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.

Oakland Athletics OF Ramon Laureano charges Houston Astros dugout, sparks brawl

Oakland’s Ramon Laureano got hit by a pitch—for the third time in the three-game series—this one by Humberto Castellanos with one out in the seventh. Laureano began exchanging words with animated Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron, then left first base, threw down his batting helmet and began sprinting toward him.

Astros catcher Dustin Garneau tackled Laureano before the A’s outfielder reached Cintron, and a wild scene ensued.

Players rushed out of both dugouts to join the fray. A’s and Astros players who were sitting in the seats, observing COVID-19 social-distancing protocols, also rushed onto the field.

Laureano was ejected by plate ump Ted Barrett, and the umpiring crew could easily be heard yelling at the players to “get back to the dugout!” through a ballpark with no fans.

Laureano charges the Astros dugout and the brawl breaks out pic.twitter.com/CQ2K8kFnlb

— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) August 9, 2020

Dontrelle Willis joins A’s broadcast team on NBC Sports California

NBC Sports California is adding a high-energy and charismatic presence to their studio crew for the 2020 season with former MLB pitcher turned analyst Dontrelle Willis joining the team.

Willis, a two-time MLB All-Star, spent nine seasons playing in the big leagues, and found himself with a knack for an on-air presence.

“As far as the staff, you, Brodie [Brazil], Dallas [Braden], [Dave Stewart]—it’s a well-rounded cast that just truly enjoys covering the team,” Willis told NBC Sports California.

“So, I think it shows in your guys’ work so I just want to be the big-little brother and go out there and showcase my talents and my joy as well, but I’ve always been a fan of the way you’ve covered the team and I think fans love the way you cover the team so I’m just trying to get on board and hop on and get a title like everybody else.”

A’s Tell Minor Leaguers They Won’t Be Paid for the Remainder of the Season

The A’s informed their minor league players on Tuesday that they will not continue to pay them after May 31, according to an email obtained by Sports Illustrated. This means the next paycheck these players receive will come next April.

Under the terms of their contracts, major and minor league players only get paid during the season. The coronavirus pandemic suspended baseball during spring training, a period during which players receive only their daily meal money. (Minor leaguers are poorly compensated at the best of times: Minimum salary ranges from $290 per week for rookie leaguers—$3,480 for a three-month season—to $500 per week for players at Triple A—$10,000 for a five-month season.) On March 31, the 30 teams decided to pay minor leaguers $400 per week through May 31. Oakland will be ceasing these payments at the end of the month, it said, although it will continue to subsidize the players’ health insurance.

“Unfortunately, considering all of the circumstances affecting the organization at this time, we have decided not to continue your $400 weekly stipend beyond May 31,” read the email, sent by GM David Forst. “This was a difficult decision and it’s one that comes at a time when a number of our full-time employees are also finding themselves either furloughed or facing a reduction in salary for the remainder of the season. For all of this, I am sorry.”

Oakland A’s haven’t made rent payment, Coliseum exec says

The Oakland Athletics have balked at paying the $1.2 million required under contract to use the Coliseum, the head of the stadium authority confirmed Tuesday.

Henry Gardner, the interim head of the Coliseum Authority, said the A’s informed him they had “no ability to pay” the annual rent due April 1.

“They said because they haven’t used it, they were not able to generate revenue and they have no ability to pay,” said Gardner, who stepped in as Coliseum Authority Executive Director after Scott McKibben’s resignation in August.

“We recognize that we’ve all been upended in a number of ways,” Gardner said. “Maybe there are some things we are willing to negotiate and waive, but we can’t just say no rent.”

The A’s did not respond to a request for comment, but in a letter dated March 31, A’s general counsel D’Lorna Ellis cited “force majeure,” a clause in the contract that relieves both sides from obligation when there is an extraordinary event, such as the coronavirus outbreak.

How Athletics Tried to Convince Michael Jordan to Join MLB Roster in 1994

The 94 A’s had a bunch of big names but were pretty bad, had been bad in 93 and would be bad in 95, so why not?

Ray Fosse gushes over A’s dynasty that won three straight World Series

The A’s had a dynasty of their own winning three straight World Series championships from 1972-74.

“The A’s and the Yankees, the only two teams in the history of this great game of baseball, have only ever won three or more consecutive championships,” Ray Fosse told NBC Sports California’s Brodie Brazil.

Fosse wanted to make sure baseball fans were aware of the “history lesson,” from the Green and Gold. And it was perfect timing as well.

NBC Sports California has been re-airing the “Swingin’ A’s” World Series championships from the ’70s—an era Fosse, now one of our broadcasters, was able to live through.

This seems as an appropriate place as any to note that most of Game 2 of the 1972 World Series is now online, the first time it’s been available for mass viewership since 1972

Sandy Alderson Wanted to Sign Michael Jordan to Athletics’ Major League Roster

Soon after Michael Jordan’s first NBA retirement in 1993, he joined the Chicago White Sox. But it wasn’t his only MLB option.

Former Oakland Athletics general manager Sandy Alderson—now an executive with the team—told ESPN’s Buster Olney on the Baseball Tonight podcast (h/t Jimmy Hascup of USA Today) that he tried to get Jordan to sign with the Athletics by offering him a spot in the majors:

“If you recall when Jordan stopped playing basketball and decided to try baseball and ultimately went down the Birmingham Barons—the Chicago White Sox affiliate. When I heard that was happening—or about to happen—I called the agent right away and said, ‘Hey look, I understand he may be going to Double-A. I don’t even know who the 25th man is on our major league team right now. I will sign him and put him on the major league roster. He’ll be part of our 25-man team. Tomorrow.’”

The White Sox—owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, who also owns the Chicago Bulls—weren’t thrilled with Alderson, and he was even accused of tampering.

No worse an idea than many of the free-agent signings the A’s have done in the last thirty years or so….

A’s minor league manager off ventilator in coronavirus fight

Updating a past story:

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics minor league manager Webster Garrison has resumed breathing completely on his own for the first time in more than three weeks and no longer requires a ventilator as he fights the coronavirus, his fiancee said Thursday.

Garrison, hospitalized in his home state of Louisiana, wasn’t yet speaking when Nikki Trudeaux posted her latest update Thursday.

“Webster Garrison is off the ventilator,” Trudeaux wrote, using a series of exclamation points. “He is still weak and can’t say words. He’s mumbling a little bit. That’s expected with that tube down his throat for that length of time and also being on all those sedatives so long. However, being on a ventilator for three weeks and one day, he is now breathing 100% on his own and his oxygen saturation level is at 100%.”

Trudeaux has been asking for nightly prayers and using the hash tag “WebbyStrong” as the 54-year-old former major leaguer fights COVID-19.

Today in Baseball History: Oakland’s Mustache Gang is born

Cutting to the bulk of this article:

Then, during the 1971-72 offseason, Oakland Athletics’ all-world outfielder Reggie Jackson decided that he was going to do something different.

By 1972 the rest of America had been living a much more hirsute existence for several years, and Jackson decided that rather than conform to baseball’s increasingly staid orthodoxy, he was going to be his own man. He showed up for spring training that February with a mustache on his lip and a promise that, by Opening Day, he’d have a full beard.

A’s owner Charlie Finley didn’t like it. He told Oakland manager Dick Williams to tell Reggie to shave. Williams did so, and Reggie, in the words of teammate Mike Hegan, — quoted in Bruce Markusen’s book, “A baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s,” “told Dick where he could shove it.” Then, as detailed in Markusen’s book, Finley decided to engage in some reverse psychology:

“This got to be a real sticking point, and so I guess Charlie and Dick had a meeting and they said ‘well, Reggie’s an individual so maybe we can try some reverse psychology here.’ Charlie told a few other guys to start growing a mustache. Then (Finley figured that if) a couple of other guys did it, Reggie would shave his off, and you know, everything would be OK.”

An example of the Finley Paradox: A master at actions that gained publicity, but really poor at being able to convert said publicity (and a really good team) into people in the stands.

Why Giants, A’s fans would prefer to not have teams in same division

As an A’s or Giants fan it’s hard to wrap your mind around the idea of the two teams possibly becoming division foes after so many years in opposite leagues.

But in a potential MLB realignment proposal to bring baseball back in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, a new division would have Oakland and San Francisco competing against each other along with the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

The scenario took the geography of each organization’s spring training facility into account in aligning the divisions.

NBC Sports Bay Area asked fans of both teams whether they would enjoy seeing the Bay Bridge Series turn into a divisional rivalry, the result was a majority were not in favor, although the margin was slim.

Well, that makes for quite a division…..

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.