Oakland

Athletics

Andujar seemed like a non-tender candidate, but since they need to increase payroll anyway, the A’s chose to bring him back. The soon-to-be 30-year-old hit .285/.320/.377 in 319 plate appearances last season. He offers no defensive value anywhere, but his ability to put the bat on the ball makes him a solid bench option. The A’s will likely play him mostly against lefties initially.

The long-term extension is now official. Rooker’s metamorphosis into an elite slugger is remarkable considering he struggled upon arrival in the majors and spent time with three different organizations over a two-year span before landing in Oakland prior to the 2023 season. The 30-year-old is coming off back-to-back 30-homer campaigns and should benefit from the Athletics temporary relocation to Sacramento’s hitter-friendly Triple-A ballpark.

Pelham provides the Athletics with some extra left-handed relief depth after splitting last year between a stint with the Angels at Double-A Rocket City and the independent Mexican League where he posted an absurd 1.04 ERA over 17 1/3 innings of work. The 29-year-old southpaw hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2018 campaign when he made 10 unremarkable relief appearances for the Rangers.

There’s a vesting sixth-year option for $22 million, adds ESPN’s Jeff Passan, with Rosenthal noting that the deal could top out at $90 million. We’re not at all sure this is actually a good move for the A’s, given than Rooker is 30 years old and was already under control for three more years. Still, it’s hard not to be happy for the slugger. Building on his breakthrough 2023 campaign, Rooker hit .293/.365/.562 with a career-high 39 homers and 11 stolen bases for Oakland last season. He’ll remain utility-only in most fantasy formats heading into 2025 after logging just 14 appearances in the outfield this past year.

It seemed like there were better third base options out there for the A’s, but they settled for the steady glove. Jon Heyman reported that the deal was worth $2.15 million and includes $400,000 in bonuses. The 33-year-old Urshela hit .250/.286/.361 in 128 games for the Tigers and Braves last season. He shouldn’t be much of a fantasy factor while hitting in the bottom half of the A’s lineup.

The 33-year-old is widely considered to be an above average defender, but Urshela slashed just .250/.286/.361 with nine homers and 52 RBI in 461 plate appearances between the Braves and Tigers during the 2024 campaign. It’s a nice signing for the A’s, as his presence will improve their overall infield, but Urshela shouldn’t be counted on for fantasy purposes.

Max Schuemann, Brett Harris, Darell Hernaiz and C.J. Alexander are the team’s internal options at third, but Forst is looking to do better. Josh Rojas, Yoán Moncada, Luis Urías, Brandon Drury and Gio Urshela are some of the modestly priced options out there in free agency. The A’s had six different players start at least 10 games at third last season, with the since-released Abraham Toro leading the way.

If Springs can get healthy and stay that way, this will likely turn out to be a steal for the A’s. Still, this is a 32-year-old with career-high inning totals of 135 in 2022 and 112 in 2017. He’s never been over 85 innings otherwise. Upon returning from Tommy John last summer, had a 3.27 ERA in seven starts and then went back on the IL with elbow fatigue. His fantasy stock definitely takes a hit with the organization change here, though he figures to be worth using in mixed leagues while healthy. He’ll slot into an A’s rotation set to include Luis Severino and JP Sears. Mitch Spence and Osvaldo Bido seem like the favorites for the last two spots, with Joey Estes, J.T. Ginn and Lopez also in the mix.

Lopez might be the biggest beneficiary of this deal, as he figures to have a much greater opportunity in Sacramento than he ever would with the Rays. The 26-year-old lefty has spent most of the last two season at Triple-A Durham, posting a 3.54 ERA and a 193/92 K/BB in 168 innings. He doesn’t offer much in the way of upside, but he might be able to stick as a fifth starter/middle reliever.

We’re not sure whether the Rays place greater value on Boyle or the 36th overall pick in the draft, but those were the two biggest gets here. Boyle has a fantastic arm that has rarely proven capable of throwing strikes. He seemed to make great strides initially after the A’s acquired him from the Rays at the 2023 trade deadline, but he took a couple of steps back last season in totaling a 6.42 ERA and 40 walks in 47 2/3 innings in the majors and a 5.12 ERA and 39 walks in 45 2/3 innings in Triple-A. The Rays will probably have him start games in Triple-A initially, but if he’s going to make an impact, it seems more likely to happen as a reliever.