Elephant Rumblings: Who else will be missing from the 2023 A’s?

It’s Thursday, Athletics Nation!

With a series of veterans being released from the team this week, the Athletics of tomorrow are getting their start today. Nick Allen will now be getting regular playing time at shortstop, a position where he has played a majority of his games in the minors. Shea Langeliers is now up and is breathing down the neck of Sean Murphy for the primary catcher spot. There’s been big change, and there’ll be more to come before the 2023 campaign begins.

First, Chad Pinder and Stephen Vogt are both free agents after this season (assuming the DFA hammer doesn’t swing Vogt’s way in the next while). That basically removes a utility player and a bench bat from the roster, neither unsurmountable. Other than those two the rest of the Athletics roster is either hitting arbitration years, or for the majority of players still making league minimum.

Of the players in arbitration Sean Murphy will likely get the biggest pay increase, though it may not be paid by the A’s if rumours hold true. With Langeliers now active on the roster, Murphy is very likely to be flipped to a new team during the offseason. Tony Kemp is the only Athletic reaching his final year of arbitration in 2023, but his payday will likely stay within the A’s pocketbook’s comfort zone. While Ramón Laureano hits his second arb year, missing close to half the season on a suspension also doesn’t bode well for a massive raise.

Otherwise, the rest of the current roster stands to return next year. Especially if anyone else is included in a trade, there will be a few gaps to fill for the A’s, but largely the September roster will roll over into April. We’ll have to wait and see what other moves the A’s front office makes after the World Series, as this year they weren’t exactly jumping at chances to sign any free agents. But, with only $1M committed to non-minimum/non-arbitration contracts in 2023 (that million is Piscotty’s buy-out for a club option), there’s some potential to make some signings and shake up the rotation or the bullpen for a year or two.

Roster Moves, Transactions, and Injuries

• Elvis Andrus released, Sheldon Neuse called up
• Honeywell has one more start in Stockton before moving to the Aviators

A’s Coverage

• Ashford: Game #118: Murphy powers A’s to 7-2 win over Rangers
• Schmidt: A’s Roster Moves: Elvis Andrus released, Neuse back up
• Adams: Athletics Release Elvis Andrus
• Kawahara: A’s release veteran shortstop Elvis Andrus ($)
• Becker: A’s release veteran shortstop Andrus with playing-time contract incentive looming
• Razo: A’s trainer explains Blackburn’s season-ending finger injury
• Reichard: The tradition returns: Jesse Goldberg-Strassler’s game re-creation
• Hecken: Greatest Hits of the MLB Pullover Era: Part II
• Ostler: A’s getting younger, leaner and cheaper on a fast track to somewhere
• Brazil: A’s Release Elvis Andrus & Stephen Piscotty (video)

MLB News & Interest

• Adams: Rangers Fire President Of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels
• Doolittle: When does a rebuild fail? Inside the Detroit Tigers’ disaster — and what it means for your team
• Clemens: The Dodgers and Astros Face Injury Woes
• Szymborski: Will a Compressed Playoff Schedule Have a Measurable Effect on the Outcome?
• Polishuk: Joey Votto To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery On Rotator Cuff
• Today in Baseball History

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