Athletics Rumors & News

SB Nation "Through the Oakland Athletics’ April 19 game against the Blue Jays, Khris Davis had hit 20-for-81, good for a .247 batting average. For most players, his .920 OPS might have been more notable. Ten home runs in mid-April is certainly a more eye-catching figure than a..." April 22

MLB.com "Their careers are separated by an entire century, but on Saturday, Fernando Rodney and Cy Young became equals -- at least in one way. Young pitched in 906 games over a storied career that began in the 1800s and eventually landed him in the Hall of Fame, with baseball’s most..." April 21

CBS Sports "What follows are the career hitting stats of Athletics cloutsman and current AL home run leader Khris Davis. Please pay special attention the final column, in which Davis' year-by-year batting averages are listed: Spoiler: The solution to "1 - .753" will be featured prominently..." April 20

Yardbarker "If the A’s had their way, they’d probably already have made at least one additional long-term investment. The club has tried to lock down third baseman Matt Chapman in the past to no avail; he has only continued to boost his value in the meantime. But he says..." April 20

ESPN "The Oakland Athletics, in what appears to be a clever if not wry dig at soon-to-be free agent and Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, took out a full-page advertisement in Friday's San Francisco Chronicle that reads "KD commits to Oakland." The ad came with Durant..." April 20

Clutch Points "Their names are separated by just a single letter, and yet Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles and Khris Davis of the Oakland Athletics are miles apart. Chris recently made MLB history by going hitless in 54 consecutive at-bats dating back to last September. Meanwhile, Khris–or..." April 19

MLB Trade Rumors "The Athletics announced Thursday that they’ve extended designated hitter/outfielder Khris Davis through the 2021 season. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that Davis will earn $16.75MM in each new year of the contract, bringing the total to $33.5MM. Davis,..." April 18

NBC Sports Bay Area "For the second straight outing, Marco Estrada failed to pitch into the fifth inning. The A's veteran right-hander allowed seven earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings Tuesday night, including a pair of home runs, as the Astros routed the A's 9-1 at the..." April 17

Sportsnaut "If you’re a proponent of robot umps taking over at the MLB level, then a new study put together by graduate students at Boston University will strengthen your stance. The information garnered by this study, which evaluated nearly four million pitches over the span of..." April 16

NBC Sports Bay Area "Entering the season, the A's bullpen was supposed to be a team strength. Instead, through 19 games, it has been a glaring weakness. Oakland's 'pen blew a four-run lead Sunday at Texas, allowing five earned in just two innings, as the Rangers rallied for..." April 15

San Francisco Chronicle "Left-hander Jesús Luzardo, the A’s top pitching prospect, has not yet resumed throwing after being shut down March 21 because of a sore left shoulder, but there was encouraging news Sunday. “Luzardo feels absolutely fantastic,” Oakland manager Bob..." April 15

Hardball Talk "Khris Davis is on a roll. According to MLB Stat of the Day, it’s a history-making roll, too. The Athletics slugger grabbed his tenth home run of 2019 on a first-pitch curveball from the Rangers’ Chris Martin on Friday night, postmarking it to the center field bleachers to put the..." April 13

NBC Sports Bay Area "As recently as last month, there was a very real chance that A's catcher Josh Phegley might not make the team. Oakland had signed veterans Nick Hundley and Chris Herrmann during the offseason and planned on platooning two of the three behind the plate. As it turned out, Herrmann..." April 12

Hardball Talk "April 15 is quickly approaching so here’s one for all the tax nerds out there: the IRS issued new guidance today that will give professional sports teams some relief from a new twist presented by the tax law enacted in 2017. The relevant provision related to how businesses are..." April 11

San Francisco Chronicle "The A’s never stopped talking contract with Edwin Jackson, even when the initial figures presented were out of Oakland’s range, and on Wednesday, they neared an agreement with the starter on a minor-league deal. According to sources, Jackson was seeking in the ballpark of..." April 11

Yahoo! Sports "The New York Yankees are the most valuable team in Major League Baseball, according to Forbes’ list of team values released Wednesday. If there’s déjà vu you’re feeling, it’s because the Yankees have sat atop the rankings every year Forbes..." April 10

CBS Sports "One of baseball's recent true norths -- to invent a plural form -- is that commissioner Rob Manfred will tinker at the margins in order to improve pace of play, at least notionally, and re-calibrate a game that, according to sturdy consensus, has become too infested with..." April 09

USA Today "So much for Cuban players not having to defect to play in the majors. When the Trump administration abruptly cancelled Major League Baseball’s landmark agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation, it guaranteed the dangerous practice will continue. Players..." April 09

Athletics Nation "A’s fans were asked last week if they approve of the job manager Bob Melvin is doing in Oakland, and the result was a resounding yes! Fans were asked the same question about Melvin ahead of Opening Day as well, and the results then were a unanimous yes. There was a slight..." April 08

Hardball Talk "Mid-February marked the beginning of contract extension season in baseball. Since February 13, 25 contract extensions have been signed, notably by many young players including Ronald Acuña Jr., Blake Snell, and Eloy Jiménez. Acuña Jr. and Snell were last year’s..." April 08

MLB Trade Rumors "The Athletics have released right-hander Parker Bridwell, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. This move continues a turbulent several months for Bridwell, who hasn’t been able to find stability since the Angels designated him for assignment in late November. He subsequently went..." April 07

NBC Sports Bay Area "Mookie Betts has quickly become one of the best outfielders in all of baseball, so it's easy to forget he actually began his career as a second baseman. That's the path A's prospect Franklin Barreto is looking to follow. Barreto came up as a middle infielder, but Oakland..." April 04

Hardball Talk "As you are no doubt aware by now, before he was the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner as the quarterback of the Oklahoma Sooners, Kyler Murray was selected by the Athletics as an outfielder in the 2018 draft. You also know that he chose football, turning down the A’s and the nearly $5 million..." April 04

Awful Announcing "I was taken aback this week when I attempted to watch highlights on MLB.com. For some reason, they got rid of the damn search bar. It’s absurd. Previously, if you clicked on the videos tab, you would see a page of the most popular recent videos, with an easy to..." April 03

NBC Sports Bay Area "Fernando Rodney dances around the A's clubhouse in nothing but a towel and flip flops. If you didn't know any better, you would think he was the youngest player on the team, an over-excited rookie who couldn't contain his energy. Of course, it's the exact opposite --..." April 03

NBC Sports Bay Area "Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada, Brett Anderson, Frankie Montas, Aaron Brooks. How are those five guys doing this? Through one full rotation cycle at the Coliseum, the Oakland A's starting rotation has pitched 30 innings and allowed a grand total of one run. That's an..." April 02

Hardball Talk "The first response I usually get to a post like our post about the Ronald Acuña Jr. extension — a post which notes that the Braves are getting an extraordinary bargain for a supremely talented player — is “So what? It’s their choice? No one forced them..." April 02

NBC Sports Bay Area "You'd think teams would have learned to stop pitching to Khris Davis by now. All the A's slugger has done the last three years is lead Major League Baseball in home runs with 133. He's coming off a career-high 48 homers last season, and that also led..." April 01

NESN "Defensive shifts used to be rare occurrences reserved for only the most-notable left-handed pull hitters in Major League Baseball. Oh, how times have changed. As advanced stats have taken a larger role in the day-to-day workings of baseball, and every manager in the game has..." March 28

Sportsnet "The Toronto Blue Jays eased some of their roster challenges and created a spot on the 40-man by trading DH Kendrys Morales and cash considerations to the Oakland Athletics for minor-league infielder Jesus Lopez and international bonus pool room. The deal, on the..." March 27

NBC Sports Bay Area "Aaron Brooks took the Oracle Park mound Tuesday night with a roster spot on the line. The A's right-hander made the most of his opportunity. Brooks, 28, pitched 5 1/3 strong innings, limiting the Giants to one run on five hits and two walks, striking out five. After the game,..." March 27

NBC Sports Bay Area "It really was a freak injury. One swing of the bat, a seemingly inconsequential foul ball. But during Thursday's loss to the Seattle Mariners in Tokyo, Matt Olson knew right away something was wrong. "I generally have a pretty high pain tolerance,"..." March 25

Sportsnet "We are not witnessing the death of the Major League Baseball Players Association. But on the 50th anniversary of Curt Flood’s challenge on the reserve clause that opened the door for free agency, we are bystanders to its gelding. It’s debatable who, if anybody, gets the..." March 25

CBS Sports "The Oakland Athletics are only 0-2 this season, having lost both of their games in Japan against the Seattle Mariners. Yet you can pardon A's fans who feel the team has lost more than that. Earlier this week, news surfaced that top prospect Jesus Luzardo would be shut down for at..." March 23

Hardball Talk "With the recent spate of contract extensions and big name free agent signings, more than a handful of fans have expressed concern that deals signed by the likes of Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Manny Machado will drive up ticket prices. Research on the subject is scarce, but..." March 22

NBC Sports Bay Area "A lot happened for the A's in Tokyo during the early morning/late hours on Friday. Not all of it, good, unfortunately.  First baseman and 2018 Gold Glove Award winner Matt Olson exited the A's 5-4 loss to the Mariners due to some discomfort in his right..." March 21

The Score "The Oakland Athletics are shutting down their top prospect, left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo, after he suffered a muscle strain in his shoulder, general manager David Forst told Daniel Brown of the Athletic. Luzardo, who did not travel to Japan for Oakland's..." March 21

MLB Trade Rumors "The Athletics announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of catcher Nick Hundley. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, fellow catcher Chris Herrmann was placed on the 60-day injured list. Beyond those moves, the A’s placed outfielder Nick..." March 20

USA Today "It took 11 years, but three players this winter have agreed to contracts larger than the record-setting 10-year, $275 million deal Alex Rodriguez signed with the New York Yankees in the fall of 2007. Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout will make $426.5 million over..." March 19

ESPN "Major League Baseball suggested sweeping changes to the minor leagues -- including a significant increase in salaries, a higher standard of living conditions and better transportation -- during an initial collective-bargaining session with the group that oversees the minors, sources familiar..." March 19

Athletics Nation "Disclaimer: I am unabashedly optimistic in March, as I feel ‘tis the season. That being said, there is a difference between optimism and pure delusion. You can’t draw blood from a stone, but you can squint and see Oakland’s rotation emerging to be more than we thought and..." March 18

CBS Sports "Sign-stealing is a hot topic in baseball these days after the Astros were caught monitoring and recording activity in the opposing dugout during the postseason last year. Houston was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, though the incident did bring high-tech sign-stealing into..." March 18

Larry Brown Sports "Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed to numerous changes that will take effect this season or next, but it sounds like the union was very reluctant on at least one of the new rules. One major change that will be implemented beginning in 2020 is a three-batter..." March 14

ESPN "A single trade deadline, an All-Star Game election day and a million-dollar bonus for the Home Run Derby winner will be implemented in 2019 -- while a three-batter minimum for pitchers and roster expansion will happen in 2020 -- as part of a deal Major League Baseball and the MLB Players..." March 14

The Score "Baseball's trade season is about to get a major facelift. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to eliminate the August waiver trade period in favor of a single non-waiver trade deadline day for all transactions on July 31, sources told Ken..." March 13

San Francisco Chronicle "Dustin Fowler’s 2018 was not what he’d hoped as he came back from a severe knee injury, and he worked hard this winter to try to put himself in a position to win a roster spot. It was going to be tough, though, once the A’s signed left fielder Robbie..." March 13

NBC Sports Bay Area "A's top prospect Jesús Luzardo will not accompany the team on its season-opening trip to Japan, but that might actually signal good news for his chances to make the starting rotation. The 21-year-old left-hander will stay in Arizona in order to continue his normal throwing..." March 11

NBC Sports Bay Area "While we knew it was a possibility Mike Fiers would be the A's Opening Day starter, it was made official on Saturday: Marco Estrada will pitch the A's second game in Japan the following day. 33-year-old Fiers was reacquired by the team in December when he signed a..." March 09

Awful Announcing "It’s something of a no-brainer for professional sports leagues to get involved in the burgeoning world of legalized sports gambling. But gambling always comes with strings attached, and sometimes those strings are going to dangle in a way that doesn’t seem quite..." March 07

USA Today "Wes Johnson did not run from the labels. Weirdo. Iconoclast. Voodoo coach. Johnson heard some variation of them all over the past decade, when he first set up shop as the pitching coach of Dallas Baptist University armed with mysterious tracking technology, funny balls and a..." March 07