Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are reportedly "shooting for the moon" in Matt Olson trade discussions, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. It does not come as a surprise given the fact that the first baseman has two years remaining on his contract.

The news comes after Heyman reported A's general manager David Forst is willing to listen to trades for every player.

SNY's Andy Martino also reported earlier this month that Olson is among "several A's players who will likely be on the move" this winter. The former first-round pick has two years of salary arbitration remaining and won't become a free agent until after the 2023 campaign.

The A's are looking to shed payroll and rebuild the franchise this offseason, and one of the best ways to do that is to part ways with star players like Olson, Frankie Montas and Matt Chapman.

Olson, a two-time Gold Glover, boosted his trade value during the 2021 season, slashing .271/.371/.540 (.911 OPS) with a career-high 39 home runs and 111 RBI. He also earned his first All-Star nod and participated in the Home Run Derby.

In addition, the 27-year-old led all American League first basemen in defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs, but lost out on snagging his third Gold Glove to Houston Astros infielder Yuli Gurriel. He finished eighth in AL MVP voting.

Olson has already been linked to the New York Yankees this winter, which comes as no surprise as the franchise looks to upgrade at several positions ahead of the 2022 campaign.

The Yankees relied on Anthony Rizzo and Luke Voit at first base last season, but Rizzo is now a free agent and Voit is eligible for arbitration. The Pinstripes have also been linked to several other players this winter, including free-agent first baseman Freddie Freeman, according to Heyman.

It's unclear which other teams might be interested in Olson. However, B/R's Zachary D. Rymer lists the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Yankees as the best landing spots for the Georgia native.  

The Oakland Athletics could be following in the Las Vegas Raiders' footsteps. 

The A's have made an offer on an unspecified Las Vegas site that could be used for a new ballpark, team president Dave Kaval told Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

"We're kind of moving from a phase of research/data gathering to action around a final site," Kaval told Akers. "That's really important because the site selection is a really critical path to keep the process moving forward to where we could have a holistically blessed project."

The A's have made several trips to Las Vegas as they continue to scope out potential relocation sites amid negotiations for a new stadium in Oakland. The team was expected to reveal a list of Las Vegas finalists after the World Series, but Akers says that is no longer happening. 

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred pushed the A's to begin exploring relocation options in May. 

However, Oakland has recently stepped up its efforts to keep the A's in town, with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announcing Friday the city is receiving $14.5 million in federal grants that could be used for the A's ballpark project. 

The A's have played at the Oakland Coliseum since 1968. They previously shared the stadium with the Raiders before the team moved to Las Vegas, where they now play at the brand new Allegiant Stadium, which cost $1.9 billion to build. 

If the A's were to move to Las Vegas, they would join a growing number of professional teams in the area, including the Raiders, the NHL's Golden Knights and the WNBA's Aces. It would also be the fourth time the franchise has moved. They previously played in Philadelphia and Kansas City. 

On the other hand, if the team was to remain in Oakland, it would likely build its new ballpark at a waterfront facility near Howard Terminal.  

The New York Yankees are "definitely interested" in trading for Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, per Jack Curry of the YES Network.

"The Yankees have made inquiries about Matt Olson with the A's, but I'm hearing there hasn't been any detailed conversations about which players would be involved in a potential deal," Curry tweeted.

"Obviously, that can change with one call or one text. Yankees are definitely interested."

The 27-year-old hit .271 (.911 OPS) with 39 home runs and 111 RBI last season. It was an impressive year for Olson, a two-time Gold Glover who also made his first All-Star Game in 2021.

Olson is under team control for two more seasons, making him eligible for free agency in 2024 after a pair of arbitration years.

The Yankees were rolling with Anthony Rizzo and Luke Voit at first base by season's end, with the former player receiving the bulk of the work after the Bronx Brombers acquired him in a midseason trade with the Chicago Cubs.

Rizzo is a free agent now, while Voit is eligible for arbitration.

New York is looking to improve upon a 92-70 season that ended with an American League Wild Card Game loss to the Boston Red Sox. Questions litter the infield, and a shortstop would appear to be very high on the team's priority list.

Adding a left-handed power bat tailor-made for the Yankee Stadium short right field porch in Olson would be a major plus, and the fantastic glove is a bonus.

It appears that Olson is available with the A's looking to cut payroll and rebuild the franchise. SNY's Andy Martino reported on that in addition to the Yankees' potential interest in the first baseman on Nov. 8:

Somewhere in all that haze, though, is one near-certainty for the Yankees: Matt Olson, the All-Star first baseman for the Oakland Athletics, is there for the taking. Given Oakland’s history of trading big names as they become more expensive in salary arbitration, Yankee fans have already been salivating over Olson’s hypothetical availability. To that we can add reporting: Multiple league executives in touch with the A’s say that another reset is coming from the franchise, and Olson is one of several players who will likely be on the move.

The Yankees would also likely have competition for one of the greatest 30-and-under hitters in baseball, so it's certainly not a guarantee New York lands him. Plus, the asking price won't be cheap for Olson either.

Still, Olson could certainly be worth it as the Yankees try to make the World Series for the first time since 2009, which marks the team's only championship in the past 21 seasons.

Amid rumblings that the Oakland Athletics are looking into reducing their payroll, several of their veteran players are reportedly available in trades. 

Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea are among the players that Oakland is willing to take offers on, per MLB Network's Jon Heyman. 

In a recent interview with John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, A's general manager David Forst indicated that ownership may look to reduce payroll before the 2022 season. 

"I think right now we’re in the middle of those conversations with [ownership],” said Forst. "We don’t have exact direction yet. But you look at our history, and we have three- or four-year runs and recognize where we are makes it necessary to step back. But we have not gotten to that point yet with ownership."

Oakland's 2021 payroll was $90.9 million, per Spotrac. That marked a $54.2 million increase from the previous season ($36.7 million). 

USA Today's Bob Nightengale cited two MLB executives who believe the Athletics are planning to go with a "major-league low $50 million (payroll) for the 2022 season."

The A's have several players who could be attractive trade candidates, including Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Matt Olson. It's unclear if the team is going to make either of them available. 

Bassitt and Manaea both have one more year of team control before they can become free agents. Montas is under team control for two more seasons before hitting free agency after 2023. 

The combination of Montas' age (28) and team control would likely make him the most attractive trade chip for Oakland. He finished 2021 with a 3.37 ERA, setting career highs in starts (32), innings pitched (187) and strikeouts (207). 

Bassitt, 32, led the A's starters with a 3.15 ERA and was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career this season. 

Manaea, 29, had a career year in 2021 with a 3.91 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 179.1 innings over 32 starts. The southpaw tied for the MLB lead with two complete-game shutouts. 

Oakland finished the season with an 86-76 record but missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2017.    

The San Diego Padres will be under the microscope in 2022 after failing to live up to elevated expectations in 2021, and they now have the manager who will look to turn things around after last season.

San Diego and Bob Melvin agreed to a three-year deal on Thursday, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

Alden Gonzalez of ESPN reported the Oakland Athletics picked up Melvin's 2022 option on his contract but allowed him to interview with the Padres.

The San Diego position was open because the Padres announced they fired manager Jayce Tingler on Oct. 6 after the team missed the playoffs with a 79-83 record. It wasn't just that San Diego missed the playoffs—it was the fact it did so after bringing in Yu Darvish and Blake Snell while attempting to build on the momentum its 2020 postseason appearance figured to create.

It also signed star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. to a massive 14-year contract extension and was a popular World Series pick.

Things seemed to be on track when the Padres were 17 games above .500 in August, but they collapsed down the stretch and missed the playoffs entirely in a loaded National League West. Tatis and Manny Machado got into a public shouting match in the dugout during one game in a moment that seemed to symbolize the team's downfall.

In September, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported many inside the Padres organization did not think Tingler had enough "sway to have quashed a situation that had been brewing for weeks."

Acee noted, "the sentiment Tingler was not the leader they needed or wanted has been growing in some corners of the clubhouse for a while" when writing about the manager's inability to address the Tatis situation as he became frustrated with the team's struggles.

"There are differences of opinion among some of the team's on-field personnel," Acee wrote. "But one thing virtually everyone agreed on in the hours after Saturday's mini-brouhaha was that it was the culmination of an issue a stronger manager would have taken care of weeks ago."

The report also explained many players saw Tingler as just an extension of general manager A.J. Preller and were never truly keen on him as the manager.

That is the situation Melvin is walking into for a team that will still be expected to win as soon as the upcoming season.

Tatis and Machado will anchor the lineup, and Darvish is back to lead the rotation as a five-time All-Star. The talent was there to jump out to an excellent start in 2021, and the goal in 2022 will be to do the same while avoiding the collapse that came with it.

It won't be easy in a division that also features the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, but San Diego hired Melvin because it believes he can establish consistent success within the organization that has been missing of late.

His resume suggests he can.

Melvin coached the Seattle Mariners in 2003 and 2004, the Arizona Diamondbacks for the next five seasons, and the Athletics for 11 years from 2011 through 2021. He finished his tenure in Oakland with a 853-764 record and made the playoffs six times.

He never won a World Series, though, and will look to change that on the Padres.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt says Major League Baseball was only scratching the surface when it investigated the Houston Astros for stealing signs in 2017 and 2018.

Bassitt said on The Chris Rose Rotation that the Astros' cheating was an open secret and that they were far from the only team stealing signs:

"We knew they were cheating. Like, we knew what was going on. Every team in the big leagues knew what was going on. ... This is not to open up a massive can of worms, this kind of thing. But like, Houston was not the only team doing stuff. Like, there was a lot of people doing stuff. It was just un—I mean, fortunately, but unfortunately, only one team essentially got caught doing it or was the guinea pig of it to like clean the whole entire league up."

The Astros were part of a major investigation that revealed players used video cameras to steal signs and tip pitches to batters over the course of two seasons, including when they won the 2017 World Series. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for the 2020 season by MLB and then fired by the Astros over their knowledge of the scheme. No players were punished under an agreement with Major League Baseball for their cooperation.

The Boston Red Sox also parted ways with manager Alex Cora for taking part in stealing signs as Houston's bench coach. An investigation into the Red Sox found the team stole signs in the 2018 season, but a replay operator was found to be the main culprit.

Boston brought Cora back ahead of the 2021 season.

Stealing signs has long been part of baseball, but the use of technology took it to a new level—one that had to be rectified. Advancements in technology made a controversy like this inevitable, and it wouldn't be a shock if Bassitt is right that the Astros were essentially a scapegoat.

That said, Bassitt said the game has been cleaned up in the fallout of the Houston scandal, so we may never know how prevalent the issue became.

Former MLB catcher Ray Fosse died at the age of 74.

The Oakland Athletics, for whom he played three seasons and later worked as a broadcaster, said Wednesday they're "heartbroken" to learn of his death:

NBC Sports California shared a statement from his wife, Carol:

It is with a heavy heart that Carol Fosse, Ray Fosse's wife of 51 years, shares the sad news that Ray Fosse lost his battle to cancer on October 13, 2021 after silently fighting it for the past 16 years. Carol and daughters, Nikki and Lindsey, send their love out to family, friends and fans that mourn his loss with them.

Fosse spent 12 seasons in MLB, the bulk of which came with Cleveland. He was a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner while playing for the organization. His best season was in 1970, when he hit 18 home runs, had 61 RBI and batted .307.

The most enduring image from his playing career was in the 1970 All-Star Game, when Pete Rose barreled into him at home plate to score the winning run for the National League.

The Illinois native, who suffered a fractured and separated shoulder on the play, acknowledged in 2015 he still felt the physical effects from the collision and the general strain he put on his body while playing catcher for a dozen years.

For a younger generation of fans, Fosse is most remembered for his work as an Athletics color commentator. He joined the booth in 1986 and remained there until this summer. He was nominated for a Ford C. Frick Award in 2002.

In August, Fosse announced he was stepping away due to cancer, which he'd had for 16 years.

Oakland Athletics shortstop Elvis Andrus suffered an ankle injury while scoring the game-winning run in Saturday's game against the Houston Astros.

Starling Marte's walk-off double scored Andrus from first base, but the former All-Star was noticeably hobbling around third base and fell to the ground after touching home plate.

A's manager Bob Melvin told reporters after the game that Andrus "felt a pop in his ankle" and will undergo X-rays. 

Andrus spent the first 12 years of his MLB career with the Texas Rangers before getting traded to the A's during the offseason as part of a deal that sent outfielder and designated hitter Khris Davis to Texas.

In 2018, Andrus missed extended time after suffering a broken elbow brought on by getting hit by a pitch. In 97 games, Andrus hit .256 with six home runs and 33 RBI in 2018.

He managed to bounce back in 2019, though, with a .275 average, 12 homers, 72 RBI and 31 steals in 147 games, marking one of his best offensive campaigns to date.

Andrus' career year came back in 2017 when he hit .297 and stole 25 bases while setting personal bests with 20 home runs and 88 RBI.

He had never previously hit more than eight home runs in a single season, but he managed to become a true speed-power threat that season.

Last season was a struggle for Andrus, as it was for many players who had a hard time adjusting to the COVID-shortened campaign. In 29 games, he hit just .194 with three homers and seven RBI. The 33-year-old has a .241/.290/.318 slash line so far this season.

Although he has never won a Gold Glove, the Venezuelan is a solid defender who provided the Rangers with strong play at shortstop for 12 years as well.

Prior to 2018, he had appeared in at least 145 games in each of his first nine campaigns with the Rangers. His durability has come into question since then, though.

For as long as Andrus is on the shelf, the A's will be hurting for depth at the shortstop position and figure to miss his experience. Josh Harrison and Chad Pinder would be among the options to fill in for Andrus at short.

Less than two weeks after being hit in the face by a line drive, Oakland Athletics pitcher Chris Bassitt hopes to return before the end of this season. 

Speaking to reporters prior to Saturday's game against the New York Yankees, Bassitt said he's keeping the door open for a 2021 comeback:

“The doctors made a mistake in telling me that I’m going to be OK in a couple weeks. 

“When they said that, I said, ‘All right, we’re rocking.’ Obviously the front office and (manager Bob Melvin) and those guys are going to do everything to take care of me. But if everything progresses the way it should, I want to be back before the end of the season and hopefully I am.

Bassitt was hit in the face by a liner off the bat of Chicago White Sox outfielder Brian Goodwin in the top of the second inning during an Aug. 17 game. 

Oakland's medical staff had to take Bassitt off the field on a cart. He was transported to the hospital for evaluation that same night. 

The Athletics announced on Aug. 18 that Bassitt was released from the hospital after being "diagnosed with a displaced tripod fracture in his right cheek that will require surgery."

The team also noted there was no sign of eye damage or vision problems for Bassitt. 

Bassitt is expected to need six weeks of recovery time after undergoing surgery. It seems unlikely based on that timetable he would be unable to pitch again in 2021, barring an extended playoff run for Oakland.

The 32-year-old right-hander was in the midst of arguably the best season of his career prior to the injury. He posted a 3.22 ERA with 154 strikeouts and 1.046 WHIP in 151 innings over 25 starts and was named to the American League All-Star team. 

Oakland (70-59) enters Saturday with 33 games remaining in the regular season. The team trails the Boston Red Sox by three games for the second wild-card spot in the AL.