As GM going into the offseason, the organization I am most worried about and also the most fascinated with is Oakland.
The As went for it this year, but faded late
Their present 40 man has 12 FAs leaving, and one option that may not be picked up. They have 12 players going into arby, and three are gonna be expensive.
Their farm system is barren, and they have almost no position prospects that are MLB ready or that will be MLB ready for 2023.
Their Rule Five problem isn't that they have too many to roster, its that they don't have near enough to even bother protecting.
My worry...and its a big one...is that the A's will be circling our prospects like vultures, and we will have a lot better bones to pick than Ka'ai Tom, and more of them.
My fascination is in the possibilities that exist with an org that needs EVERYTHING that comes with long term control and very little salary...esp when that org has exactly what I want...a well above average all around OF under control for three years at a team friendly price.
I'm looking at my roster and theirs, and I see a lot of young fringe players and prospects on our 40 man bubble that would easily make their 40 man...players that maybe don't move anybody else's needle, but just might move theirs.
Young players like Mercado, Chang, Miller, and Clement. Fringe 40 man prospects like Palacios, Tena, Noel, Kwan, and Gonzalez.
And I see a 4 WAR outfielder with three years of control that can do everything...hit, hit for power, run, and play defense.
If Oakland needs MLB ready talent, I can offer both quality and quantity.
Starting with Jones and Arias, augmented by any number of fringe players/prospects they can fit on their 40 man...many of which I am gonna lose anyway.
I'm gonna wine and dine Billy Beane. I'm not gonna go to bed at night without calling him first. I'm gonna send his wife flowers. I'm gonna send his daughter chocolates. The Guardians are gonna donate to his Alma Mater. I'm gonna learn the UCSD fight sing.
(I'm gonna tell him that I am thinking of making the fight song the theme for the Guardians...perhaps a slight exaggeration.)