Golden Gate Sports
Fansided

Oakland Athletics: What other relievers might the team add at the deadline?

By Justin Fried

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 05: Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres pitches in relief against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 05: Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres pitches in relief against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Oakland Athletics
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 05: Kirby Yates #39 of the San Diego Padres pitches in relief against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on July 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Oakland Athletics (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

The Oakland Athletics have already acquired a relief pitcher, but their trade deadline shopping spree might not be done. Here are a few other possible trade candidates to improve their bullpen.

The Oakland Athletics have made it clear that improving upon their pitching staff is a clear point of emphasis this trade deadline.

After acquiring veteran starter Homer Bailey and left-handed reliever Jake Diekman from the Kansas City Royals in separate deals, the A’s have done just that. However, their work likely isn’t done just yet.

While the A’s starting rotation has overachieved by most measures this season, they could still use some support there. At the same time, their bullpen has simultaneously underachieved and it’s more likely that the team looks to add another player there.

The A’s left-handed relievers seem to be set now with Diekman joining the likes of Ryan Buchter and Wei-Chung Wang. However, Oakland could still use some help with their righties with Lou Trivino, Blake Treinen, and Joakim Soria all struggling.

Here are a few possible options that the team could still target at the deadline.

Oakland Athletics
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – JULY 24: Yoshihisa Hirano #66 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers a seventh inning pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at Chase Field on July 24, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. Oakland Athletics (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

3. Low-cost options

If the A’s are going to stick to the cheap side, as they did for Diekman, there are still a few under-the-radar players they could look to acquire. After all, it isn’t always about the star-studded, flashy deadline pick-up.

Sometimes it’s the low-key, underrated moves that make all the difference.

Related Story. Oakland Athletics: Breaking down the trade for reliever Jake Diekman. light

One such player they could target is Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano. Hirano is playing in just his second MLB season after coming over from Japan prior to last year. But the 35-year-old has pitched well so far in his major-league career.

Hirano has a career 2.93 ERA and while his 3.79 ERA this season is definitely higher than last year’s, his 3.12 FIP indicates that brighter days are ahead. On top of that, Hirano has two more years of team control making this an appealing deal.

And given that he isn’t even the highest-profile reliever on the market in Arizona, it likely wouldn’t cost the A’s very much.

Another name to watch for is Texas Rangers right-hander Chris Martin. Martin is a relative no-name around the league but the 33-year-old has quietly put together a very solid season in Arlington.

The veteran journeyman has just a 3.08 ERA in 38 games pitched this year with a high strikeout rate and a ridiculously low walk rate. Martin will be a free agent after this season but could be an underrated add if he could continue to play at this level.

Home/Oakland Athletics