Oakland A’s trade rumors: Depth chart has questions to be answered

It’s the middle of December, and we’re still waiting for the Oakland A’s offseason to really get cooking. The MLB Winter Meetings have come and gone, and soon the holidays will slow things down even further.

A relatively peaceful winter is kind of refreshing after so many wild rides in recent years, but at the same time there is some work to be done to prepare for 2017. To get a visual idea of what the organization looks like from top to bottom, here is an updated version of the full depth chart.

Of course, this chart doesn’t include every player under Oakland’s employ. These are merely the ones who are either relevant to the MLB team or on my prospect radar. If I were checking minor league box scores, these are the names I’d be looking for.

A few notes about the methodology (or if you don’t care, then just scroll down and see the chart):

• The top section is supposed to be the 25-man roster, but I’ve only got 20 guys up there for now. Those are the established MLB guys and a couple other graduates. Directly below them, you’ll find everyone else who has at least debuted in MLB but is still fighting for a spot on the big club. (Eibner is only above the cutline until the A’s bring in another outfielder.)
• Players below the cutline who have an asterisk* are on the 40-man roster.
• Players in bold are my Top 11 prospects (plus Mengden, who graduated).
• Many of the minor leaguers got late-season promotions. For the most part, I listed them at the level they moved up to, especially if my impression is that they’ll stick there to begin 2017. There will be others who move up next spring, but these particular ones already did so.
• This chart is pretty easy to edit, so if you think I missed (or misplaced) someone then let me know in the comments!
• Update: B.J. Boyd finished the year in Triple-A, but I didn’t mean to leave him up there. I’ll move him down to High-A at next update.

Alex Hall, Athletics Nation