A’s Offseason Summary & Thoughts thru November

Well, another month of the offseason has come and gone (thankfully) and the Athletics still do not have a starting shortstop to plug into the lineup.  With the Winter meetings coming up this week (12/3 – 12/6), we’ll hopefully have a resolution to this issue soon. 

November was a pretty quiet month for the club, announcing a few minor deals and seeing one major component to the 2012 club sign with another team.  (Note that my October summary went up a week into November and I covered the Bartolo Colon signing from 11/3 there.)

On 11/16 the A’s completed a trade with the Padres sending P Tyson Ross and minor leaguer AJ Kirby-Jones for P Andrew Werner and IF Andy Parrino.  Werner is a lefthander that will come in from the bullpen while Parrino could be a utility infielder that helps plug holes and gives others a day off here and there, similar to the role Adam Rosales has played most recently for the club. 

I’m a little surprised that Ross was dealt, but not necessarily disappointed.  He has been given several opportunities to fill different roles on the A’s pitching staff and it never really all came together for him.  I thought that the club would give him one more season in a defined role (from the bullpen, where he belonged in my opinion) to see if he would succeed.  Alas, we don’t have to give this anymore thought. 

Several days later (11/20), the A’s decided to protect the following players from their minor league system: RHP Arnold Leon, IF/OF (what is he this week?) Grant Green, OF Shane Peterson, and RHP Michael Ynoa.  At the same time, the team designated Jim Miller and Brandon Hicks for assignment.  There’s some real good banter on this over in a Fanpost on Athletics Nation if you want to go check it out.  Similar to several people’s thoughts over there, I’m pretty surprised that Jim Miller was designated and Jesse Chavez was not.  I didn’t catch a single appearance from Chavez that remotely warranted him being on the club next year.  Did I miss something?

Brandon Hicks’ tenure with the A’s came to an official end on 11/26 when the A’s traded him to the NY Mets for the infamous cash considerations.  Hicks had a relatively poor showing in 2012, hitting just .172 with three home runs in 22 games.  One of those home runs was a walk off against the Rangers, but I think it is safe to say the A’s will make it through next season without him. 

Two days later, on 11/28, the A’s announced that they had come to terms with RP Pat Neshek.  Neshek came over from the Orioles in August and played an important role on the team towards the end of the ’12 season, including several strong outings as the A’s caught up to and passed the Rangers to win the division.  You likely also remember that in the playoffs, the Neshek family lost their newborn child, only to see Pat come back and pitch an inning of relief days later.  I’m glad to see Neshek back in the fold given his performance this past season, but also because of his unique pitching delivery to mix things up coming out of the bullpen. 

Saving the biggest news for last in the November summary, as Jonny Gomes reached an agreement on a two year contract with the Boston Red Sox.  The deal with Boston is reportedly worth $10 million.  I would have loved to have Gomes back in the A’s clubhouse in 2013, particularly over a few of the spare parts remaining on the roster.  However, this price tag is way too high for Oakland to be paying.  That isn’t to say Jonny doesn’t deserve the deal by any stretch, it just isn’t a number that the A’s can commit to a player like Gomes, particularly when the outfield is already overcrowded.  Teams need a player in the clubhouse like Jonny and it is disappointing to see him go.  However, knowing that it was beyond reason to meet a contract like the one he signed, all you can do is tip your cap and say “good luck”. 

UPDATE: 12/1/12

Further proof that I should have just waited until the actual end of the month and not worrying about posting the article on the weekend, there were a few contracts tendered to members of the A's roster, specifically Daric Barton and Adam Rosales.  There has yet to be an announcement on Brandon Moss, Seth Smith, or Jerry Blevins.

Regarding Barton, the only reason I am OK with this deal is because it is a non-guaranteed deal.  I can't imagine Daric is on this club in 2013, but why lose him for nothing.  Hopefully, the A's can find a partner in a bigger trade and Barton will be included.

Rosales is a nice player to have on your bench and spell guys here and there.  Given the earlier trade for Parrino, I wouldn't be surprised or hurt if Rosales also isn't on the club in 2013.

The players that we've yet to hear anything on are all more concerning and bigger names for the 2013 club.  Blevins became an important part of the bullpen, while Moss and Smith both made positive contributions over the course of the season and during the stretch run.  Hopefully all three are resolved already and the club is just late in the announcement or working out some final details with each.