Yankees potential trade partner: Oakland Athletics
06/28/2024 01:00 PM
The A's are back at it again, making them an easy trade target for contending teams.
Despite holding a .500 record as late as May 4 this season, the Oakland Athletics are back to their typical antics, holding tightly onto the last spot in the American League West. Since being 17-17 in the beginning of May, they have gone a miserable 12-37, and should find themselves in a position to sell once again. Unsurprisingly, the A's hold a young roster, in fact, the second youngest in baseball behind the Guardians. This makes some players harder to deal, with plenty of team control left, but in their position, selling feels like a must.
On the offensive side, Oakland has already moved on from one of their veteran hitters, sending J.D. Davis to the Yankees. But the Athletics have actually had a few excellent seasons put together by hitters in the green and yellow. Brent Rooker, who hit 30 homers last season, is leading the charge once again. The slugging righty missed some time early on, but in 68 games is showing a 142 wRC+, while swatting 14 homers in that limited time.
While Rooker has shown himself to be a legitimate threat with the bat, that is sadly most of what he brings to the table. Adding a thumper is never necessarily a bad thing, but a bat-only 29-year-old may not be the primary goal for the Yankees at the deadline. That said, if Giancarlo Stanton remains sidelined, perhaps a bat like Rooker's could begin to look more appealing with the more time he misses.
The other standout in the lineup thus far has been former fourth overall pick JJ Bleday. The 26-year-old outfielder is having a career year in Oakland, already playing in more games than he ever had in his first two big league seasons. And that is not where the career bests stop; with 11 homers already, a 130 wRC+, and a .253/.336/.461 slash line, 2024 has easily been the best Bleday has had to offer as a big leaguer. Of course, at just 26, Bleday has four full seasons of team control after this year, so his may be a career Oakland would like to see unfold further with his newfound production. As for the Yankees, outfield is not exactly the area of need for this squad as things stand.
On the pitching side of things, the situation isn't very promising either for Oakland. As a staff, the A's have taken some hits on the bump, with the third-lowest fWAR as a unit in baseball. At the top of the pack sits flame-throwing Mason Miller out of the bullpen. Miller is a 25-year-old who was a top-50 prospect, coming up through the minors as a starter, but in order to limit innings was moved to the bullpen, where he has thrived in 2024. His upside is visible after just one pitch, with some of the best stuff you'll ever see, fueling his otherworldly 46.6 percent K rate. As good as he has been, and could continue to be, his price would obviously be sky high, still with all of five years of team control left after 2024. It seems like, if anyone on this roster is, Mason Miller would be a building block for a team like Oakland.
The A's do have some aging veterans on the pitching depth chart, like Alex Wood and Paul Blackburn on the starting side. Both of them are currently on the shelf, but upon return later this summer, those two vets would bolster a lot of rotations on the back end.
Oakland once again finds themselves in a position to unload at the deadline, and the Yankees in much the opposite. While the Yankees have some holes to fill, the fit with most of the Athletics' moveable pieces can be hard to see. With a mix of unproven youth, and less favorable veterans, there aren't any no-brainer deals on the table between the Yanks and A's.
