2017-04-11 19:00:00 (link to chat) | Why did the White Sox get off to that crazy good start last year? Are there any lessons from the rise and then crash landing? (bemused from connecticut) | They started 17-8 and were below .500 every month after that until September. Looks like a lot of that good start was individual herculean pitching efforts, which seems easy to explain given their personnel. David Robertson was probably healthy in the first few months, as opposed to pitching through a knee injury in the second half. Austin Jackson was roughly replacement level instead of Shuck who was below, luck, variance.
In terms of collapsing in the second half, the team had already traded away what little depth they had in previous years (Trayce Thompson, Chris Bassitt, Marcus Semien, etc.) so any time anything went wrong there was no fallback option.
The White Sox did aggressively attempt to fix their rotation. Miguel Gonzalez worked out, James Shields didn't.
But they did basically nothing to help what already looked like a horrible offense as the season went on. Jerry Sands, Jimmy Rollins, and blitzing Tim Anderson through the minors at a blinding pace were basically their only efforts to upgrade from some really, really miserable options. (Nick Schaefer) |
2016-09-07 19:00:00 (link to chat) | Looking ahead to 2017, the A's appear to have 3/5 of their rotation, assuming health, locked in for before the trading deadline: Sonny Gray, Sean Manaea, and Kendall Graveman. Out of Jesse Hahn, Chris Bassitt, Henderson Alvarez, Daniel Mengden, Jharel Cotton, Raul Alcantara, Dillon Overton, and Frankie Montas, who can round out the rotation, who is more of a 4A player, and who just won't every be healthy enough again (looking at you, Jesse Hahn and Henderson Alvarez!)? (Greg from San Francisco) | I'm mostly going to have to go off colleagues' reports, because I don't get any Oakland affiliates out here on the east coast. Seems to me like Mengden, Overton, and Alcantara have the best shots to be MLB starters, whereas Montas and Cotton might be better prospects but also probably profile best in relief. That may be completely wrong, though.
Hard not to feel for Henderson Alvarez given how his last couple years have went. (Jarrett Seidler) |
2015-09-30 19:00:00 (link to chat) | The A's have really gotten a chance to explore their rotation depth this season. Of Kendall Graveman, Jesse Chavez, Sean Nolin, Aaron Brooks, and Felix Doubront, are any more than rotation filler? Right now, in my mind, only Sonny Gray and Chris Bassitt have rotation spots locked down for next season. Jesse Hahn, A.J. Griffin, and Jarrod Parker all seem at varying points of a career ending injury trajectory. (Jeff from San Francisco) | I wan'ted to buy into Sean Nolin but I don't think any of those guys are much more than rotation filler. Billy Beane will have to get pretty creative next year to plug those rotation spots. (Mauricio Rubio) |
2015-01-15 18:00:00 (link to chat) | We never heard a lot about Chris Bassitt as a prospect, but he was one of the main pieces Oakland got back for Samardzija. Should we expect him to make the Athletics rotation coming out of Spring Training, and what do you think Oakland saw in him that other prospect evaluators didn't? (James from LA) | I remain a little miffed at the notion that Bassitt was a highlight of that deal. Bassitt's a nice little arm, but I don't see much of a substantial MLB future for him. I would feel far more comfortably projecting him back to the bullpen, where he was in college, as opposed to the rotation in Oakland, but I respect the fact that he may fill that role in the short term. If he sticks in the rotation, he's a back end starter with limited upside. If the A's saw something else in him, I would be just as curious as you are and can't wait to see how this plays out. (Mark Anderson) |
2015-01-21 15:00:00 (link to chat) | How do you see the A's rotation sorting itself out? Who gets the last two slots between Jesse Chavez, Jesse Hahn, Sean Nolin, Kendall Graveman, and Chris Bassitt? (Dan from San Francisco) | I would give the leads to Hahn and Nolin, though I could see Nolin getting beat out by one of the last two during camp. The A's know that they need to monitor Chavez's innings, so I think that it makes sense to keep him in a swingman role until the need arises. (Doug Thorburn) |
2015-01-05 15:00:00 (link to chat) | How do you see the A's rotation battle sorting out between Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Chavez, Jesse Hahn, Sean Nolin, Kendall Graveman, and Chris Bassitt? (Dave from Chicago) | I'll bet they all end up starting at some point. The A's have two guys penciled in right (Gray and Kazmir)? That leaves these six guys for four spots, but only eight total starters. Most teams use at least eight starters over the course of a year, if not more. I don't know who will get the first shot out of spring training, but it doesn't matter much. You'll be glad to have this kind of depth at some point in July or August. (Jeff Moore) |
BP Annual Player Comments
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