One by one the left-handed relievers are falling off the board. Either they are not choosing the A’s or the A’s are not seeking them, because nary a one has decided to call Oakramento home-ish for the 2025 season.
This is somewhat disappointing in that the recent deals have been pretty good ones, on paper, for the teams committing to their new southpaw.
Danny Coulombe
I was gunning for the A’s to land Coulombe, whose arm hiccup in 2024 lowered his price tag though he was very effective last season when he pitched.
Coulombe signed with the Minnesota Twins yesterday on a 1 year deal worth $3M. Not bad for guy who has sported a 2.41 ERA over the past 3 seasons. (I cite ERA because it is considered the second most relevant stat for pitchers, trailing only The Will To Win.)
I would have been happy for the A’s to match that offer, or even beat it by $1M, and maybe they tried and maybe they didn’t.
Tim Hill
Then the Yankees re-signed Hill to a 1 year deal worth $2.5M, also a bargain for a reliever who reliably tames LH hitters (career .234/.306/.308 against) and is solid overall (career 61.8% GB rate, 2.88 BB/9 IP).
Perhaps the A’s can boast an “as good or better version” of Hill in the even more affordable TJ McFarland. So while I would have been for the A’s to sign Hill, he would have created a bit of a redundancy that made Coulombe by far the better target.
The Rest…
The LH relievers who are still looking for work are a less appealing bunch than the ones who have been snatched up (Tanner Scott being the prize).
There’s an old friend, Andrew Chafin, who still misses bats but also often misses the strike zone: His BB/9 IP rates in 2023 and 2024 were an unsightly 4.91 and 4.95.
Brooks Raley actually has an impressive track record against LH batters (career .191/.263/.293 against), but in general has been more of a medium leverage reliever.
The Incumbents…
Do the A’s have someone in house who is as good as the available LH arms?
Hogan Harris made 12 of his 21 appearances out of the bullpen last season and has good stuff with really erratic command. When he’s on he’s great and when he’s off it can be an unmitigated disaster. One stat worth noting is that he is no lefty specialist, at least so far in his 72.1 IP sample: LH batters hit a robust .288/.402/.477 against Harris in 2024.
Jacob Lopez will compete for a spot in the bullpen, mostly likely as a long reliever given his history as a SP. He does not have especially electric stuff and does not seem like someone to compare to a short reliever.
Brady Basso is likely to be stretched out as a SP but the A’s could always opt to try him in the bullpen. However, until told otherwise I am considering him to be strictly a SP.
And that’s it for the 40-man roster. (I exclude Ken Waldichuk because he won’t be back before mid-season and when he returns it will presumably be as a SP.)
A trade is always possible, but more and more it’s looking like the A’s strategy with regard to LH relievers is not to make a new move. Although they may have tried, we don’t know. Do you want the A’s to make an acquisition before spring training, or are you on board with standing pat?
I mean I can’t stand Pat but I have little tolerance for balding alcoholic dwarfs.