Closer Trevor Rosenthal, Oakland Athletics reach 1-year, $11M deal, sources say

Closer Trevor Rosenthal and the Oakland Athletics are in agreement on a one-year, $11 million contract, sources familiar with the deal confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.

Rosenthal, 30, had been seeking a four-year contract, but the free-agent market for relief pitchers had cratered. He did have multiyear options, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan, but he chose the higher annual salary and save opportunities that Oakland offered.

The right-hander was 1-0 with 11 saves and a 1.90 ERA in 23 relief appearances last season for Kansas City and San Diego, which acquired him on Aug. 29. He joined the Padres in the middle of a rebound season after struggling with injuries and poor performance in recent years.

Sources: Designated hitter Mitch Moreland, Oakland A’s agree to one-year deal

Designated hitter Mitch Moreland and the Oakland A’s have agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million major league contract, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Moreland hit .328 with eight homers and 21 RBIs for the Boston Red Sox last season before being traded to the San Diego Padres in August, where he hit .203 with two homers and eight RBIs in 69 at-bats.

Moreland became a free agent after the Padres declined his $3 million option in November.

Oakland Athletics bolster bullpen, reach agreements with Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Romo

Veteran reliever Yusmeiro Petit has agreed to a $2.55 million, one-year contract to stay with the Oakland Athletics, pending a physical, his agent said.

The deal could pay the right-handed Petit up to $3 million based on incentives for games pitched, agent Rafael Godoy said Sunday night.

“He’s excited to return. It was his first choice all along,’’ Godoy told the AP via text message. “The team had been in contact all winter.’‘

Also Sunday, Oakland was closing in on a $2.25 million, one-year deal with veteran righty reliever Sergio Romo, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Romo also still must pass a physical.

A’s trade Sheldon Neuse to Dodgers for Adam Kolarek in four-player deal

The A’s are trading infielder Sheldon Neuse and minor league pitcher Gus Varland to the Los Angeles Dodgers for lefty reliever Adam Kolarek and minor league outfielder Cody Thomas, the organization announced Friday morning.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported details of the transaction.

Neuse is the A’s No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, and is a versatile infielder who has 14 hits over 56 MLB at-bats. Varland is the A’s No. 28 prospect, and the 24-year-old most recently pitched for the Stockton Ports in High-A.

Kolarek was one of the Dodgers’ top relievers in 2020, going 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA over 20 regular-season appearances. The 32-year-old southpaw didn’t find as much success in the postseason, allowing a 13.50 ERA over four appearances on LA’s path to a World Series title.

Thomas is the Dodgers’ 29th ranked prospect, and slashed .236/.308/.443 overall with 23 home runs in 130 games in his last full season with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. Another lefty, Thomas brings some power to the organization and likely will begin his career with the A’s in Triple-A with the Las Vegas Aviators.

Mike Fiers: Agrees to terms with Athletics

Fiers signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Athletics on Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Fiers will return to Oakland on a one-year agreement after spending the past two seasons with the team. He made 11 starts during the abbreviated 2020 campaign, recording a 4.58 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 59 innings. The right-hander doesn’t have elite strikeout rates, but he’s had good control and should begin the 2021 season in the Athletics’ rotation once again.

Elvis Andrus to Oakland for Khris Davis, per reports

MLB Trade Rumors: Elvis Andrus is heading to the Oakland A’s for Khris Davis, per Ken Rosenthal on Twitter. The Texas Rangers would be sending their (by far) longest-tenured player, and the last link to the World Series teams, to the A’s in a swap of bad contracts. Per Jeff Passan, the A’s are getting another player in the deal, and the Rangers are getting Jonah Heim and Dane Acker in return. The Rangers are apparently sending cash in this deal.

Elvis, who has $28 million still due on his current deal, with a $15 million vesting option for 2023 that is guaranteed if he is traded, also has 10-5 rights, so he presumably has already agreed to waive his no trade clause, and I suspect is also waiving the right to have the final year of his deal guaranteed as part of this trade. The A’s have been in the market for a shortstop, with Marcus Semien signing elsewhere, and thus gives Elvis the chance to once again be the everyday shortstop for what is potentially a contending team, rather than having a bench role on a rebuilding club.

Full trade, per sources: SS Elvis Andrus, C Aramís García and cash to Athletics. DH Khris Davis, C Jonah Heim and RHP Dane Acker to Rangers. First on Garcia: @Evan_P_Grant.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 6, 2021

Source: #Rangers are sending $13.5 million to Oakland in Elvis Andrus-Khris Davis deal.

— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilson_FWST) February 6, 2021

DORKTOWN: THE 1976 OAKLAND A’S STOLE NEARLY A MILE WORTH OF BASES VS. ONE TEAM

But one team in particular, way more than any other team, was the subject of their wrath. And the identity of that team — the Minnesota Twins — does not make a whole helluva lot of sense.

Across 18 A’s-Twins games, Oakland thrice stole at least seven bases. That was half of the entire MLB total:

The Minnesota Twins employed three catchers 1976: Butch Wynegar, Glenn Borgmann, and Phil Roof, and each of the three had one of those games done on their watch. In two of the three, the A’s reached nine stolen bases against ’em, which:

In one of those games, they stole twelve (12) bases. No one else in the live-ball era has ever stolen 11 bases in a game, and only twice (a 2000 Marlins game and a 1996 Rockies game) has a team stolen 10.

Former Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart bids $115 million on share of Oakland Coliseum

Former Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart submitted a $115 million bid to buy the city of Oakland’s share of the Coliseum with plans to develop the site, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

With both the NBA’s Warriors and NFL’s Raiders leaving the site in recent years, the A’s are the last pro team using the Coliseum. The team has undergone steps to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, about seven miles uptown.

The A’s currently own the other half of the Coliseum.

In a Tweet on Saturday night, Stewart, who grew up in the area, said doing “right by our community” is the driving force behind the bid. He told the Chronicle he has ideas of developing the area and potentially building a new stadium there if plans for the Howard Terminal ballpark fall through.

These 6 teams now need a title most

Oakland A’s
Now that it is rumored that longtime head of baseball operations Billy Beane could be leaving the franchise, it would be a cruel irony if the A’s finally had their postseason breakthrough with him gone. For all the “Moneyball” love, the A’s had a 2-11 postseason record in the Beane era, ending with an American League Division Series loss to the rival Astros this year. The A’s have always felt like the team that was always this close to having That Special Year. But they never quite made it. If they ever bust through, here’s hoping they give him a ring anyway.

Why the Athletics are set to reconstruct roster after crashing out early again in MLB playoffs

Regardless, there’s only so long club president Billy Beane can sit around and sulk over this one. There’s work to be done. We know that Beane has been a master at turning over his club when needed to fit the desires of ownership, and there’s a big task this coming offseason. It is perhaps a path that will lead to more cycles of contention, as seems to have become the custom. Consider the cycles of contention with the Beane A’s:

Playoff berths in five out of seven years through 2006
Zero playoff berths from 2007-11
Trips to the playoffs in the next three years (2012-14)
Three years missing the postseason (2015-17)
And now three straight trips to the postseason
Is another crossroads with three years out of the playoffs on the way?

Oakland Athletics’ A.J. Puk and Matt Chapman set for season-ending surgery

Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman and left-handed prospect A.J. Puk are both set to undergo season-ending surgery next week, according to the team.

Chapman is set for surgery Monday after getting another opinion on his right hip tendinitis.

The 27-year-old Chapman, a back-to-back Gold Glove winner at third and an All-Star in 2019, was hitting .232 with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs this season.

Puk is set to undergo surgery Wednesday on his pitching shoulder. He hasn’t pitched this season because of inflammation in the shoulder that required injections. He underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in 2018.

Rangers deal Mike Minor to Oakland Athletics, source says

The Rangers have made an in-division trade with the Oakland Athletics.

Starting pitcher Mike Minor is being sent to Oakland, pending medical exchange, a source confirmed to The Dallas Morning News. ESPN first reported the move.

The pending medical exchange, given Minor’s injury history, is not insignificant. Texas will receive two players to be named later in the deal.

Sources: Angels trade Tommy La Stella to Athletics for Franklin Barreto

Infielder Tommy La Stella has been traded to the Oakland A’s and utilityman Franklin Barreto is headed back to the Los Angeles Angels, sources confirmed to ESPN.

The Athletic first reported the deal.

La Stella, 31, is slashing .273/.371/.475 with four home runs and 14 RBIs this year.

Barreto, 24, has five runs but zero hits in 10 plate appearances this season.

Source: A’s interested in Manny Ramirez

Just BillybeingBilly.

The Oakland Athletics are “very interested” in making Manny Ramirez their designated hitter next season, a source told ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com.

Ramirez, 39, has been working out in Miami since December and has plans to have open workout sessions for clubs interested in his services at the end of January.

Last week, ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com reported that the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays had a look at Ramirez batting in an indoor cage.

“The Orioles and Blue Jays saw Manny work and Baltimore liked what it saw, but Oakland has been the team that has expressed the most interest, even before having him work out,” the source said.

Ramirez, a .312 lifetime hitter with 555 home runs and 1,831 career RBIs over 19 seasons, was reinstated by Major League Baseball from the “voluntarily retired” list after the Dominican player opted to leave the game instead of serving a second suspension for violating the league’s banned substances policy in 2011 while playing for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Camden Depot: Rick Peterson Breaks Fewer Pitchers?

Jon Shepherd takes a first look at Rick Peterson’s record in keeping pitchers off the disabled list.

Rick Peterson and his pitching lab will apparently be in full effect for the Orioles in 2012.  His analytical technique has been hailed as a major prevention tool against injuries.  I have disabled list numbers of starting pitchers from part of his tenure with the A’s and all of his tenure with the Mets, giving us a time line from 2001 to 2007.  I also have disabled numbers of Orioles’ starting pitchers in 2009 and 2010.

Jonny Gomes to Sign with A’s

The Oakland Athletics are poised to sign Jonny Gomes, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser points out that he’s a local favorite set to join the club after Billy Beane indicated after the Seth Smith trade that he could be looking for more depth in the outfield.

Gomes, 31, has spent most of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays but was with the Cincinnati Reds for a couple seasons and then spent part of 2011 in DC. He’s never been an especially good hitter (being kind to the guy with the mohawk, ok?) but does have a little pop, with a career line of .242 / .329 / .451. If you’re playing at home, think Adam Dunn without the walks.

Thanks to Ferg.

Orlando Cabrera To Retire From Baseball

OH NO, EXPO!

Last season, Orlando Cabrera batted .238 with the Indians and Giants, posting a 61 OPS+. The season before that, he posted a 76 OPS+. The season before that, he posted an 85 OPS+. Orlando Cabrera has been declining, and just turned 37 years old. As a free agent, Cabrera didn’t drum up much interest, which I’m guessing is why he’s intending to hang ‘em up. Enrique Rojas:

  “Orlando Cabrera to retire from baseball, he said in Colombia radio station. Thanks for memories!”

Cabrera had a long career that’ll be difficult to forget. He debuted with the Expos in 1997, and remained there until the giant Nomar Garciaparra three-way trade in 2004. That year, with the Red Sox, Cabrera won a World Series. He wound up with the Angels, earning the unfortunate nickname “The Wizard of O.C.”, and then he wound up with the White Sox, and the A’s, and the Twins, and the Reds, and the Indians, and the Giants ... He remained a shortstop to the end, and collected 2,055 hits. He will always be remembered as a pest. An absolute pest.

A’s trade Moscoso, Outman for Seth Smith

#### THE GOLDEN GLOBES!

Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s continued their extreme offseason makeover Monday with yet another trade. This time Beane shipped pitchers Josh Outman and Guillermo Moscoso to the Rockies for outfielder Seth Smith—who has been involved in trade rumors throughout the offseason.

Smith, 29, has served mostly as a fourth outfielder type for the Rockies since 2008, but he got a career high 533 plate appearances last season. He hit .284/.347/.483 with 15 homers, 32 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He hasn’t played center field since 2008, so he’s best used as a corner outfielder. He’ll likely be the starter in left field with Coco Crisp in center and Josh Reddick in right. Of course, prospect Michael Taylor is going to figure in the mix at some point.

One item of note: Smith’s career splits indicate he was hugely helped by Coors Field. He’s hit .296/.366/.559 at home and .257/.332/.418 on the road. And Oakland plays in one of the worst hitters’ parks in the majors.

Moscoso, 28, was 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 128 innings last season. Outman, 27, was 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. And, again, we’ll note that these two pitchers are going from having a very pitcher-friendly home park to one of the most hitter-friendly yards in the bigs.

Oakland manager Melvin excited about Japan series

The Athletics and Seattle Mariners open the regular season with a two-game series at Tokyo Dome on March 28-29. Many hoped the series would feature a showdown between Matsui and countryman Ichiro Suzuki, but Melvin said the A’s likely wont be re-signing the 37-year-old free agent Matsui.

“Matsui was a great fit for us last year and we all loved having him on our team,’’ Melvin said at a press conference on Monday to promote the series. “But this year it doesn’t look like a fit for us based on the personnel we have going forward.’‘

...Suzuki also had a down season in 2011. For the first time in his career, He failed to reach 200 hits - finishing with 184 - and hit a career-worst .272. Other numbers were lower too, including on-base percentage, infield hits and home runs, while he struck out a career-high 69 times.

Former Seattle star Ken Griffey Jr., who now serves as a special consultant to the Mariners, said he expects Suzuki to bounce back this season.

“Ichiro is going to be fine, you can ask these two guys (Melvin, Wedge) if a guy had 184 hits they wouldn’t be complaining,’’ Griffey said. “But you are looking at a guy who is a special athlete. He had one hiccup in his career and come this time next year we won’t even be talking about this. He is going to come into this season determined and with a little fire.’‘

Hiccup?...That was a freakin’ Dave McNally tally if ever!

Phil Rogers: Bean-counting GM Beane deserves a better place to work

And furthermore

(bullet) MLB should have a minimum payroll. It would require all teams to at least attempt to be somewhat competitive, and fairness is an issue. For instance, how much of an advantage will the Angels and Rangers have in the wild-card race because they have 19 games each against Oakland?

(bullet) According to Bill James’ projections, the Athletics’ most productive hitter next season will be DH Brandon Allen, with a slash line of .243/.327/.449, 22 home runs and 71 RBIs.

(bullet) Melvin is a major upgrade in the dugout, probably the best manager they’ve had since Tony La Russa (although Art Howe was much better than the movie’s portrayal by Philip Seymour Hoffman suggests).

(bullet) MLB scoffs at Forbes’ projections, but they’re the best available.

(bullet) Wolff is very close to Selig, but so far that does not appear to have gained him any advantages.

(bullitt) There are bad writers and there are good writers - and then there’s Rogers.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

On DVD: Moneyball’s deleted scenes reveal the numbers game

The deleted scene in question features Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) discussing the team’s relief pitchers with field manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The two butt heads several times in the film, as Beane recommends fielding undervalued, unorthodox players over the objections of the more conservative Howe.

This time he’s singing the praises of Chad Bradford over Mike Magnante. He concludes his own pitch by telling Howe to bring Bradford out of the bullpen no matter what. “If we’re in, let’s say to make it easier on you, any situation. OK? Righty, lefty, two outs, one out, the umpires want to finish the game throwing darts … Bradford!”

It’s no surprise, however, when Howe does the opposite. Magnante promptly gives up a home run, and the crowd boos lustily. Beane then makes a rare (and illegal) trip to the dugout during the game to tell Howe what a costly f-you that was, and adds: “Those boos; they’re for you. Drink up.”

It’s a clever scene, probably cut only because we see so much sniping between Beane and Howe that their animosity is already clear.

Thanks to Nroll.

Kevin Goldstein: Athletics Top 11 Prospects

Five-Star Prospects
1. Michael Choice, OF
Four-Star Prospects
2. Jarrod Parker, RHP
3. A.J. Cole, RHP
4. Brad Peacock, RHP
5. Sonny Gray, RHP
6. Derek Norris, C
7. Grant Green, OF
Three-Star Prospects
8. Chris Carter, 1B
9. Collin Cowgill, OF
10. Raul Alcantara, RHP
11. Max Stassi, C

Nine More
12. Michael Taylor, OF: He made some improvements in 2011, but the A’s showed “confidence” in Taylor by acquiring Reddick and re-signing Crisp.
13. Josh Donaldson, C: He doesn’t have any star-level tools, but he has improved defensively and has always had solid power.
14. Yordy Cabrera, SS: He had an ugly full-season debut in 2011, but the seven-figure tools are still there.
15. Bobby Crocker, OF: This 2011 fourth-round pick is a big-time athlete with speed and power potential.
16. Aaron Shipman, OF: He could explode with some hitting refinements due to his speed and advanced approach.
17. Vicmal De La Cruz, OF: De La Cruz was beat up in the Dominican Summer League. His speed and bat are his best tools.
18. Ian Krol, LHP: He lost 2011 due to injury, but his instructional league showing has officials optimistic for a bounceback.
19. Miles Head, 1B/3B: Head came over in the Andrew Bailey trade. There is nothing pretty about what he does, but his power is significant.
20. Jermaine Mitchell, OF: He finally had his breakout season, but he is also 27 now.

BN: A Proposal To Break The Territorial-Rights Logjam Between The A’s And The Giants

With a doff of the chapeau to Mr. Calcaterra, a modest proposal indeed:

All of the two-team territories but one share the same counties: the Yankees and Mets; the White Sox and Cubs; and the Dodgers and Angels. Only the Giants and A’s split the counties surrounding their home cities. The A’s territory includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties; the Giants’ territory includes San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Marin counties, “plus Santa Clara County with respect to another major league team.” San Jose is in Santa Clara county.

Halo’s Heaven: Moneyblog

Billy Beane should have never written this comic strip.