates. Add in the fact that he is a Gold Glove caliber catcher and has three years of team control left and it is easy to see why he is so coveted.

The Oakland A’s may not trade Sean Murphy at the Winter Meetings. However, they could get the beginnings of a deal in place.

Addressing the Oakland A’s revenue share

The Oakland A’s are back as a revenue share recipient. And it did not take long to anger other owners around the league with their actions.

Instead of spending that money on payroll, A’s ownership pocketed that cash and slashed the bottom line as much as possible. For all of the whining about how they need to cut costs and cannot afford their roster, the A’s have never spent $100 million on payroll in any season. As Fisher is worth over $2 billion, such penny pinching ways are ridiculous.

It is also ridiculous that the A’s cut payroll to below $50 million in a year where they were reinstated as a revenue sharing recipient. While that status is not going to change until the next Collective Bargaining Agreement comes into play, it is attracting that the league does not want. And it is possible that the MLBPA files another grievance against the A’s for their refusal to spend on payroll.

Nothing will publically come of this. The league will seemingly ignore Fisher’s insistence on padding his bottom line to the detriment of the roster. But it is possible that Major League Baseball quietly has a meeting with ownership and tells them that they need to actually use that money on the roster or else they will lose that status in the next CBA.

Will that change much for the Oakland A’s? Probably not. But it is worth wondering if a conversation takes place under the radar to address that situation.