Aside From One Stretch, Athletics Were Surprisingly Good Last Season. Can They Avoid That Stretch?

Athletics

They are no longer in Oakland. I mean, they weren’t in Oakland last year either, but this team is still not officially having any town claiming them for now. Eventually, they plan to move to Las Vegas, and that will be pretty cool. Until we get there, the Athletics are building their roster for the first season there, and any success they have prior to that is just gravy for them.

Last year recap:

Geoff Clark is a better baseball future handicapper than I am. There is no debate from me, I believe it, he knows it, and the articles and podcasts prove it. He was all about the A’s last season and thought they would be a pretty solid team. They ended the year 76-86. Before you think I’m putting him on blast – I’m not. They were 20-16 on May 5th after beating Seattle. They were 22-20 on the 13th after beating the Dodgers. Flash forward to June 4th when they were 23-40 after losing 6-1 to the Twins. That’s right, a stretch of 1-20 for the Athletics. 3-24 over 27 games from May 6th to June 5th. Take that stretch out of the season, and they are 73-62. They missed the playoffs, but they were not as bad as the end of the season record showed.

Offseason moves:

The biggest move the Athletics made was actually last year by trading away Mason Miller at the trade deadline and getting a haul from the Padres. They did make a series of smaller moves that will balance a bit of the young talent with some veterans. They added Jeff McNeil and Andy Ibanez to the infield. Their pitching additions of Aaron Civale and Mark Leiter are underrated signings for a pitching staff that needed to shore up some concerns.

Apr 25, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Luis Severino (40) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Roster:

The headliner of this team is still Nick Kurtz who put together a great season last year. Kurtz hit .290 and blasted 36 homers in his rookie year. Can he replicate that, or will he have a sophomore slump? There are some good players on the rest of the roster. Max Muncy (not the Dodgers one), Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler, and even Brent Rooker are good offensive players. The rotation of Luis Severino, Civale, and Jeffrey Springs, should give reliability at the top. There are still some questions and needs, obviously.

Betting outlook:

Even if they don’t take a huge step forward, the younger guys should still improve. I like the rotation a bit more this year than last year’s team. I also think this is a club with some momentum, finally. This is not a year they are looking to be elite; they are still building toward their future home. However, I do think the A’s are better than the record we saw from last year. They are just at 75.5 wins for the season, and I think they will reach that without much trouble. I highly doubt they lose 24 of 27 games again this year, and that was the only stretch that really killed them. 

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