Oakland Athletics Interested In Top Free Agent Reliever Darren O’Day

The Oakland Athletics have stated that they need to bolster their bullpen this offseason. Today, they made a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays to acquire right handed pitcher Liam Hendriks who will definitely give the A’s pen a good boost. However, the Athletics are also expected to be very active in the free agent market. That being said, as Susan Slusser from the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted, GM David Forst told the press that payroll is not a factor as they search for a free agent relief pitcher this offseason:

Because money is not an issue for the A’s right now, Slusser also stated that Oakland is interested in top reliever Darren O’Day. This is surprising on many levels. For one, O’Day is a huge target on the free agent market. Thus, this makes him quite expensive. However, it seems as though the Athletics are willing to spend the money, which is probably the most shocking of all.

Many teams have been linked to O’Day this offseason including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox. O’Day is expected to sign a four year contract worth upwards of $36 million this winter. Among all of the teams interested in O’Day, the Athletics would definitely be the underdog.

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However, after not really focusing enough on the bullpen during the ‘14-’15 offseason, Oakland is definitely concentrating on revamping the relief staff this winter. O’Day would be a great pickup for them if they were able to make a deal happen. This reliever, who has seven years of MLB experience, has been with Baltimore since 2012 and was one of the most consistent pitchers in their pen. Additionally, like a fine wine, he has only gotten better with age.

In 2015, this 33-year-old had a 1.52 ERA with a 0.93 WHIP. Additionally, he struck out 82 and allowed just five home runs in 65.1 innings pitched. This past season was the best in his big league career and it is expected that he will produce the same results in 2016.

Additionally, O’Day is typically a set-up man – a role that the Oakland Athletics have not assigned to any of their relief pitchers. This season, O’Day recorded 18 holds and 6 saves. With Sean Doolittle as closer, O’Day and Doolittle would definitely deliver the one-two punch at the end of each game and ultimately eliminate their opponent.

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If the Oakland Athletics truly want O’Day, they are going to need to shell out the money. They are up against some big market teams, so the A’s will need to try to convince O’Day that Oakland should be his next home. It will not be an easy task, but if payroll truly is not an issue, then the A’s might be able to get this deal done.