THE A’s and White Sox produced the AL’s best records last year behind young talent that suggested more good stuff was coming, especially since each team added stars in the offseason (Johnny Damon and David Wells, respectively).
Yet, at midweek, both teams were double-digit games out of first place and playing under .400 ball. Six weeks ago, the A’s and White Sox would have been considered buyers for the June/July trade marts. Now they might be intriguing sellers.
“That’s always a possibility, but not one we like to face,” A’s GM Billy Beane said. “In our situation, you don’t think about it until you are forced to. We still have a lot of expectations and hope.”
“We’ve played 30 games; hell, no, we are not looking at that,” White Sox GM Ken Williams said. “We’re looking at our club getting back into this.”
Eighty percent of the season remains, thus Oakland and Chicago could bounce back. But the Mariners in the AL West, and the Twins and especially the Indians in the AL Central look powerful. Therefore, the A’s surprisingly ineffective offense – specifically Damon, Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada – and the White Sox’ injury-marred rotation and a skimpy offense made even moreso with the news Frank Thomas likely is lost for the season, have about six weeks to upgrade and get their teams back into races. Or else the potential for Oakland and Chicago to be sellers will soar.
Williams’ trading reputation took a hit when players he dealt turned up lame, notably Mike Sirotka, the key in obtaining Wells from Toronto. Team officials spoken to this week said they would be particularly diligent in considering Chicago players. But one AL GM said, “Now is the time to deal with [Williams] because he will go the extra mile to fix his reputation and make sure he sends you healthy players.”
Wells, due to his weight and chronic back, is always a health worry. But he also is the most obvious trade commodity should the White Sox continue to struggle because he is 8-1 in the postseason.
Wells considers George Steinbrenner a pal, so the Yanks will investigate. But front-line rotation help probably will not be the Yankee need. The Mets nearly landed Wells with a Glendon Rusch-headed package and could be players again. The Braves, with Kevin Millwood on the DL and John Smoltz an iffy proposition, need rotation help. Wells is 14-4 lifetime vs. the Indians, plus 4-0 in the postseason. Cleveland GM John Hart is leaving after the season and in his quest to win it all, he could try teaming Wells with Bartolo Colon and Chuck Finley to give the Indians a strong (read beat the Yankees or Pedro Martinez) October rotation.
Since Wells’ contract is not odious, you can expect surprise players such as the Phillies. Remember in 1998, the Astros shockingly won the July bidding for Randy Johnson. This year Houston has a loaded Double-A rotation as bait.
The A’s have a deeper stash of alluring, potentially available players and, in Beane, a wheeler-dealer. Would he trade potential free agent Jason Giambi, the A’s best and most popular player? Beane once traded Mark McGwire. The difference is Oakland still has the framework for a long-term deal with Giambi, so Beane would have to be severely overwhelmed to move the first baseman. The Braves, with young pitchers such as Jason Marquis, Damian Moss and Odalis Perez, could really use a power-hitting first baseman.
Besides Giambi, the A’s also have potential free agents Damon, Jason Isringhausen and Gil Heredia. Even if the A’s get back into the race – and they are more likely to do so than Chicago – Beane might still trade front-line players if he gets help both now and in the future. In 1999, for example, with his team contending, Beane made moves that included trading his then ace, Kenny Rogers, and closer, Billy Taylor, to the Mets for Isringhausen and Terrence Long.
Bottom-of-the-rotation starters such as Heredia will be available in bulk. Think Cincinnati’s Pete Harnisch or Pittsburgh’s Jason Schmidt.
Atlanta, Colorado, Los Angeles and St. Louis could play for Isringhausen as either a closer or an eighth-inning stalwart. The Mets, Braves and Mariners all considered Damon in the offseason and would again.
So while the first six weeks revealed the A’s and White Sox might not be going back to the playoffs, they may greatly impact who does.