We still don’t know where the A’s will play after this season, but what will a successful 2024 on the field look like for Oakland?
Any amount of success on the field won’t do anything to heal the fans’ broken hearts or diminish their rage toward ownership. And after going a combined 104 games under .500 the past two seasons, simply no longer being mentioned in the same breath of the 1962 New York Mets and their modern-record 120 losses would be an improvement.
After losing 100 games in a season just once in their first 54 years in the Bay Area, the A’s have suffered that indignity in each of the past two: 112 games last season, a year after they lost 102.
The A’s are once again operating with by far the lowest payroll in the majors, and another 100-loss season wouldn’t be a surprise. Fangraphs.com projects the A’s will lose 91 games, but a sampling of major sports betting sites puts the number between 102 and 104 losses.
The A’s have had a winning record in a full month just once in the past two seasons – July 2022, when they went 14–12. The A’s finished 62 games under .500 last season and 42 games under in 2021.
The franchise is likely years away from a true revival, but here is a look at some of the players that need to come through to make the A’s competitive on their way out of the Bay Area.
Zack Gelof
The A’s used 104 different players the past two seasons and more roster churn is on the way, but it sure looks as if second base could be in good hands for a while. Gelof joined the A’s in early July and the 2021 second-round draft pick was an instant smash, becoming the first player in franchise history with 20 extra-base hits and 20 runs scored in his first 28 games. Gelof, 24, finished with a slash line of .267/.337/.840 with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases. Those numbers project to 30 homers and 30 stolen bases over a full season, something only Jose Canseco has accomplished in franchise history. He passed the other Bash Brother, Mark McGwire, in the franchise record books with 10 home runs in his first 35 games, six fewer than it took Big Mac.
Oakland Athletics infielder Zack Gelof during batting practice of day seven of spring training at Lew Wolff training complex in Mesa, Ariz., on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling
Much of the A’s present and future could very well be riding on the shoulders of the trio of 30-something former All-Stars. Oakland tied the 1915 Philadelphia A’s 108-year MLB record by using 24 different starting pitchers last season. The group combined to go 20-72 with a 5.74 ERA and produced a quality start – at least six innings and three or fewer runs – just 32 times. If Wood and Stripling, both former Giants, bounce back from down years and Blackburn can stay healthy, the trio would anchor a rotation that could keep the A’s competitive and allow the franchise’s young starters more time to develop. As an added bonus, if they are productive – and healthy – any or all of the trio almost certainly would be coveted around the trade deadline and could help the A’s add more pieces to their ongoing rebuilding project.
Oakland Athletics’ Paul Blackburn (58) delivers against the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of Game 2 of the Bay Bridge series at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, March 26, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Brent Rooker and Seth Brown
Only the Guardians, Tigers and Royals have hit fewer home runs than the A’s among teams in the American League the past two seasons and the duo could form a formidable lefty-righty threat in the middle of the lineup – and make them valuable trade pieces later in the summer when teams look for bats to bolster their playoff hopes. Rooker and Brown led the A’s in home runs the past two seasons, respectively, but neither has displayed much consistency. Rooker went from off-season waiver claim to the A’s lone All-Star last season, but that was largely due to a huge opening month that saw him hit .353 with nine of his 30 home runs and a .465 on-base percentage. He mostly scuffled after that before socking eight homers in September. Brown also finished strong, but barely hit .200 most of the season, and after hitting 45 home runs in 2021-22 had a reduced role because of injuries and continued struggles to hit lefties.
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Shea Langeliers
The catcher turned 26 during the winter, so he’s no longer a young prospect. But Langeliers has only spent one full season in the majors and still has time to show the A’s if he’s more than what they’ve seen – and make the Matt Olson trade not look so lopsided. Langeliers has power – 22 homers in 490 plate appearances last season – but also struck out 143 times (while batting .205 with a .268 on-base percentage) and has a career WAR of 1.2. He’s a better defensive option than top prospect Tyler Soderstrom, but the A’s will need Soderstom’s bat in the lineup. Kyle McCann and Daniel Susac (a first-round pick in the 2022 draft) might soon push their way into the mix as well.
Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers looks on during defense practice of day seven of spring training at Lew Wolff training complex in Mesa, Ariz., on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Mason Miller
Miller generated a jolt of positive buzz around the A’s last April after he carved up the minor leagues and brought his crackling 100-mph fastball to the majors. He held the Mariners without a hit in his third career start, but then was shut down for three months because of an elbow sprain. Miller, 25, returned in September and made six more appearances, and in all racked up 38 strikeouts in 33 ⅓ innings. Miller, a 2021 third-round draft pick, had only made 11 minor league appearances before his A’s debut because of arm issues, so he might just be scratching the surface of his potential. He’ll open this season as a reliever – he’s got the makings of a dominating closer – but he could get another shot as a starter if he can remain healthy.
Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Mason Miller #19 throws against the San Francisco Giants in the ninth inning of their MLB Bay Bridge Series game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, March 25, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
