Oakland Athletics: The A’s must stay away from veteran SP’s in free agency

The Oakland Athletics must resist the urge to sign veteran starting pitchers in free agency and instead stand by their young, up-and-coming starters.

The Oakland Athletics once again saw their season ripped away from them in the blink of an eye after falling in the Wild Card Game for the second consecutive season.

It’s heartbreaking as much as it is infuriating for an A’s team that has managed to overachieve for two straight seasons, only to see all their work and progress disappear with one torturous game.

Fortunately, the A’s proved this season that they weren’t one-year wonders. After shocking the baseball world with a 97-win season in 2018, the Athletics rallied back and totaled the same number of wins in 2019.

The A’s are here to stay, thanks in part to a young core and some surprising standouts. Marcus Semien broke out and emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate while Liam Hendriks became the team’s primary closer following a disappointing campaign from 2018 star Blake Treinen.

But there is perhaps no greater reason for optimism among A’s fans than the potential futures of some of the team’s young pitchers.

2019 saw the debuts of both Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk — two of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. We also saw some excellent pitching from both Frankie Montas — prior to his suspension — and Sean Manaea — down the stretch following his return from injury.

The future looks bright for the A’s pitching staff and it very well could become a legitimate strength of this team after years of lackluster production.

For that reason, the A’s would be wise to avoid spending money on veteran starters in the upcoming free agency period.

There will be some incredibly intriguing names on the market this winter — most of which the A’s will not be able to afford. We’re talking players like Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Wheeler, maybe Stephen Strasburg, and even AL West foe Gerrit Cole.

But even the middle of the pack will have some notable players who the A’s could feasibly target. Pitchers such as Ivan Nova, Kyle Gibson, and Wade Miley are all probably in the team’s price range and could make solid additions to the rotation.

However, that wouldn’t be the wisest way to spend their money this winter.

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Mike Fiers will return and be paired with Montas and Manaea in the rotation. The A’s are also hopeful that Luzardo will be able to fill one of those rotation spots as well. That leaves one slot open for a player yet to be determined.

Perhaps that player could be Puk although it’s more likely that the A’s continue to use him in a bullpen role given his expected innings limit.

Instead, the A’s would be better off turning to one of their in-house veterans for that fifth starter role. Oakland will have Brett Anderson, Homer Bailey, and Tanner Roark all set to be free agents this winter.

Out of the three, Anderson is perhaps most intriguing followed by Bailey.

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The 31-year-old Anderson surprised many this season finishing with a 3.89 ERA in 31 starts. However, a 4.57 FIP does indicate that regression is inevitable.

Bailey, on the other hand, was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Royals in July and the 33-year-old posted a 4.30 ERA in 13 starts down the stretch.

Either Anderson or Bailey would likely be better, cheaper, short-term options than turning to free agency to add another starter. The A’s would be better off spending that money to help fill holes in their bullpen as opposed to spending on veteran starters.

With an influx of young talent taking over the A’s pitching staff, it doesn’t seem wise to invest money into older veteran starting pitchers — especially given the bullpen concerns.

Luzardo and Puk are the future and it’s important that the A’s allow their future to blossom.