A’s Beane To Stand Pat At Deadline?

A’s general manager Billy Beane is usually busy around this time of year, but this season the A’s GM just might resist the urge to move some of his players before the trade deadline on July 31. The Athletics haven’t been in contention for a while now, but as Susan Slusser from the San Francisco Chronicle reports, that doesn’t necessarily mean Beane & Co. will move players before the deadline.

The A’s were figured to ship players like David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp, Rich Harden, Brad Ziegler, and a few other players who will be free agents after this season to contending teams. But according to Slusser’s interview, Beane hasn’t received any trade proposals worth accepting.

Oakland has been a major disappointment this season, as the team’s offense struggled during the first-half of the season and wasted solid pitching performances on a nightly basis. Despite this, however, the A’s front office just doesn’t seem inclined to move the aforementioned players. Are they asking for too much? It’s possible.

Who knows, perhaps Beane will keep the team intact for the remainder of the season. The A’s have been riding a nice hot-streak since the All-Star break, so it could be interesting to see what this entire team does during the second-half.

The A’s have seen a boost in offensive production since the All-Star break, and several players including DeJesus have been riding a nice hot-streak in the second-half. Even with this boost, however, the A’s would need a lot, and I mean a lot, to go their way for the rest of the season in order climb back into contention.

With the 13-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night inched a bit closer to the division leading Texas Rangers, and now sit 11.5 games out of first place. At 47-57, however, the Athletics still have a long ways to go.

I’ve liked what I’ve seen from the A’s since the break, but how long can the offense keep producing the way it has been recently? I mean, 13 runs? From the A’s?

Cliff Pennington hitting .500/.561/.750 since the break? How much longer until he comes crashing back down to Earth like the rest of the A’s offense? I’m optimistic, but considering how poorly the A’s played during the first half, I can’t see this team putting up those kinds of numbers for the entire second-half.

Personally, I think the A’s will make at least one move before the deadline. The offensive uptick has been enjoyable to watch, and makes me wonder where the A’s would be today if the offense performed like that during the first half, but I’m remaining realistic about this team’s chances. They’ve dug themselves in a very deep hole. So it’s hard to imagine Beane standing pat at this year’s trade deadline, and not getting something (or someone) out of this disappointing season.

What do you think? Should the A’s stay still at this year’s trade deadline?