In the last two weeks the Oakland Athletics have gone from a first place lead of six games to trailing the Texas Rangers by one game. In that span, they missed out on trades that would bring Jake Peavy into the fold, lost utility infielder Adam Rosales to the rival Rangers twice and the only move the team made at the deadline, the acquisition of Alberto Jose Callaspo, is just now finally starting to pay dividends in the past two games. That is a lot to happen in just two weeks, and something like this could demoralize a young team like this, but luckily they have been able to keep pace with the Rangers and the offense seems to be responding. The question still remains, though, should something be done to help this team?
That question weighs on the shoulders of general manager Billy Beane every day. He has to look at the team and not only look at weaknesses that need to be fixed, but assess if there is anything out there that can fix those needs. Should he call and sweet talk Michael Young into waiving his no trade clause so that he has a guy who can give not only Josh Donaldson some much needed days off, but any player on the infield a day off to rest? Should he blow up the Phillies phone line while trying to talk his ownership into paying the hefty contract that comes with trading for hometown hero Jimmy Rollins so that he can move the defensively challenged Jed Lowrie to second base while using Eric Sogard and Callaspo as super utility men?
Maybe he should scratch the Phillies off the list altogether and talk to the White Sox about someone he has coveted for years in slugger Adam Dunn. It would mean the end of the DH platoon, and regulate Seth Smith and Chris Young to back up outfielder duties, but maybe Beane sees Dunn as the power the team needs to take the next step. He could even go back to the well he seemed to be tapping before the trade deadline and try and make the pitching staff even stronger, and take a chance with Josh Johnson from Toronto, or even just stand pat while waiting for Brett Anderson to return from the DL and take over the top spot in the rotation after Bartolo Colon. Those are the easy options of players who have cleared waivers, or, in the case of Anderson, are already on the team, but no matter how you look at it, it seems pretty obvious that Beane needs to do something.
It seems like an easy choice to look at the aforementioned players. You could say that any of them could be a smart move for Beane to make, but the biggest thing that he can do for this team right now is let his young rotation grow and learn from a rough stretch, and continue to let this offense hit themselves out of this funk. Instead, he should make a subtle move. He should look at something that helps the team, similar to the Callaspo move, and make a move to help the bullpen. Right now the pen is taxed and young and could use a solid veteran arm to take the pressure off of guys like Jesse Chavez and Dan Otero, and a guy similar to whom they had last season in Travis Blackley. In fact, they could get Blackley back as he was recently DFA'd by the Astros, but while that move may be popular among the team and fans, his 4.89 ERA may not be the best move for the team. Instead, the move that few people noticed on August third may be just the move that the team needed. It is yet to be seen if Fernando Nieve, a 31 year old right hander with a 1.81 ERA in 44.2 innings at AAA, can be the man who steps up and fills that role in the bullpen, but he very well could be.
No matter what you think, the Athletics need some help, and no matter how things end it will all fall in the hands of Beane. He either will have finally found the right group to fill out his dream of winning the last game of the season, or he will be the one who did not give Bob Melvin enough to make the next step. Whether or not Nieve is the right move, something needs to be done, and soon, because the Rangers aren’t going anywhere.