David Forst on A's Trade Deadline Plans

Jason Burke | Jul 23, 2024

Nov 12, 2019; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics general manager David Forst speaks during media availability at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland A's GM David Forst was on A's Cast on Monday, and he may have dumped some cold water on opposing team's plans to pillage the Oakland roster at the Trade Deadline.

"We'll be opportunistic. We may do some things, but I think anyone that expects that we're gonna continue to just move guys out and turn them over for prospects is probably going to be disappointed next week. There's guys here we think are gonna be part of the team beyond this year."

First and foremost, that sounds like Mason Miller is sure staying put, given that he won't hit free agency until after the 2029 season. That could also mean that Brent Rooker is staying put, given that he's under team control through 2027, and is set to hit arbitration for the first time next season. Both players will be top-tier talents at their positions that are playing for fairly low salaries compared to their skill level.

The A's have five players that will be free agents after this season, but three of them are currently on the IL--Ross Stripling, Alex Wood, and Trevor Gott. They also have T.J. McFarland and Scott Alexander, two lefty relievers, that could be moved in a deal, but likely wouldn't net a huge prospect return.

The A's have been playing well this month, holding a 10-6 record. With an inexperienced roster that is starting to come around offensively, defensively, and on the mound. It would make sense that the A's would want to keep a couple of linchpins of the club--Rooker and Miller--on the roster moving forward.

It's also worth noting that the club has been getting solid production from numerous spots on the diamond. JJ Bleday is in the midst of a breakout season. Lawrence Butler was the AL Player of the Week last week, and is 9-for-15 coming out of the break. Shea Langeliers has 18 home runs this year and continues to take steps forward. Zack Gelof is pretty firmly entrenched at second. Tyler Soderstrom was taking a huge leap forward before landing on the IL, and Nick Kurtz could move quickly through the system, like Jacob Wilson.

The point here is that the A's have a number of positions that feel relatively handled at the moment, and adding more prospects while taking away from what the big-league club is currently building would seem counterproductive. The A's will have to start contending again at some point, and they have the pieces in place to be an interesting team heading into 2025.