The old adage of “you win some, you lose some” sure rings true when it comes to the moves the Oakland Athletics have made so far this offseason. Assembling a bullpen of this caliber could be an A+ by itself. But the A’s failed to fill crucial holes with big trade chips.
The starting rotation is young and talented.
Bartolo Colon was the lone veteran of the staff, but he became a free agent. Rather than look internally, the A’s filled Colon’s spot in the rotation with another free agent.
The bullpen was outstanding in 2013. At times there were moments when fans were forced to hold their breath, but in general, they were a force to be reckoned with. And Grant Balfour’s consecutive win streak was the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, he too is a free agent, so the A’s went ahead and filled his spot through a trade.
On paper, the lineup is filled with quality hitters from Yoenis Cespedes to Brandon Moss. But with so many question marks—can Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie repeat career years?—it would have been wise to solidify this lineup.
They didn’t.
Instead, Oakland made one strength stronger and one weakness weaker. All the while they tinkered with the farm.
As we head into the holiday break, see how well the A’s did on their end-of-year finals.