2022-23 MLB Offseason Recap: Oakland Athletics

Last season was a difficult one for the Oakland Athletics. A different-looking group lost 102 games, the most out of any team in the American League. The A’s are in a rebuild, and Oakland used this winter to continue just that. Here’s a look at how the offseason shook out for the Oakland A’s.

Notable Additions

The marquee move that Oakland made this past offseason was the the three-way deal that sent Athletics catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta. In that deal, the A’s acquired veteran catcher Manny Piña, outfield prospect Esteury Ruiz, as well as pitching prospects Kyle Muller and Freddy Tarnok. This move comes after a summer in which the Athletics added young pitchers in Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears, and Luis Medina from the Yankees in the Frankie Montas deal.

There is a high failure rate with pitching prospects. With that considered, it makes sense for the A’s to stockpile pitchers. It will, however, be interesting to see how the likes of Muller and Tarnok perform at the MLB level. Muller — a left-hander who MLB.com projects to have three above-average offers a the MLB level — has had control issues in the Minors. The same could be said for Tarnok, who walked 44 over 106.2 innings this past season.

Aside from that trade, other notable moves include the pickups of pitchers Trevor May and Japanese import Shintaro Fujinami. May struggled with injuries last season, but could be a nice trade chip come the summer should the righty find his pre-2022 form. In 2021, May struck out 83 over 62.2 innings for the Mets. The 28-year-old Fujinami, meanwhile comes to Oakland after he struck out 115 over 107.1 innings for Hanshin in 2022.

Notable Subtractions

LHP Cole Irvin
C Sean Murphy
INF Chad Pinder
C Stephen Vogt

Aside from the departures of Chad Pinder and the retiring Stephen Vogt. the A’s dealt the aforementioned Sean Murphy to the Braves. Murphy — who we ranked as the third-best catcher in the league entering 2023 — recorded his most complete season in 2022, as the 28-year-old led all catchers in extra base hits (57) and cracked 18 home runs. That total was second-most on the A’s last season, behind only first baseman Seth Brown.

Trading a talented catcher with three years of team control isn’t common, but the A’s do have two top catching prospects in Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom.

A Recap

The A’s lost 102 games last season, and it’s hard to see Oakland do much better come 2023. Oakland is knee-deep in a rebuild, one that’s seen the likes of Matt Olson, Frankie Montas, and the aforementioned Murphy, among others, depart the Bay Area.

While another tough year looms for the Athletics franchise, one bright spot is that the A’s do have a farm system that does boast some interesting prospects. Okalnd fans should see at least a few of those, including Langeliers, Tarnok, Muller, Jordan Diaz, and Zack Gelof in 2023.