The Athletics are getting loads of commerce curiosity in left-hander JP Sears, in accordance with a report from Jeff Passan of ESPN, although Passan provides that the A’s are unlikely to maneuver him. It’s the same scenario with right-hander Mason Miller, as Passan relays that the A’s are keen to take heed to affords however don’t seem more likely to make a commerce. That tracks with earlier reporting on Miller, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic stated a couple of month in the past that the A’s have been keen to pay attention however had an enormous asking worth.
Sears came visiting to the A’s as a part of the 2022 deadline deal that despatched Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees. Since then, Sears has been probably the most dependable and constant pitcher on the Oakland employees as different arms have both been harm or underperformed. He made 32 begins final yr and tossed 172 1/3 innings, main the membership in each of these classes by an honest margin. Ken Waldichuk was second in each columns with 22 begins and 141 innings.
Right here in 2024, he’s been the rock of the rotation but once more. The A’s at present have Waldichuk, Paul Blackburn, Ross Stripling and Alex Wooden all on the injured checklist. Sears is as soon as once more main the employees with 12 begins and 67 1/3 innings pitched.
Whereas the A’s absolutely admire that amount of labor, the standard has been extra first rate than it has been excellent. Sears had a 4.54 earned run common final yr together with a 21.9% strikeout charge and seven.2% stroll charge, with all these numbers coming in pretty near common.
Sears has dropped his ERA to 4.01 right here in 2024 however which may be extra as a result of luck than anything. His 6.9% stroll charge is a slight enchancment over final yr however his 16.3% strikeout charge is a big drop. His batting common on balls in play is .239, which is effectively beneath the .278 mark he had final yr and this season’s league-wide common of .286. His 35.6% floor ball charge is beneath common as effectively. His common exit velocity, exhausting hit charge and barrel charge are all within the thirty second percentile or worse amongst certified pitchers, in accordance with Statcast.
Even when a little bit of regression is coming, he may nonetheless function a stable innings eater with good management. His 4.32 FIP and 4.75 SIERA on the yr aren’t as good as his ERA however aren’t disastrous both. That may have worth to an Oakland membership biking by way of struggling pitching prospects and injured veterans.
Whether or not it is going to be valued sufficient by one other membership to get Sears away from the A’s stays to be seen, as they need to be in no actual rush to maneuver him. He got here into this season with one yr and 81 days of service time. Which means he received’t even qualify for arbitration till after 2025 and isn’t slated without cost company till after 2028. In the event that they don’t discover any notably engaging affords now, they will merely hold him round as a part of the rotation core as they step by step attempt to emerge from this rebuilding course of, which appears to be the most probably situation at this level.
However the case for making him obtainable could possibly be his age. Sears was form of a late bloomer, not reaching the massive leagues till his age-26 season. Although the A’s can theoretically management him for years to come back, he’s now 28 years previous and can doubtless be in his early 30s by the point the membership is aggressive once more. Maybe that can compel them to contemplate pulling the set off on a deal whereas his worth is at its highest. With pitchers liable to endure vital accidents at any time, there’s additionally a case for the membership to proactively strike a deal earlier than that occurs to Sears.
Whether or not something can come collectively will doubtless rely on the affords which are coming in the direction of Oakland. Since Sears is reasonable and controllable and pretty dependable, they may doubtless want an honest return to get a deal carried out. As talked about, Sears is extra a dependable mid- or back-of-rotation man than an ace, however that would maintain attraction to golf equipment with so many pitching accidents across the league.
