NBC Sports Bay Area’s Brodie Brazil reacts to the Matt Olson trade news, which stirs memories of another trade in 2014 that also brought a haul of prospects back to Oakland.
The Athletics avoided arbitration with their four remaining eligible players, agreeing to one-year deals with pitchers Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino as well as outfielder Ramón Laureano on Tuesday.
Manaea settled at $9.75 million in his final year of arbitration, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported that Montas' deal was at around $5 million and Trivino's at $3 million. Laureano settled at $2.45 million, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Matt Kawahara.
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SIGN UP HERE Whether the four players finish the year with the A’s remains to be seen, considering the team traded away Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Chris Bassitt in the span of five days earlier this month, jumpstarting a rebuild as it awaits clarity on a new stadium.
Laureano's name has come up in trade discussions with the Miami Marlins, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, though the two teams remain are apart on the price. The 27-year-old missed much of the 2021 season after being suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, with the suspension continuing through the first 27 games of the 2022 season. He was hitting .246 with 14 home runs in 88 games before the suspension.
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Related: Warriors' JTA stresses importance of A's remaining in Oakland
Manaea and Montas were both workhorses for the A’s last season, each making 32 starts with double-digit win totals and ERAs under 4.00. Manaea, 30, also had a career-high 194 strikeouts and became one of five pitchers in franchise history with at least five straight winning seasons. The 29-year-old Montas went 13-9, with his 207 strikeouts ranking second all-time in Oakland history behind Vida Blue.
Trivino, 30, finished his first season as the A’s closer last year and recorded 22 saves, which was eighth in the American League.
Each of these players is projected to play a key role for the A’s next season, but the question will be for how long ahead of the trade deadline.
