First off, the spate of heart-wrenching losses this season may have obscured how well positioned the A’s are going forward. When I say “bright future,” the Astros roster may be head and shoulders above Oakland’s right now but that will not necessarily be the case as soon as March, 2020. Armed with a solid crew of position players under contract for several years, there is a very real possibility the A’s could break camp with a rotation of Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, and their choice of Mike Fiers, Jharel Cotton, Daniel Mengden.
Not only could this rotation match, possibly even exceed, Houston’s but it sets up the possibility of putting together the kind of bullpen/staff I think is the real future — which is in contrast to the “opener,” which I believe to be a flawed concept of self-conscious manipulation at the expense of routine, comfort, and ultimately results.