Newsletter Excerpt, January 5, 2024 -- "Sneaking In the White Sox"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider.

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The Sox should throw some 1/12 or 2/25 with a player option deals at the Kyle Gibson class to bolster the back end of this group. It’s a bit like the team OBP; when all you have is #7 starters, #5s make you better. They’d certainly give Venable a fighting chance in his rookie campaign. If you ask him to get 16 outs a night from the bullpen, he and his relievers will be dead by the break. Trade nothing for Marcus Stroman’s contract. Take Jordan Montgomery’s money and hope he’s a trade asset in July. Just add starts and innings from somewhere. It’s not about the wins, it’s about the workload.

 

 

 

Newsletter Excerpt, January 3, 2025 -- "Optimism and the...A's?"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $79.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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Building a bullpen is the final thing a rebuilding team should work on, but when you look at the middle tier of the American League and see how weak the playoff field was in 2024, you start to think the A’s should make an effort here. They do not have a good pen past Miller, and you might be able to collect 150-200 good innings on one-year deals for not a lot of money. David Robertson is out there, Tommy Kahnle, Chris Martin, Kyle Finnegan...it’s a buyer’s market even past the top tier.

I keep emphasizing how the A’s could improve because they’re closer to relevance than it seems. Of the six AL playoff teams last year, none have gotten a lot better and some seem unaware that they are allowed to do so. Within the AL West, the Rangers, Mariners, and Astros are running in place or standing still. If the season started today, I’d probably pick the A’s to finish fourth, but their roster weaknesses -- pitching depth, mostly -- match up well with the remaining free-agent talent, and they have some money to burn. The A’s are a handful of good pickups from being 2025’s version of the Royals and Tigers.