The A's Go for Plan B

 

I will say there is something both ballsy and admirable about the Oakland Athletics, after winning 25 games in the first half, providing a 40-steal guy that can't hit, not getting production out of any of their starters, having two contracted stars that worked in bigger markets hit .209, and alienating the fanbase even more than they did before, going 'well...that didn't work, let's try something else.'

And that's the only way I can explain the A's starting the second half by immediately calling up the team's two biggest prospects, Tyler Soderstrom and Zach Gelof, who look to fit into this team either in the infield or, in Soderstrom's case, behind the plate. It's not like the A's haven't peppered organization favorites into this team: Esteury Ruiz, Shea Langeliers, J.J. Bleday, Nick Allen, Kevin Smith and Jordan Diaz all have played nice roles in this team. Of this bunch, only Smith and Allen were actual A's farm products, everything else came from trades. 

And the one thing that has doomed this team so far is that the prospects they've been handed in return for their major assets just haven't been working as promised. This team has an entire rotation full of ex-Yankee pitching prospects, and only J.P. Sears has had a halfway-decent go of things. Langeliers and Bleday were pitched as organizational cornerstones, and neither are hitting over .215. Meanwhile, both teams that gave them up are doing well with the guys they got in return for them, including the frigging Marlins, who the A's still regret handing Jesus Luzardo to all those years ago. 

So the A's, if anything, need their own farm system to produce something that at least makes things somewhat tolerable for the next stretch of time. And if the answers at corner infield spots aren't to the team's liking, or catching, then sure, bring in the new guys. I'm writing this before the game against Minnesota, I don't know how Soderstrom or Gelof did, I'm guessing they adequately demonstrated proper baseball technique.

With the team progressing further, I don't know what it means for the guys that have been there for a bit. Paul Blackburn's still on the A's, I bet you forgot about that. He was injured, missed a whole season including last year's trade deadline, which is...suspicious. But he's still here, and he's still doing pretty well, 4.86 and 41 Ks in 8 games, not terrible considering the usual quality of this rotation. But...look, he's a competent pitcher in Oakland, I don't know if he's gonna last much longer. Maybe they flip him for something that'll help them out when Soderstrom's got a team built around him. I just don't expect them to keep Blackburn, even if, realistically, they still may.

The A's are at the very least interesting. As a bad team, they still have a lot of good things going for them, and a lot of interesting details that make them anything but a boring team. These two rookies make them even more interesting, and you never know what wild things will happen as they fight to stave off 100 losses.

Coming Tonight: The Guardians didn't have a place for him, but the Rockies, of all people, seem to.