The A's find themselves sitting pretty in the second half which is exactly where Billy Beane wanted them.
The vice president of baseball operations was hoping around the All-Star break that if the team was about even, moves will be made. Now that the Green and Gold are heading toward the wild-card push, they need pitching.
Yes, every team wants pitching, but the A's need it.
Here's what an American League scout informed MLB.com's Brian McTaggart on the needs, the moves they could make and what the team could receive around the July 31st trade deadline.
What they need: "With Frankie Montas out [on an 80-game suspension], I don't see their Verlander or Cole at the top. Homer Bailey isn't a bad addition, but he's not a top guy. So they could use a starting pitcher, but that's a long line to stand in. I could see them adding a reliever with the way Blake Treinen has struggled. Yusmeiro Petit is their best reliever now."
Who they might move: "There's enough prospects on the farm to get somebody that could help them right now in terms of pitching. A.J. Puk should be in their rotation next year so I don't see him going anywhere."
What they can get: "I see [executive vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane] swinging for the fences. He's been known to make an impact move or two. Everyone wants pitching. They're going to be in the mix for the big guys."
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The Mets reportedly want to move star pitcher Noah Syndergaard which makes things a bit more interesting as far as the pitching trade market goes. NBC Sports California's Ben Ross detailed what the A's may have to give up in order to acquire such a name as Thor, but is that the "swinging for the fences," move the scout mentioned?
Maybe.
The 26-year-old righty has a 4.33 ERA on the season with 126 strikeouts in 126.2 frames. Those aren't numbers we are used to seeing from him, but a change of scenery could be what he needs.
Marcus Stroman was linked to the A's recently, and it didn't appear the Blue Jays were giving him an extension, as he tweeted earlier on Friday.
Beane, at the minimum, wants to add a bullpen arm to the team since, as the scout said, Treinen isn't posting the same incredible numbers as he did last season and even with AJ Puk presumably coming out of the bullpen, he's not with the big league club yet. Neither is Sean Manaea so immediate relief, no pun intended, appears to be the theme.
[RELATED: A's have no choice but to be aggressive at deadline]
The starting pitching market isn't plentiful, and perhaps we haven't seen Bailey be what the A's anticipated he would be.
But A's fans need to be prepared for a new pitcher being introduced to the team very, very soon.
