I think this actually happened on Saturday, but the Oakland Athletics clinched a top 10 protected draft pick for 2016. Oakland can finish with no more than 71 wins, and 20 teams have crossed that threshold.
This means that if the A's elect to sign a free agent who receives and rejects a qualifying offer from his previous team, Oakland would lose their second pick in the draft, currently their competitive balance pick in between the first and second round. Whether the A's actually go after such a player is the subject for another day.
As it stands, Oakland would own the No. 4 pick in next June's draft, but could end up as high as No. 2 and as low as No. 7. A pick between No. 3 and No. 6 is realistic, with the right to spend millions on signing draft picks at stake:
| 2015 reverse standings (2014 record tiebreaker) | Remaining games | |||||||||||||||
| Pk | 2015 slot | Team | W | L | PCt | GA | GR | L10 | 2014 | 28-Sep | 29-Sep | 30-Sep | 1-Oct | 2-Oct | 3-Oct | 4-Oct |
| 1 | $8,616,900 | Phillies | 59 | 97 | .378 | ---- | 6 | 3-7 | .451 |
vs
NYM
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vs
NYM
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vs
NYM
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vs
MIA
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vs
MIA
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vs
MIA
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| 2 | $7,420,100 | Braves | 62 | 94 | .397 | 3.0 | 6 | 5-5 | .488 |
vs
WSH
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vs
WSH
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vs
WSH
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vs
STL
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vs
STL
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vs
STL
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| 3 | $6,223,300 | Reds | 63 | 93 | .404 | 4.0 | 6 | 1-9 | .469 |
Loss at
WSH
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vs
CHC
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vs
CHC
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vs
CHC
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at
PIT
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at
PIT
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at
PIT
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| 4 | $5,026,500 | ATHLETICS | 65 | 91 | .417 | 6.0 | 6 | 3-7 | .543 |
at
LAA
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at
LAA
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at
LAA
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at
SEA
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at
SEA
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at
SEA
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| 5 | $4,188,700 | Rockies | 66 | 90 | .423 | 7.0 | 6 | 5-5 | .407 |
at
ARI
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at
ARI
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at
ARI
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at
SFG
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at
SFG
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at
SFG
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| 6 | $3,889,500 | Brewers | 66 | 90 | .423 | 7.0 | 6 | 4-6 | .506 |
at
SDP
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at
SDP
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at
SDP
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CHC
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vs
CHC
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vs
CHC
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| 7 | $3,590,400 | Marlins | 69 | 87 | .442 | 10.0 | 6 | 6-4 | .475 |
at
TBR
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at
TBR
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at
TBR
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at
PHI
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at
PHI
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at
PHI
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The Marlins have been good enough to win their last five games to open up some space between them and the worse records of Major League Baseball. The Rockies are also on a winning streak, winning their last three games. On the flip side, the Reds have done "well" by losing their last nine games and stay ahead of the A's, who have won just one of their last eight.
Of the remaining schedules of the bottom seven teams, only Oakland is playing an opponent with a postseason spot to play for. The Angels will be fighting all the way to the final day to sneak into the Wild Card game. The six National League clubs the A's could pass or be passed by are playing opponents who are either out of the postseason chase or have their playoff spots all set.
So go Braves, Reds, Rockies, Brewers, and Marlins. And let's root for some entertaining games from the A's as they hit the road for the final week.
