It is day 1 of my tenure with the Athletics and I have immediate business to take care of. I made sweeping hires to my scouting and analytics teams, held a very productive town hall for internal employees of all ranks and addressed the wonderful fans of the team. I promised a very bright future and long-term aggression in the free agency market.
This fanbase deserves a winner and a team that spends. I plan to use every cent of the payroll year in and year out to keep up with other AL juggernauts located on the East Coast.
My first order of business was evaluating the current state of the free agent market, and while some guys still available have since signed with teams in real life, they were here for the taking.
I had a clear weakness in my corner infield spots and an unbelievable lack of talent and depth in the bullpen. I managed to plug these holes by signing Jose Iglesias to man the hot corner, David Robertson to handle some late game innings and Brooks Raley to play the role of a lefty specialist.
All former Mets? Yes. But easily the best guys available and my most immediate method of filling some holes.
My second order of business was extending my best player, Mason Miller for 5 years, $43 million. Absolute steal here for an unreal talent. Mason Miller is essentially a human pitching machine that is set to the highest speed. He blows away his competition and is a force at closer for my squad.
It is nearly Opening Day, which means I will skip straight to the All Star Break. I have adjusted my trade block needs ahead of the season so if I am offered any deals, I will be notified. My team is in dire need of more bullpen help, reliable infielders and specifically some left-handed sluggers.
Fast forward to mid-May. My simulation was interrupted with some useless trade offers, but then I received an interesting one from the Boston Red Sox. They offered me Abraham Toro for Miguel Andujar. Andujar had a respectable 4 HR and 17 RBI while slashing .264 at this point in the season. However, he is on a one year deal and I had him on my trade block for a reason.
Trade accepted.
Toro offers a bit more potential, is slightly cheaper and can play the stopgap role at 1B this year and serve as depth going forward if needed. Low risk move here. Gio Urshela will be downgraded to a bench bat and is also on the trade block.
We reached the mid-point of the season, and we had three All Stars: Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, and Mason Miller. No shock to see Rooker and Miller here, but a surprising nod to my catcher for sure.
We are now at the trade deadline and here is the breakdown. We are in dead last place with a poor record of 45-65. This lands us 18 games behind Seattle, so we are clearly in sell mode as I plan to dump off my pending free agents, veterans and contracts that are not great for me, in value.
Looking at the trading block across the league, there are some big names like Seiya Suzuki and Shane McClanahan being tossed around. I noticed a lowkey name like Evan Carter as well. These three quickly became a focus for me while also being on the hunt for young and controllable pieces and prospects.
I wanted to do whatever it took to get Shane, but Evan Carter could be a big part of what I am building here, and he may be less stressful to acquire. I got my best brains together in the front office and got to work.
Texas is right in the thick of the playoff hunt and may be more willing to trade young talent for immediate help. They sent me 4 trade offers for Leclerc so far, so he may be my centerpiece. I figured I would try to turn him into Evan Carter no matter the cost. Well, it turns out the cost was JUST Leclerc…Evan Carter has been acquired.
Now, on to my top priority. Shane McClanahan.
Tampa Bay is significantly out of playoff contention, so they will likely need some youngsters.
Shane is under team control through 2027, so this will be tough. However, after some long negotiations and hard phone calls, I was finally able to land him. I did have to give up some prospects for him, however, in Max Muncy (#7 prospect), Tommy White (#8) and JT Ginn (#14).
He will be a centerpiece of the Athletics future at only 27 years old. Monster acquisition if we can keep him healthy.
Next, I had to dump some big-league names and do whatever it took to get some more future pieces. I wanted to aim big. I wanted a mega prospect. This team needs some serious power and a brighter future.
I called Baltimore about Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo and got laughed off the phone. I even tried the Diamondbacks to talk about Adrian Del Castillo and they would not budge. Yet for some reason, the Royals fielded my calls. They shockingly were willing to part ways with their #1 prospect, Jac Caglianone (I still have no idea how).
It did come at a price though. One of my top Starting Pitchers, Osvaldo Bido was requested along with speedster second baseman, Zack Gelof and my #6 prospect, Denzel Clarke.
I did not even hesitate to accept.
Jac Caglianone is personally one of my favorite prospects out there and I think he will be the face of the team in a year or so. But for the remainder of this season, he will be in AAA. I will not subject him to the brutal scenery of Sacramento.
Parting ways with so many prospects may seem crazy, but I plan to spend money in the game in a way that the real-life Athletics have never seen before. Many holes will be filled with talented players in the offseason.
In the end, I still maintained my top 5 prospects and added Caglianone.
Evan Carter is no longer a “Top Prospect”, but he is still 22 years old and only two years removed from being a postseason hero and World Series Champion. He had 1 and a half poor seasons under his belt and Texas gave up on him. If that were to be the case in real life, I would expect the A’s to be in on that too.
I promised this fanbase on Day 1 that I would put a winning product on the field and while this year has been disappointing, it is merely just a bridge year to the real future. 2026 is the year to strike and all I have done so far is extend our best player, add a star pitcher, former top prospect, and current mega prospect.
Time to sim the second half and see how we followed up a very active trade deadline and wrapped up the season.
The second half was just as underwhelming as the first. We finished in last place with a 68-94 record, which puts us in the bottom 6 of the league. Let’s look at this optimistically though. We have another high draft pick for next season, and I also fully expected a down year as we worked to get pieces in place.
There is also no doubt that we have a nice core developing on the roster. Here is a glimpse into what they did in year 1:
Brent Rooker – 32 HR, 83 RBI, 12 SB, .288 Avg, .356 OBP
JJ Bleday – 17 HR, 60 RBI, 7 SB, .259 Avg, .334 OBP
Lawrence Butler – 26 HR, 64 RBI, 17 SB, .249 Avg, .311 OBP
Shane McClanahan – 190 IP, 155 K, 3.22 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
Jeffrey Springs – 172 IP, 131 K, 3.34 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
Joey Estes – 187 IP, 91 K, 2.59 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
Mason Miller – 63 IP, 71 K, 3.41 ERA, 41 Saves
The Bullpen was not great and will be a priority going into free agency. The starters showed some needed longevity and promise for the future. Shane is an ace, but shoutout Joey Estes for breaking out as a solid starter this season. Landing another big starter could be very helpful, but I think the priority lies in the reliever market and the hitting market as well.
This aforementioned “core” is solid, but aside from Rooker and Miller, there is a serious lack of star power. It will be a serious challenge trying to attract upper tier free agents to come here, but with a new stadium and new city on the way, the pitch must remain consistent and be heavily focused on the bright future we are envisioning.
Free Agency and all offseason activity will be fully covered in the next installment of this series. Until then, keep your heads up A’s fans. We are going to get there.
