The entire month of July, the Oakland Athletics were rumored to be in play for the big trade pieces of Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard among others, even having the support of one White Cleat Beat writer to make a “go for it” move.
Billy Beane and David Forst made some deals – picking up Jake Diekman, Homer Bailey and Tanner Roark – but held onto all of their top 15 prospects.
A.J. Puk, Sean Murphy and Jesus Luzardo had all been hyped as the future but had been held up time and time again with no guarantee that they would be ready for the big leagues any time soon.