Oakland Athletics Take A Chance On Pitcher Jarrod Parker

In 2014, a starter by the name of Jarrod Parker was suppose to be the Oakland Athletics Opening Day pitcher. After a series of unfortunate events and numerous elbow injuries, Parker has since been on the disabled list for two full seasons. Even though his health status for the 2016 season is still slightly unclear, the A’s decided to take a chance on Parker and agreed to a $850,000 deal with him in order to avoid arbitration. It must be noted that only $425,000 is guaranteed.

Even though Parker has undergone two Tommy John surgeries and incurred an elbow fracture, he only has three years of MLB experience under his belt. Because of his immense amount of talent, Parker could still have a bright future in the big leagues – especially since he has recovered from Tommy John before. So, the Athletics are hoping that he will be able to help the team this upcoming season.

Parker had a big impact on the A’s starting rotation in 2012 and 2013. This youngster came to Oakland on December 9, 2011 at just 23 years old and quickly excelled. Over those two season with the Athletics, Parker had a combined 3.72 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP. His consistent performance during those first couple of years with the A’s earned him the Opening Day starting pitcher role for the 2014 season.

Unfortunately, Parker would not make the 2014 debut for he underwent his second Tommy John surgery before the season even began. This caused him to miss the entire year with the A’s. During his rehab assignment in 2015, Parker was looking strong. However, he incurred an elbow fracture in May of this year and once again missed an entire season.

Parker is only 27 years old and Oakland is hoping that he will be able to overcome these injuries that have plagued him in the past. However, there really is no timetable as to when Parker may return. He may not be healthy until mid-2016 and, at that time, there may not be an open spot in the starting rotation for him. But, it seems as though the A’s are willing to take that risk.

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Parker demonstrated a lot of potential while with Oakland in 2012 and 2013. Since Parker and the A’s agreed to such a small amount of guaranteed money for 2016, the front office probably sees this deal as a low risk, high reward situation.

If Parker is able to come back and be an effective starting pitcher, then the Athletics’ risky move paid off because they will have a high quality starter in their rotation for very little money. If Parker is unable to fully recovery from his injuries, the A’s will not have wasted too much money on his contract. This type of risk seems like a win-win situation for the Oakland Athletics. All in all, we hope that Parker is able to bounce back from his injuries and help the team win in 2016.