The A’s and Angels are in sort of the same boat: They’re well out of the AL West race and they know that the worse their final records, the better their draft pick in June.
No one is rooting to lose, of course, but the reality is, if you’re going finish near the bottom of the division, sometimes the worse is actually the better.
A’s special assistant to the general manager Grady Fuson recalls one year when he was with San Diego and the Padres went to Washington in late September and were in place to grab the top pick the following year.