A’s trade rumors: Latest on Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas

The rebuild is on. The Oakland A’s have already traded Chris Bassitt to the Mets, Matt Olson to the Braves, and Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays, but there are still at least two pitchers likely to follow them out.

Where might Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas end up going?

In our last roundup Wednesday morning, the Twins and White Sox were known to be asking about them, and the Rays showed interest in Montas in particular. Also don’t count out the Mariners, who are making lots of moves and were known to be interested before the lockout back in November. Here’s the latest over the past couple days:

• Yankees: The “Yankees and A’s have been talking,” reported Robert Murray of FanSided Wednesday morning. They have specifically talked about those two pitchers, adds MLB insider Jon Heyman. New York has some Top 100 prospects, and the two sides were already connected previously regarding the Matts, so it’s not hard to imagine a trade match between them.
• Tigers: They are “among many teams trying to land either of” Manaea or Montas, reported Heyman on Wednesday evening. Detroit has been busy this offseason, adding some stars and veterans (Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Andrew Chafin, Tucker Barnhart) as they prepare to climb out of their latest rebuild. They have a solid farm system that includes top-end talent.
• Royals: They are “one of [the] teams trying to acquire” Montas, reported Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic Wednesday morning. Later that day Kansas City signed free agent starter Zack Greinke, but that didn’t change anything and “they remain in pursuit of” Montas, reported Alec Lewis of The Athletic on Thursday morning. These two clubs are frequent trade partners, with stars and prospects going in both directions many times over recent years, and the Royals have a good farm right now including plenty of Top 100 talent.

Whenever and wherever it does happen, what should we expect the A’s to get in return?

Montas has the much higher trade value, due partly to his lower 2022 salary and especially his extra year of team control in 2023. He should fetch quite a bit more than Bassitt and Chapman did, but not quite as much as Olson. That means multiple good prospects in a larger package.

Manaea will reach free agency next winter so he’s a one-year rental, and his salary is already projected to be up into eight figures this summer. He’s more likely to get a return resembling Bassitt’s, which was two good prospects with one of them just outside Top 100 territory.

Stay tuned, Athletics Nation. The answers to these questions should be coming soon, unfortunately.