CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 30: Andy Ibáñez #77 and Javier Báez #28 of the Detroit Tigers celebrate after the Tigers defeated the Cleveland Guardians in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series B at Progressive Field on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB photos via Getty Images
Not that Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman are a bad double-play combo to anchor your infield, but didn’t the A’s approach the offseason with different goals than their current results? What is the method behind this madness?
The A’s offseason shopping list started with the rotation, where the team was statistically among the worst in MLB last season. Terrible production at 2B and 3B was also seen and the team was unguarded after the Mason Miller trade.
So what has the offseason brought so far? Need an SP? Well…all we can say about that is “Hey, pitchers and catchers haven’t reported yet…” Need to know more? The additions to the bullpen have been Mark Leiter Jr., a solid under-the-radar guy and now Scott Barlow, he of the many walks, many strikeouts and ERA consistently around 4:00. 3B and 2B? Meet Jeff McNeil and…Andy Ibañez, more of a utility infielder than anything else.
As it stands, we reached February 7 with a rotation still consisting of Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Jacob Lopez, Luis Morales and perhaps Jack Perkins, supported by several talented but unproven youngsters. The bullpen has gotten deeper, but it is by no means demonstrably more dominant. 3B still appears to be owned by Max Muncy backed by Brett Harris, now backed by Andy Ibañez with Darell Hernaiz potentially in the mix.
In other words, other than in 2B, it’s not that different from how we left off in 2025. Now, the good news is that the A’s weren’t necessarily a “76-86 team” in 2025 even if that was their record. The lineup that finished the season was 34-24 over the final 60 games, good for a .567 winning percentage, also known as a 92 winning streak. Just look around the inexplicable 1-20 streak and you see a team that went 9 games above .500 for the year.
But nonetheless, some key improvements have been identified as needed and as Super Bowl Sunday approaches and Valentine’s Day isn’t far behind, the moves are… guys like Ibañez and Barlow. For what?
Reason #1: Opportunity
The meme turns out to be a reality: attracting launchers to a AAA facility that turned out to be a launch pad in 2025 is almost impossible. Pitchers who have multiple options and desirability will simply have a hard time selecting Sacramento, no matter how lovable our team is. Offers have undoubtedly been made, and rejected, from starting pitchers that we would have been happy to see added.
Reason #2: The Best Moves
The cliché is also a reality: sometimes the best deals are the ones you don’t make. Probably the best way for the A’s to bolster the rotation comes from the trade market and you can be sure David Forst has had plenty of conversations about available pitchers.
The question becomes what other teams want in exchange for a worthy starting pitcher to slot into the middle of a rotation. These are high-value commodities in what has been an extreme seller’s market – almost every team has identified the addition of starting pitching as a priority this offseason.
That means teams offering pitching are looking more for a Tyler Soderstrom in return than a Colby Thomas, more of a Gage Jump prospect than a Mason Barnett. The A’s may have wisely “stayed the course” by not releasing these key players and prospects just to try to improve the rotation for 2026.
Reason #3: It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over
My Aunt Bertha hasn’t sung yet (and that’s always a good thing) and out of necessity, to some extent, the A’s might “wait out the deal” hoping a quality player will sign who wasn’t willing to before. Pitchers and catchers could report next week, but pitchers like Chris Bassitt and Justin Verlander have nowhere to report. With each day that passes, the possibility that a pitcher who previously said “no” now considers Sacramento viable becomes greater. Sure, many of the best SPs have been taken off the market, but there are several great arms left and you only need one.
We also don’t know how much the A’s are trying to load up for 2026 or if their sights are geared more towards 2027 or 2028 – in which case their prized SP addition could be Gage Jump or Jamie Arnold, their missing infielder Leo De Vries, and so on.
I’ve always had a feeling that one way or another, someday this offseason, the A’s are going to add a starting pitcher. I still believe him and I still have no idea where this launcher will come from. But if you want them to show up on time, you better put them on your list before all the Valentine’s Day candy is sold out. It’s almost “show time”…
