NASHVILLE -- The A’s left the Winter Meetings on Thursday feeling good about what they accomplished, not that they waited until arriving in Music City to begin their work.
It’s been a busy two-plus months of the offseason so far for the A’s. They’ve acquired four relievers to revamp a bullpen that was by far their biggest headache from 2015. They signed free agent Rich Hill to join the starting rotation, and they’ve traded for first baseman Yonder Alonso, who’s expected to man that position against right-handers.
On Wednesday they checked another item off their to-do list with the trade of Brett Lawrie to the Chicago White Sox, which cleared an infield logjam and netted two minor league pitchers in return.
[NEWS: A's pull off trade of Lawrie that seemed inevitable]
“We’ve gotten a lot done,” A’s general manager David Forst said. “Alonso, (relievers) (Marc) Rzepczynski, (Liam) Hendriks, all those things were targets of ours coming out of the season. So we feel good about our progress over the last two months.”
The signings of free agent relievers Ryan Madson and John Axford -- both added since Sunday -- will become official provided they pass their physicals. That word should come by Friday at the latest.
[NEWS: A's acquire Madson | A's acquire Axford]
But as the A’s left the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center -- site of the four-day Winter Meetings -- their sights were set on work that still remains.
“We still have some ongoing conversations we’ll take back home with us, and we’ll see if anything happens between now and the holiday,” Forst said.
The A’s would like to add a starting pitcher -- manager Bob Melvin mentioned a need for a “No. 2” type presence behind ace Sonny Gray. But given that they claim to be maxing out on payroll room, that task is looking increasingly difficult. A veteran such as Bartolo Colon would seem to make sense on a one-year deal, but if he were to command a salary in the $8-10 million range, for example, the A’s seem likely to pass. As it stands, there’s reported mutual interest between the Mets and Colon.
[RELATED: Reunion make sense for Colon, A's?]
Oakland is counting on young pitchers Jesse Hahn, Kendall Graveman and Chris Bassitt to complement Gray and Hill. But given Hahn’s forearm discomfort that lingered into his throwing sessions in the fall, he can’t be counted on as a sure thing until he arrives at camp feeling good.
“I think we have to figure out some questions at the back end” of the rotation, Forst said. “But Having gotten Rich done early in the offseason, a healthy Graveman, Bassitt … The ‘5’ spot is something we have to figure out, but we do have a lot of candidates. If Jesse’s healthy, Aaron Brooks showed some potential, Felix (Doubront) made a couple good starts. There’s some good candidates for that fifth spot.”
**
The A’s selected outfielder Jabari Blash, a prospect from Seattle’s organization, in Thursday’s Rule 5 draft but immediately flipped him to San Diego as the player to be named later from the Alonso trade. They lost Double-A second baseman Colin Walsh to the Brewers, a development Forst called “a little surprising.”
In the minor league portion of the draft, they plucked outfielder Danny Oh from the Yankees’ system. Oh played collegiately at Cal, also the alma mater of last year’s Rule 5 pick, Mark Canha.
“It worked out pretty well with a Cal outfielder last year, so we figured we’d do it again,” Forst quipped.
**
Former A’s third base coach Mike Gallego, let go in August, was in Nashville and said he’s looking forward to his new role as director of baseball development with the Angels. He’ll help coordinate the farm system.
