The Oakland Athletics plan on being more competitive in 2016 after getting back a number of players from injury, as well as adding others in trades and free agency. However, if the MLB club is out of contention at the trade deadline, will Billy Beane and Co. consider moving ace Sonny Gray?
Oakland said that it turned down aggressive trade partners this offseason since many were looking to acquire the young right-hander, but that may change if the team doesn't meet expectations this season. Gray, 26, is set to become eligible for arbitration next offseason for the first time, which means that he'll be getting a significant raise considering he's 33-20 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 419 strikeouts in 76 career games with the A's.
He was named to the AL All-Star team in 2015 and finished third in the AL Cy Young voting.
Here are some notable first-year arbitration salaries of recent top pitchers:
Pitcher | 1st-Year Arb Salary |
Jose Fernandez (2016) | $2.8 million |
Jake Arrieta (2015) | $3.63 million |
Matt Harvey (2016) | $4.33 million |
David Price (2012) | $4.35 million |
Dallas Keuchel (2016) | $7.25 million |
The small-market Athletics are always looking to reduce payroll or ensure that they are employing cost-effective players. While Gray's price tag is essentially meaningless since he's expected to be an invaluable pitcher once he hits his prime, the A's simply won't be able to afford him. The right-hander will become eligible for arbitration for the first time next offseason, and he'll be due for a similar large raise.
Yes, the A's will be able to afford it, but if they don't see their long-term plan for the team panning out, Gray could become a trade casualty since his value will be sky-high if other MLB clubs can acquire him with three years of club control remaining.
R.J. Anderson over at Baseball Prospectus pointed out that the Athletics have traded pitchers Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Dan Straily and Jeff Samardzija in their arbitration years (for various reasons). However, Gray is a much different case since he's much more dominant than any of those guys.
I think it's best to refer to last offseason's trade that sent Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays. The reigning AL MVP had four years of club control remaining, and the Athletics arguably had even less of a reason to trade him compared to Gray. Donaldson hit .268/.347/.458 with 217 runs scored, 63 home runs and 228 RBI while finishing fourth and eighth in the AL MVP voting in 2013 and 2014. The club made the postseason both of those years, as well, so it's not like it was under some sort of rebuilding or reconstruction project.
Instead, Beane was given an offer he couldn't refuse. The Blue Jays' GM at the time, Alex Anthopoulos, forked over a ton of young talent, including infielder Brett Lawrie and promising prospect Franklin Barreto (who remains among the top in the organization), Kendall Graveman (who should be a member of the team's starting rotation this year) and Sean Nolin (who was designated for assignment this offseason).
The A's are in worse shape right now, and the demand for elite starting pitching is at an all-time high. Do you mean to tell me that Beane won't receive offers he can't refuse for Gray as the season progresses? He actually might be inundated with them if the A's fail to stay afloat through the All-Star Break.
