The Oakland A’s have been pretty much what we’ve hoped they could be for the past three years – fairly close to .500, but within striking distance of the second Wild Card spot. However, both the AL West and the American League as a whole have been tougher than ever this season, making the A’s playoff chances even slimmer than they already were.
This has left the A’s as a bit of a puzzling team to evaluate heading into July’s trade season. An optimist would say they look like a legitimately good team, with one obvious hole – the starting rotation – that shouldn’t be too hard to upgrade.