Using “Bad Contracts” To Build A Competitive Team
The A’s aren’t flooded with premium talent on the field, though they hope Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom, Jacob Wilson and others will take the next step and upgrade from “unleaded”.
The farm system has talent, but not in great abundance or immediacy — Max Muncy, Jack Perkins, Mason Barnett headline the “next wave” of hopefuls with Denzel Clarke and Nick Kurtz tantalizingly right behind.
And being a low payroll team owner by the miser of all misers, no one ever looks at “money” as a path to glory for the green and gold. Until maybe now, when the A’s have money to spend — some would say money they have to spend — and the chance to use it to acquire players that can make them far more competitive in 2025.
You’ve probably already heard some of the key names: Jordan Montgomery, non grata in Arizona, coming off a bad season after he reported late to spring training, owed $22.5M in 2025. Teammate Eugenio Suarez, a quality 3Bman, is owed $15M in 2025 and coming off of 3 seasons in which his WAR was between 3.5 ande 4.3.
There are some “bad contracts” at positions of need for the A’s which don’t apply because they are multi-year deals. The A’s might take on Montgomery’s salary for a year but they aren’t going to absorb Xander Bogaerts’ contract, which runs through 2033 at an average salary of just over $25M.
Today I invite you to weigh in on two different questions:
1. Which contracts do you see the A’s considering taking on in order to improve the team for 2025?
2. If the A’s made a deal for a given player, how might you see the trade playing out? That is, what would the A’s have to give up (including taking on part of all of the salary), and what would they get in return?
In threads I have discussed my thoughts on a possible trade for Montgomery, who seems like a natural fit since the Diamondbacks appear determined to deal him and he is a candidate to bounce back into a #2 SP role.
It has been suggested the A’s might be able to nab Montgomery if they absorb most or all of his contract by dealing a prospect such as Brennan Milone or Will Simpson. I have opined that while I am admittedly terrible at predicting or proposing equitable trades, my experience watching deals tells my gut that the cost would be a prospect more like Henry Bolte. Obviously that’s not as appealing from an A’s fan’s point of view, but it’s my best guess as to the scope of what such a deal might look like.
I may be right or I may be wrong, and we may never know since it’s likely Montgomery won’t wind up being traded to the A’s. But please weigh in on that, and on other possible deals you can see materializing. I don’t know how it will all play out but I do think it’s pretty likely the A’s will end up trading for someone who is in the last year of a bad contract.
So let’s start the irresponsible guessing now!