A's May Clear Up 40-Man Roster This Trade Deadline

JJ Bleday was the A's starting centerfielder in 2024 and had a breakout campaign, batting .243 with a .324 OBP along with 20 home runs. This season, in 62 games, he hit .191 with a .288 OBP and eight homers. He's also spent a good portion of the season in Triple-A Las Vegas.

That said, he's hitting extremely well in the minor leagues, batting .392 with a .432 OBP in 17 games this season. With Denzel Clarke in center, the extended Lawrence Butler in right, and Tyler Soderstrom having a breakout of his own in left, regular playing time may not be in Bleday's near future with the A's.

Not to mention, they also have one of their top prospects, Colby Thomas, waiting in Vegas, second-round selection Devin Taylor looking like a bat that could move quickly (and play left) and the team just added Carlos Cortes to the 40-man when they moved Grant Holman to the 60-Day IL. Cortes is batting .321 with a .418 OBP, 16 homers and 73 RBI in 68 games. He may now also be in the mix for a promotion.

Adding Bleday to a trade would lead to a better return in any potential deal, and would also help the A's clear up their 40-man roster a little bit. This winter the team will need to add players like former first rounder Daniel Susac to the roster, as well as right-hander Mason Barnett and others.

Joey Estes could be on the move

Right-hander Joey Estes is a bulldog on the mound, and just a great guy to chat with. He also struggled in his two outings with the A's to begin the year, holding a 15.43 ERA in two starts. His ERA in the minors has been better, but not necessarily good at 5.55. He's a command pitcher without huge swing-and-miss stuff, and the question isn't if it will work long-term, but if it will work for the A's.

As we've seen, Sutter Health Park is a bit more of a hitter-friendly environment, and the ball tends to travel a little more easily than it did at the Oakland Coliseum. We had some concerns about how his approach would translate to West Sacramento, given that he had a home ERA of 3.26 in 2024 (in Oakalnd) and a 6.90 on the road. He's also an extreme fly ball pitcher.

Those concerns are still there, and could make for Estes being included in a deadline deal. That said, he's perhaps the least likely on the list to be moved. All teams could use an arm to call up to fill innings now and again, and there could be a role for him with the A's in some capacity down the line.

With a number of top prospect arms advancing to the upper minors this season, he just may be further down the depth chart than before.

Darell Hernaiz can still play

The Athletics acquired Darell Hernaiz from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Cole Irvin a couple of years back, and since that trade the A's drafted Jacob Wilson, giving them a number of natural shortstops to choose from. Wilson rocketed through the minors last year and into the All Star Game this season, while Max Muncy made his own climb to the Opening Day roster this season as well.

Hernaiz has seemingly been left behind in the process. Still just 23, he has plenty of potential for another franchise to tap into.

Through 87 games with the Las Vegas Aviators, Hernaiz is batting .296 with a .375 on-base, four homers and 25 doubles. He made the team's Opening Day roster in 2024 and received sporadic playing time before an ankle injury kept him out for most of May and into August. When he returned, he got 43 at-bats in the month, which is roughly ten games' worth of ABs.

These are signs that the franchise just isn't seeing what they wanted to from him, and make it a little unlikely that he'll get another shot without an injury occurring. He could be a nice trade piece, however. Or, he could get another shot at limited playing time after the A's move Luis Urías and/or Gio Urshela at the end of the month.