Elephant Rumblings: The 2022 season is over

Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!

Welp, the season is over and evil prevailed: the Houston Astros, infamous for the cheating scandal that helped them win the 2017 World Series, defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games for another title. It’s a different Astros team in many respects; most of the roster is different, and they have a pretty cool manager in Dusty Baker, who most of us agree is well deserving of his newfound glory.

But the core of the team still consists of unrepentant cheaters like Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, and Yuli Gurriel. What can I say except that I am not one to fret too much over matters I cannot control? Not a lot.

Anywho, now that the postseason has ended, teams around the league will busy themselves with all manner of transactional matters. Mark Polishuk at MLB Trade Rumors provided a good rundown of offseason activities.

• Eligible players began filing for free agency yesterday, though they will not be allowed to negotiate with new teams until this Thursday. GM meetings also begin today in Las Vegas and take place through Thursday.
• Next week is awards week: ROY winners will be announced Monday, Managers of the Year on Tuesday, Cy Young winners on Wednesday, and league MVPs will be revealed on Thursday.
• Teams and players have big decisions to make the same week: November 15 is the deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters ahead of the Rule 5 draft, the 18th is the non-tender deadline, and the 20th is the deadline for free agents to accept or reject qualifying offers.
• Winter Meetings will take place December 4-7 in San Diego. The Rule 5 draft will also be held on December 7.
• Mid-January will bring the salary filing deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players and the opening of the international signing window.
• Spring Training begins on February 24.
• The World Baseball Classic will be held for the first time since 2017, with games in Taiwan, Japan, and the U.S. The tournament begins on March 8 and will run for two weeks.
• At the end of this long winter, the 2023 MLB season will begin on March 30.

The A’s have just one free agent who remained on the 40-man at season’s end: Chad Pinder. But there are several arbitration-eligible players in play.

Arbitration Eligible Athletics (with years of service and salary projections, courtesy of Steve Adams at MLBTR):

• Tony Kemp (5.098): $3.9MM
• Deolis Guerra (4.071): $900K
• Austin Pruitt (4.055): $1.2MM
• Ramon Laureano (3.165): $3.6MM
• Sean Murphy (3.029): $3.5MM
• Paul Blackburn (3.018): $1.9MM

So, AN: who stays and who goes? I’d like to see Kemp, Laureano, and Blackburn back for sure, and Murphy too—unless the A’s haul in a treasure trove for him. Let the unbridled speculation commence!

A’s Coverage:

• Nico: Congratulations To The 2022 Houston Astros Sort Of
• Shea: Far different agendas for Giants, A’s at this week’s GM meetings ($)
• Laurila: Sunday Notes: Toronto Native Denzel Clarke Aspires to Thrive in Oakland
• Jackson, Resnick, Sheehan, and Terranova: Here’s how A’s prospects fared in the Fall Stars Game

MLB News & Interest:

• Kepner: A ‘Legend’ Finally Gets His Moment ($)
• McCullough: The Astros are champions of the world and guess what? The best team won ($)
• Polishuk: The 2022-23 Offseason Begins
• Hampton: Mets To Re-Sign Edwin Diaz
• Ahram: 131 Players Reach Free Agency
• Ahram: White Sox To Pick Up Tim Anderson’s Club Option
• Ahram: Nationals Re-sign Sean Doolittle To Minor League Contract
• Ahram: Twins To Pick Up Sonny Gray’s Team Option
• Ahram: Chris Bassitt To Decline Mutual Option
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

Roster moves.

I thought that was some kind of hookah thing for a sec.

Done! (wiggles nose—oh wait, wrong show)

It isn’t?!

Is it petty of me to say I have shortstop envy?

Life is full of uncanny coincidences.