Athletics Bullpen 2015: An Early Look

August 22, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Sean Doolittle (62) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at O.co Coliseum. The Athletics defeated the Angels 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Despite some shortcomings in key situations, the A’s had one of the league’s best and deepest bullpens last year. The team’s bullpen ERA of 2.91 was second-best in the majors. Led by closer Sean Doolittle and his stellar strikeout to walk ratio, the bullpen should have its anchor in place. Although his name has floated around in early trade rumors, his long-term team-friendly deal makes him an unlikely trade candidate. Expect him to be locking down the ninth inning again next year.

However the team may see some change when it comes to their primary setup man. Last year, Luke Gregerson was, for the most part, the team’s best right-handed relief option. Since his contract is up after this year, I find it difficult to believe that the A’s would be willing to commit too much money to a setup guy, so I’d expect him to test free agency.

So who will fill the role? Looking internally, the next-best righty is probably Dan Otero. After a shaky start to his big-league career, Otero has been a pleasant surprise for the A’s over the last two years, posting a 2.01 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 105 relief appearances.

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The other A’s righty is the former all-star Ryan Cook. Yes, he was an all-star. Overall, his numbers don’t look bad, with a WHIP of 1.08 and a K/9 rate of 9.0, but any A’s fan knows that his name is synonymous with blowing a lead, as evidenced by his horrific BB/9 rate of 4.0. Hopefully he can work out his kinks over the offseason and return to his form as a solid middle reliever. If not, he’ll probably be in nothing better than a mop-up role.

In terms of the other lefties, Fernando Abad is the best other than Doolittle. Abad stranded a remarkable 38 of his 43 inherited runners last year. However his lefty/righty splits suggest that he should not be used as a LOOGY (Left handed one out guy) but rather as a general setup man. If he performs half as well as he did last year, he’s still an excellent option in a tight game.

Another lefty is Eric O’Flaherty. He, unlike Abad, is probably better served in a LOOGY role. For his career, lefties hit just .205 off of him, while righties hit .265. He might be the A’s best trade-bait in the offseason, as he’ll be making $5.5 million in the last year of his contract.

A low-budget team like the A’s should be spending that money on other needs instead of the team’s fourth or fifth best reliever. O’Flaherty is probably good enough to warrant a setup or even a closer role on another team, so the return for him might not just be a salary dump.

Jesse Chavez also spent most of the second half working out of the bullpen, but he might be forced into a starter role depending on what happens in the rotation. He was solid as a reliever in 2013, with a 3.01 ERA, and had a 3.54 ERA in 11 games a reliever last year. If he gets bumped from the rotation, he can be a useful righty who can go multiple innings if necessary.

The other bullpen spots I can see going to some combination of Fernando Rodriguez, Evan Scribner and Joe Savery. All three guys pitched well in AAA-Sacramento last year and got very little time with the big-league club. Depending on injuries and who ends up in the starting rotation, some or all of them can be nice pieces to fill out the bullpen.

In terms of looking externally for relief options, I wouldn’t be surprised if Billy Beane shopped around. I don’t think he’ll make a splashy move for the bullpen, but he could bring in another quality middle-relief arm.

One name to look for is Brett Anderson. He struggled with injuries again as a starter in Colorado last year, and the team will probably reject his $12.5 million option. Since he’s so injury prone, he might be more effective throwing fewer innings. The A’s could sign him to be a middle reliever, and it most likely won’t cost very much.

The A’s bullpen will be deep again next year. It’s just a matter of figuring out who those seven relievers will be at the beginning of the season.