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Karma catches up to Oakland A’s in MLB Draft Lottery

By David Hill

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 3: Adviser Sandy Alderson, General Manager David Forst, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane and Managing Partner John Fisher of the Oakland Athletics sit in the Athletics draft room, during the opening day of the 2019 MLB draft, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on June 3, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 3: Adviser Sandy Alderson, General Manager David Forst, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane and Managing Partner John Fisher of the Oakland Athletics sit in the Athletics draft room, during the opening day of the 2019 MLB draft, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on June 3, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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John Fisher had angered plenty of people with his actions as Oakland A’s owner. The baseball gods took their vengeance on Tuesday night.

The A’s had been one of the three favorites for the top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft due to the new lottery system as they had a 16.5% chance of landing the selection. A worst case scenario would have had their 2022 tank job be for naught but an improved bank account balance as the A’s would have the eighth pick in the draft.

Tanking does not pay for Oakland A’s in MLB Draft Lottery

While the worst outcome did not happen, it was close. The A’s ended up with the sixth pick in the draft, falling further down the order than any other team in the lottery. To make matters worse, the Rangers, who have begun to load up for a postseason run in 2023, leapfrogged the A’s and now have the fourth pick in the draft.

The draft lottery did its job in the A’s case. It is meant to disincentivize tanking and to make teams compete. While some teams, such as the Pirates and Reds, were already in the midst of their rebuilding project, the A’s chose to get rid of their core because Fisher did not feel like spending money.

It is never a good thing to anger the baseball gods. Fisher certainly did that when the A’s traded their core despite being back in the revenue sharing program. While this is not a team that is going to have one of the top payrolls in the game, they can certainly spend much more than they have. This year, with the draft lottery, the A’s lost even more than those 102 games – they lost the second overall pick in the draft.

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The Oakland A’s have the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The baseball gods have spoken after that decision to tank heading into last year.