This trade deadline, which has just 10 days left to unfold, is different for the A’s than others. In the past Oakland has either been buyers, dangling Jesus Luzardo in order to “go for it” with the acquisition of Starling Marte, or sellers of their soon-to-be-free-agents-anyway, such as Frankie Montas.
There are exceptions that prove the rule, of course, such as spinning reliever Sam Moll for lottery ticket Joe Boyle. The only norm with trades is that there is no norm. Which brings us to the 2024 upcoming deadline...
What stands out this time around is that the A’s biggest trade chips, should they choose to make a significant move in the next 10 days, are players with quite a bit of contract control.