Buster Olney: Oakland, Odorizzi Possible Arbitration Hearing

[Justin]

Report: Oakland, Odorizzi Far Apart on Arbitration Deal

OAKLAND -- Jake Odorizzi is slated to make in the $7.585m range in 2018. 

Oakland's General Manager Justin thinks otherwise. 

"Jake's agents are coming in high right now, pointing back to his career 3.89 ERA, and almost a K/IP average he has sustained. We're more in the $5.00m range. There's plenty of time left, we will figure it out."

"I want to remain here (Oakland). My teammates feel we had a good chance to punch a playoff ticket controlling our own destiny into the final weekend. I have unfinished business here. These fans deserve to watch baseball in October."

Jake is referring to the unreal run his Athletics teammates went on from June 1st to the end of the season. At one point, Oakland was 17 games behind 1st place Seattle in the American League West division, and 14 games back of a wildcard spot. 

Oakland finished the season as one of the hottest teams in baseball, only beaten record wise by both teams from Chicago. Going into the final weekend, Oakland was tied with Tampa Bay for the 2nd wildcard spot, with Cleveland trailing by a single game. Oakland had their chance to essentially "win and we're in" twice, but failed to capitalize against division foe Seattle. Oakland was eventually passed on the final Sunday by Cleveland, missing the playoffs a year after winning the AL West division by 7 games. 

"We realize we had a great opportunity, and we let the city of Oakland down. They were pulling for us. We inspired a city to never give up, but unfortunately fell a single game short."

Pitching was a big reason Oakland faltered down the stretch. Despite strong outings from Luis Castillo; Odorizzi, Eickhoff, and Blackburn were unable to hold their own in matchups. With Velasquez and Eflin landing on the DL, the rotation was stretched thin. 

Odorizzi, too, spent time on the DL this season. having two 10 day stints (back, hamstring) and a couple other times he was pulled from his starts early due to illness and foot issues. He also had an increase in ERA, allowing the same amount of home runs in 60 less innings this season, and just 13 earned runs short of last years numbers as well. 

With a rotation of Castillo, Graveman, Eickhoff, and Velasquez planned for the 2018 season, the final two spots are up for grabs. Oakland has many pitching prospects in the minors close to making their MLB debuts. Stephen Gonsalves is the #1 pitching prospect currently in AAA, followed by Walker Buehler, who made his MLB debut this season as a relief pitcher. Both are candidates to fill the vacant rotation spots, and are much lighter on the wallet. 

The team has already announced Zach Eflin will not be tendered another year of team control, thus ending his stint with the team. 

Other notable names for the last two rotation spots are Amir Garrett, Brent Suter, and Matt Strahm. The latter is recovering from torn patellar tendon. 

With a free agent market that boasts veteran names such as Jhoulys Chacin, Jason Vargas, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, and Doug Fister, among others, there's a real possibility Odorizzi may start the season in another uniform. 

"As always, we will monitor the situation and continue negotiations. Never say never."