A's Missing a Big Opportunity This Offseason

The Athletics have taken care of a number of items on their offseason to-do list in adding second baseman Jeff McNeil in a trade with the New York Mets, and a veteran reliever in Mark Leiter Jr. They're still after a veteran starting pitcher, and that is where the A's could be missing a huge opportunity this offseason.

When the season ended, it looked as though guys like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, and Zac Gallen could get big free agent contracts. The Athletic has Valdez projected for six years and $190 million, Suârez at six and $164 million, and Gallen sitting at five years and $135 million. All three are still on the market.

Tatsuya Imai, who was projected for seven years and $154 million ended up signing with the Houston Astros for three years and $54 million.

Even right now, Kyle Tucker, the biggest free agent of the offseason, has two types of deals to choose from. One is a high AAV contract with the New York Mets over three years, while the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays are offering longer term contracts with less AAV, but more total dollars.

If the A's weren't playing in a minor-league ballpark for the next two seasons, perhaps they'd be able to attract one of these types of players to come play for them on a short-term, high AAV deal that opens up their current competition window even more.

Who knows what he'll end up signing for, but what if the A's landed someone like Framber Valdez on a short-term contract? They would have their postseason ace and their Game 1 starter in any postseason series. Even at a steep discount based on a high AAV, he still may be out of their price range.

Perhaps Suârez could be in their price range in one of those shorter contracts. He's been absolutely terrific the past two seasons, posting a cumulative 3.33 ERA across 308 innings of work. Given that he was projected for $27.33 million per season over six years, what if the A's went to $30 million per season over three?

Each offseason seems to have a couple of the bigger named players sitting out on the market a little longer than anyone thought they would be there, and this could be an avenue for the A's to take advantage of the market in the future—if they continue to spend some money in future offseasons.

Of course, there is one way that the A's could still go about utilizing this method of team building, and that would be to target Eugenio Suârez, the power-hitting third baseman that bopped 49 home runs with the Diamondbacks and Mariners last season.

The 34-year-old already isn't expected to sign a long-term deal this offseason, and third base is the last position on the diamond that the A's don't have an answer at just yet. The club plans to roll into camp with a battle of internal options, but if Suârez is still hanging around the market at a price the A's can afford (3/$72 million projection), then maybe they kick the tires.

Of course, the pushback would be that the A's would have to figure out what to do with Brett Harris, Darell Hernaiz and Max Muncy if they brought in Suârez, and that's fair. The A's would likely explore moving one or two of them in exchange for more pitching depth.

The big thing here is that this is how the Los Angeles Dodgers operate. Sometimes they strike quickly and get their guy, like landing Edwin Díaz to help with their already solid bullpen. Sometimes they just see the market not pouncing on a player like Kyle Tucker and decide to throw out an offer and see what happens.

They have the track record of success that makes players want to play for them, and they have the financial might to make it happen year after year.

Operating in a similar way in future offseasons will be crucial for the A's if they hope to achieve sustained success. Of course, it wouldn't be at the same scale as the Dodgers, but enough to put together a legitimate roster for a World Series run.

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