Oakland Athletics Rumors: Potential interest in bringing back a familiar face

The Oakland Athletics, looking to bolster their rotation ahead of the 2019 season, may have interest in bring back a name from the past.

The Oakland Athletics were one of baseball’s biggest surprises last season. With most people picking the A’s to finish in, or near, the American League cellar, Oakland shocked the world by running out to a 97-win season, and taking one of the Wild Card slots – a game they would eventually lose to the New York Yankees 7-2.

Still, that doesn’t take away from the accomplishment of a fantastic season – one that netted skipper Bob Melvin the Manager of the Year trophy, and included a slew of other accolades for the A’s players themselves.

The A’s couldn’t quite catch the Astros for the AL West crown, fading down the stretch. At one point late in the season, the A’s caught Houston for the division lead. But, the pitching tapered off and Oakland wound up finishing six games behind the Astros.

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Which makes their emphasis on getting some arms in and shoring up their pitching staff this offseason understandable. The A’s want to build on the momentum of their surprising 97-win season, rather than stand pat.

And pitching is where they need to start.

Oakland finished eleventh overall in ERA for the 2018 season, with the staff posting a combined 3.81. They had 44 saves (tied for tenth overall), had just two complete games (tenth overall), 14 shutouts (eighth overall), had 82 quality starts (fifteenth overall), and opposing batters averaged just .236 against A’s pitching (sixth overall).

Any way you slice it, the A’s pitching staff had a pretty solid season. But, as they say, there is always room for improvement. And to that end, MLB Network’s John Paul Morosi Tweeted out earlier that Oakland is potentially interested in bring a familiar face back to the A’s.

That face? Sonny Gray.

You remember Sonny Gray, don’t you? The eighteenth overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, Gray was first called up in July 2013. By August of that year, he had become something of a fixture at the bottom of Oakland’s rotation.

For the year, Gray started 10 games, throwing 64 innings, and compiled an ERA of 2.67. He allowed just 51 hits and had 67 strikeouts.

On the strength of his impressive debut, Gray was given the Opening Day start in 2014 and continued to dazzle. For the year, he made 33 starts (219 innings pitched), posted an ERA of 3.08, and went 14-10. 2015 saw him make a second consecutive Opening Day start and over his 31 starts (208 innings pitched), he compiled an ERA of 2.73, and went 14-7.

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2016 though, was a reversal of fortune that saw Gray battle multiple injuries that required stints on the DL. He made just 22 starts and threw only 117 innings, his ERA ballooning to 5.69 and his record falling to 5-11.

2017 say Gray’s struggles continue as he was 10-12 in 27 starts with an ERA of 3.55 over 162 innings pitched. In July of that year, Oakland traded him to the Yankees for Dustin Fowler, Jorge Mateo, and James Kaprielian – none of whom, have made any sort of impact in the Majors.

But Gray’s struggles continued in the Big Apple. After landing with the Yankees, Gray went 4-7 with an ERA of 3.72. He allowed 55 hits in 65.1 innings pitched, and had 59 strikeouts.

2018 saw Gray struggle through 23 starts before being sent to the bullpen. For the year, he went 11-9 with a bloated 4.90 ERA. He allowed 138 hits in his 130.1 innings pitched, and had 123 strikeouts. He also matched his career worst WHIP at 1.496 – the last time being his injury riddled 2016 season.

All of which makes it unsurprising that the Yankees are moving on from Gray. Speaking just after being eliminated from the playoffs, New York GM Brian Cashman had this to say about the struggling pitcher.

"“It hasn’t worked out thus far. I think he’s extremely talented. We’ll enter the winter, unfortunately, open-minded to a relocation. To maximize his abilities, it would be more likely best [for him to be] somewhere else.”"

Morosi Tweeted out that although substantive progress has yet to be made on a deal to send Gray – who is under contract in 2019 but will be an unrestricted free agent in 2020 – back to the Bay Area.

Other teams are said to be interested in acquiring the one time ace, including the Cincinnati Reds, among others.

Perhaps a move back to a smaller market, one that isn’t in a pressure cooker like New York, can help rejuvenate Gray. Maybe. There’s no question that he’s scuffling right now though. His last two plus seasons have been a dumpster fire, with fans actually booing him off the mound.

Morosi has hinted that the Yankees may be looking for a top prospect in return – at least, in regard to the Reds. But logic seems to dictate that the same would seem to hold true for any club they’re looking to unload Gray on. And at this point, Gray has to be considered damaged goods and not worth giving up a top prospect for.

There just seem to be too many maybes when it comes to the idea of bringing Gray back. Oakland is a team with momentum and is charging forward. Bringing Gray back to Oakland, given his struggles these last couple of years, seems like it could very well represent a step backward.

Gray has proven to be more of a liability than asset the last couple of years. The A’s moved on from him once, and it would be wise for this team to stay that course.