A's Miguel Andujar Drawing Trade Interest

Andujar wouldn't land the biggest haul for the Athletics, but he could certainly get them a useful piece for 2026 and beyond. One area the A's could use some upgrades would be on the rubber, and the club has a number of intriguing pitching prospects that could push to be in the rotation as early as next year.

Andujar has hit .290 with a .323 OBP and four homers through 58 games played this season and has split most of his time with the A's between third base and left field in 2025. He doesn't grade out well at either position, but his arm strength is among the best in the league, which does help.

He holds a 96 wRC+ (100 is league average) and doesn't strike out much (12.6%), making him a solid pinch-hit or fill-in option on a postseason bound team.

All four of the A's top prospects are pitchers, including first round selection Jamie Arnold, and all four could potentially be in the mix in 2026. It would be unfair to expect Arnold to make his debut in 2026, but given the A's recent track record of pushing their first rounders (Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz), then Arnold could also end up moving quickly.

With that being the case, the A's may use Andujar to attract an intriguing bullpen arm. This isn't going to be a top prospect in anyone's system, but perhaps a player in the 15-30 range of a team's top guys. In that range, you're probably looking at someone with a couple of plus offerings but roughly average control.

Think Elvis Alvarado, Will Klein, Noah Murdock or Michel Otañez types, though they were acquired via trade (Klein), waivers (Alvarado and Otañez) or the Rule 5 Draft (Murdock). Only two of those four players worked out for the A's to some degree, and that's kind of the expectation for a reliever in this hypothetical deal as well.

One added bonus for the A's in acquiring a bullpen arm would be if they still had an option year or two remaining to give the club at least a year to work with them before they have to make a decision on whether or not they need to be on the roster or subjected to waivers.

If the A's were able to grab two players in a deal, they likely wouldn't mind a defense-first option at pretty much any position. In both scenarios, these aren't players that are going to be treasured by their current clubs, but with some coaching and luck, perhaps they could help the A's contend in 2026.