Before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, we’re checking in to see how each team has fared thus far this off-season, acknowledging that there’s still time for that evaluation to change. Teams will be presented in reverse order of finish from 2016. Next up: the Oakland Athletics.
2016 Results
69–93 (.426), fifth place in American League West
Key Departures
IF/OF Arismendy Alcantara, RHP Ross Detwiler*, IF/OF Danny Valencia
Key Arrivals
RHP Paul Blackburn, RHP Santiago Casilla, OF Rajai Davis, RF Matt Joyce, 3B Trevor Plouffe
(*free agent, still unsigned)
Off-season In Review
After three straight postseason appearances from 2012 to '14, the A's ground through their second dismal season in a row in '16, though unlike the year before—when Billy Beane and company fancied the team as contenders even in the wake of the Josh Donaldson and Jeff Samardzija trades—expectations were far lower.