Hot Stove League Review: Oakland A's

The A's won 97 games in 2019 and still finished 10 games behind the division winning Astros.   The Astros had disastrous offseason which maybe opened a window of opportunity in 2020 for the A's.  Unlike the Astros, the A's did not lose any star players in the offseason, but then again, they did not add any either, choosing to depend on some young players to stay healthy and take the next step to becoming stars in their own right.  Time will tell if that strategy pays off.  Key Moves:

Free Agents Lost:  Tanner Roark(RHP), Brett Anderson(LHP), Homer Bailey(RHP), Dean Kiekhefer(LHP), Matt Harvey(RHP), Jharel Cotton(RHP- DFA), Josh Phegley(C- non-tendered), Ryan Buchter(LHP- non-tendered), Blake Treinen(RHP- non-tendered).

Free Agents Signed:  Jake Diekman(LHP- re-signed).

Trades:  Acquired Austin Allen(C) and PTBNL or Cash from the Padres for Jurickson Profar(2B).  Acquired Vimail Machin(IF) from the Phillies for Cash.  Acquired Tony Kemp(UT) from the Cubs for Alfonso Rivas(IF).  Acquired Burch Smith(RHP) from the Giants for Cash.

Waiver Claim:  T.J. McFarland(LHP) from the D'Backs.

Minor League Free Agents:  Lucas Luetge(LHP), Zach Lee(RHP), Carlos Perez(C), Jaime Schultz(RHP), Ryan Goins(2B), Nathan Orf(IF), Brian Schlitter(RHP), Ryan Court(1B), Zac Reininger(RHP), Donnie Hart(LHP).

Summary:  The A's chose to essentially stand pat, cut their rental players loose and gamble that some young players like Sean Murphy(C), Ramon Laureano(CF), Jesus Luzardo(LHP) and AJ Puk(LHP) will step it up to bolster a strong core.  These young players are all highly respected and can very plausibly do that, but it's still a gamble with a championship window standing wide open in 2020.

Grade C.