2023 Athletics Season in Review: Adam Oller

Adam Oller went into Spring Training with the Oakland Athletics hoping to land a spot in the team’s starting rotation. He did make the Opening Day roster as a multi-inning reliever, but struggled and was eventually waived and claimed by the Seattle Mariners.

How Acquired

The A’s acquired Oller along with J.T. Finn from the New York Mets in the trade that sent Chris Bassitt to New York.

What were the expectations

Oller made 19 appearances and 14 starts for the A’s in 2022 despite struggling with a 6.30 ERA and a 6.50 FIP. The hope was that he would compete for one of the final rotation spots or prove to be a solid multi-inning arm out of the bullpen.

2023 Results

Oller made the Opening Day roster, but struggled from the outset allowing 12 earned runs over his first 11 innings. He bounced back and forth between Oakland and Las Vegas for the rest of April and made his last appearance for the A’s on May 3 against Seattle where he allowed three hits and four earned runs in just two thirds of an inning. The A’s optioned him back to Las Vegas the next day and he would spend the remainder of his Oakland tenure there before he was claimed off waivers by the Mariners on July 12. There, he finished the season pitching for Tacoma and was outrighted off Seattle’s 40-man roster on October 31.

What went right? What went wrong?

About the only thing that went right for Oller in 2023 was that he made the Opening Day roster. His A’s tenure can’t be viewed as anything more than a disappointment after posting a 7.09 ERA and a 6.65 FIP in 28 games and 94 innings.

2024 Outlook

Oller just turned 29 and given the need for pitching around the majors, will likely get another opportunity elsewhere. His days as a starter may be over, but it won’t be shocking to see him turn up somewhere next spring.

UPDATE - Oller inked a minor league deal with the Cleveland Guardians Wednesday.