By the end of Friday, November 6, the Oakland Athletics must activate the seven players currently on their 60-day disabled list. With 34 other players counting against the 40-player limit, the A's must drop one player from the 40-man roster this week. Other clubs are approaching the same predicament, and the A's also might end up dropping other players in order to take advantage of their No. 6 priority in the offseason waiver wire to claim them.
Might clear waivers
Oakland could try waiving one of its players that it considers unlikely to be claimed by another team. The A's tried this last month with Pat Venditte, Cody Martin, and Bryan Anderson. Venditte and Martin were both claimed by other clubs, however, and Anderson elected free agency, having been previously outrighted in his career.
The A's don't seem to have many other pre-arbitration players they would want to risk losing, but here are a few that might sneak through waivers:
- Max Muncy, INF, 25: Was playing winter league baseball in Mexico, but has not played since October 17 due to an oblique injury.
- Arnold Leon, RP, 27: Leon is out of options in 2016. If the A's are going to try to revamp the entire bullpen, Leon might be a place to start. He was hardly the worst reliever on the squad, however.
- Daniel Coulombe, RP, 26: The left-hander Coulombe was himself purchased from the Los Angeles Dodgers last September when they were going through a roster crunch of their own. Left-handed relievers have a way of getting claimed off waivers, and the A's probably have better choices of who to drop.
Might not be tendered a contract
There are a number of arbitration-eligible players where there is a reasonable chance they will not be tendered a contract come the December 2 non-tender deadline:
- Craig Gentry, OF, 32 ($1.6MM arbitration estimate by MLB Trade Rumors): Craig Gentry's offense disappeared and he made a few defensive blunders at the start of 2015, prompting his demotion. Most alarmingly, his offense did not rebound in Triple-A, where he only hit .256/.319/.327 in 101 games.
- Ike Davis, 1B, 29 ($3.8MM): Ike Davis continues to recover from a torn left hip labrum, but even before the injury his production on offense was underwhelming. Mark Canha and a whole host of prospects are knocking down the door. Last year, there were major doubts that the Pirates would tender Davis a contract, and at the same salary he was only valued at an international slot in his trade to the A's.
- Sam Fuld, OF, 34 ($2.0MM): Fuld's offense took a tumble, and being limited to the corner outfield for the most part stunted his defensive contributions. His age does not help his case to stay, either. There may still be some small value in trading Fuld, however, so he may survive the week.
There are others who might not be tendered a contract, such as Fernando Abad, Eric Sogard, or Felix Doubront, but I don't think a non-tender decision for them is as obvious, and so they will last on the A's for a while longer.
