Oakland A's Season Preview: Can They Finally Make a Deep October Run?

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The A’s have made the playoffs each of the last two seasons and five of the last eight, but failed to advance each time. In 23 years under Billy Beane, they have taken just one postseason series, beating the Twins in the 2006 ALDS. In fact they haven’t won a deciding playoff contest since Game 7 of the 1973 World Series. In baseball, because short series between comparable teams are decided on the margins, you can’t build a team to win in the postseason. (As Beane famously put it, “My s--- doesn’t work in the playoffs.”) You can, though, build teams that get there, over and over.

Oakland had a bottom-five payroll in seven of the last eight seasons, which makes those five playoff appearances even more impressive. Beane may need to further tighten his budget now that MLB, after a three-year phase-out, has stopped sending the A’s revenue-sharing payments, and there’s no new replacement for the 54-year-old Oakland Coliseum in sight.

The near-term indicators remain bullish, though. Most of last year’s 97-win team returns, including more than 80% of its WAR. (Shortstop Marcus Semien led the team with 8.1 WAR, followed by third baseman Matt Chapman with 6.7.) And after a few years of patchwork rotations, manager Bob Melvin will finally have at his disposal the organization’s crop of young starters. Power pitcher Jesús Luzardo had shoulder problems that delayed his debut last season; the lefthander will contend for AL Rookie of the Year. Highly touted lefty A.J. Puk, a big help from the pen late in ’19, joins the rotation as well, along with righty Frankie Montas, whose breakout season was cut short by a suspension under the Joint Drug Agreement. Oakland could get an additional 60 starts and 330 innings from these power arms, innings that will help fend off the improved Angels and White Sox in the wild-card race. — Joe Sheehan

Projected Record: 92-70, 2nd in AL West

The A’s are coming off consecutive 97-win seasons and have their key players returning. Even if this ramshackle vessel is bound to run aground someday, it won’t be in 2020.

Key Question: Will They Top the Astros in the AL West?

Oakland finally has a lane to the playoffs without passing through the wild-card game, with an Astros regression all but certain. That doesn’t mean the A’s will take the division, considering the talent Houston still has, the aforementioned juggernaut offense in Anaheim and the improved Rangers roster. However, if any team is best positioned to overthrow the ‘Stros, it’s Oakland. — Matt Martell

Player Spotlight

Moving Up: Sean Murphy, C

The rookie backstop missed much of 2019 with left knee injuries, but after posting an .899 OPS in 20 games, he entered camp as the starter.

Moving Down: Khris Davis, OF

The metronome broke. After four straight seasons with a .247 average and plus power, Davis, now 32, hit .220 and slugged a career-worst .387.

Watchability Ranking: Worth It

Matt Chapman’s glove and Ramón Laureano’s arm alone would make this team watchable. And thankfully, it has other features (Marcus Semien’s… everything), too. — Emma Baccellieri 

Preview of the 2030 Preview

Robert Puason, IF: Signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2019, Puason climbed steadily through the A’s system—which is the only reason he’s still here. If he had debuted before 2025 he would have already been dealt, given the team’s failure to replace the Coliseum (such is life in a post-bubble Silicon Valley) and MLB’s inability to find the A’s a new home. As it is, two years before free agency, Puason could be sent away to a team in need of a plus bat who can slot in anywhere on the infield. — Craig Goldstein