Coming out of the break with fading playoff odds, the A's will need more than a roster move to avoid another deadline sell-off.
Coming out of the All-Star break, the A's were hoping to gain one game a week in the standings, which would put them in contention by the end of the season. So far, they have held steady at eight games back in the AL West, but dropped from 6.5 to 9.0 games back in the AL Wild Card race.
On Saturday, the club officially activated Nick Kurtz from the IL and optioned Max Muncy back to Triple-A Las Vegas. But after the team's 3-4 start out of the break, is there enough time before the deadline for this to make a difference?
The short answer is probably not. Eight games back in the West is a tough, uphill climb. That said, the A's will have four games against the Boston Red Sox at home next week, followed by three against the Detroit Tigers. Boston holds the second wild-card spot, while Detroit is 3.5 back.
Those seven games not only come before the deadline, but they're at home in Sacramento, where the A's haven't won a series since April and are 16-28 on the year. If they can turn things around against two teams ahead of them — at home no less — perhaps that would be enough of a signal to give the group a shot.
The A's also have six games left against the first-place Texas Rangers, seven against the Houston Astros, and six against the Seattle Mariners. There will be opportunities to get back into the divisional race if they can go on a run.
Since the break, the A's offense has found a spark, putting up 38 total runs. With Kurtz added to that mix, the offense should be in good hands.
On the pitching side, they've had a couple of lopsided losses, including a 23-4 defeat at home to the Nationals, and a 15-5 loss to the Diamondbacks. That said, Yunior Tur pitched in both of those games, and there has been some talk that he has been tipping his pitches.
The A's staff as a whole has a 7.22 ERA in these seven games, giving up 52 total runs in 62 ⅓ innings. Tur was responsible for 14 of those runs crossing the plate. If you removed that production completely (as he's been optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas), the team's ERA drops to 5.73.
The bright side here is that the A's starters have been going deeper into games. Jacob Lopez has been effective in his return to the rotation. Jeffrey Springs had his best start since May against the Diamondbacks. Jack Perkins was able to provide five innings himself.
The team is making incremental improvements out of the break that could all combine for another second-half run. They'll just have nine games to show the front office they're worthy of a boost, not another sell-off.
