Oakland Athletics: Which prospects are most likely to be traded?
By Justin Fried
The 2019 MLB trade deadline is nearing and the Oakland Athletics are expected to be buyers. Here are a few prospects who could depart the organization in the coming days.
The Oakland Athletics aren’t exactly a team that is known for making huge splashes at the trade deadline. And even with the team very much in contention this year, don’t expect that to change.
That said, the A’s are still expected to be buyers and will be looking to add a piece or two to further solidify their roster ahead of a hopefully lengthy postseason run. That process already began when the A’s traded for longtime Cincinnati Reds starter Homer Bailey a week ago.
Expect that process to only continue over the next few days as we near the end of the month.
The Athletics will likely be looking at adding increased pitching depth — primarily in their bullpen but certainly not limited to there. But don’t be surprised to see the A’s add a second baseman to shore up depth at that position and challenge the young Franklin Barreto.
The Oakland Athletics should trade Franklin Barreto at the deadline. light. Related Story
And speaking of Barreto, he could ultimately top the list of prospects that the A’s could make available.
The 23-year-old is now on his third stint in the majors and his opportunities to show that he’s the second baseman of the future are running out. He’s hitting just .152 since being recalled earlier this month and has seemingly lost the starting role to the incumbent Jurickson Profar.
With Barreto struggling, the time could be now to trade him before his market value gets any worse. Is it too soon to give up on Barreto? Perhaps it is. After all, the pains of seeing Max Muncy find success elsewhere continue to haunt A’s fans to this day.
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But with a heap of other middle infield prospects waiting in the wings, it might be time to part with Barreto. And he could ultimately be one of the A’s most intriguing trade chips.
Elsewhere, there’s 24-year-old third baseman Sheldon Neuse. Neuse has impressed this year in Triple-A and is well-deserving of a major-league opportunity, but his path to the majors appears to be blocked — and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Neuse — primarily a corner infielder — has the likes of Matt Chapman and Matt Olson square in his way and it could take a change of scenery for him to reach his full potential. The former Washington Nationals draft pick could be just the prospect to net the A’s a reliable arm this summer.
If we’re talking lower-tier prospects who could become trade chips then 24-year-old outfielder Greg Deichmann could be a possibility. Deichmann is currently hitting just .211 in Double-A Midland at the moment but could net the A’s a mid-tier relief option.
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One interesting name to watch for is outfielder Dustin Fowler. While Fowler doesn’t exactly count as a prospect, the 24-year-old could be moved this summer after failing to impress much last season.
But if the A’s really want to go all-in at a bigger name player like Madison Bumgarner or Matthew Boyd, they might have to package one of their young pitching prospects in a deal. While it would be painful, someone like 24-year-old left-hander A.J. Puk cannot be considered off the market.
The same goes for a player like Skye Bolt who could be moved given his age and the A’s logjam in the outfield.
Either way, there should be plenty of trade chips available — even if none of them is that blue-chip prospect waiting to land the team a top-tier player. But that’s just fine with the A’s who have remained content holding on to top prospects instead of shipping them away in trades.
It’s more likely we see some mid-tier starter or reliever get shipped to Oakland for one or two low-tier prospects. That’s just the A’s way of doing things around the trade deadline.
Next. Oakland Athletics: What positions should the team target at the trade deadline?. dark
But there should be no shortage of prospects at the A’s disposal this year, no matter what moves they make.