Two difficult decisions coming next offseason
With superstars Matt Chapman and Matt Olson heading for huge pay raises and possible extensions over the next few years, a lot of the attention among the fan base has been centered around their futures, but the more immediate problem is that 2021 free agents Mark Canha and Khris Davis are both likely to be allowed to test free agency next offseason. While no one wants to see the two fan favorites go, the good news is that it’s likely they are the two biggest contributors to hit the market next offseason, which compared to this current offseason is much more simple in terms of replacing on-field production.
The contract extension Khris Davis signed in April 2019 has turned out to be an absolute disaster for the A’s. The logic behind the extension was two-fold, as it locked in for an additional year what was at the time the A’s best offensive player while also signaling to a desperate fan base and the rest of the baseball world that Oakland would soon be shedding its label as a cheap team with no desire to spend, even on its own players. The baseball gods don't always reward solid reasoning, though.
Davis, who had placed 8th in MVP voting in 2018 after swatting 48 home runs, became a drag on both the field and payroll almost the moment he signed the deal. Even as the highest-paid player on the team, the production from Davis had fallen off so far that he essentially became unplayable, forcing the team to turn to other options at Designated Hitter. Davis eventually heated up enough to earn starts during the 2020 playoffs, even hitting a few home runs, but the final two games against the Astros that saw him go 0-9 with 6 strikeouts was more in line with who Davis has become since his extension.
Purely because the A’s are still paying him so much money, it’s almost assured that Davis will again be given a long leash at the start of 2021 to show if he can return to anywhere near his previous star-level form. After two straight subpar seasons and entering his age-33 season, though, the fact remains that the A’s haven’t gotten their money's worth. There isn’t any obvious in-house replacement waiting to take over, and all signs point to the National League not continuing with the DH in 2021 at least, so there is a chance that both Oakland and Davis could give a little ground to make a future extension work, but there is a very narrow path to that happening. If Davis performs like he did in 2018, he’d cost too much for a reunion, but if he continues as he has for the past two seasons, Oakland would likely look to improve by bringing in a new player.
Oakland fans have been treated to one of the better stories in baseball the past couple of years. Blocked from a promotion by the Miami Marlins, the San Jose-born Mark Canha came to Oakland as a Rule 5 pick in 2015 and more than held his own as a rookie and put himself in Oakland’s plans. Hip surgery unfortunately wiped out his sophomore campaign, and a right wrist cyst contributed to a poor showing in 2017. At that point, many Oakland fans would have been forgiven had Oakland decided they had another one-year wonder, Travis Buck-type player on their hands and cut bait. Even so, the team stuck with Canha and everything came together the next season for both him and the team, as the former Rule 5 pick became an instrumental piece on the team that broke through to the playoffs in 2018 and evolved into a central piece of the 2019 and 2020 playoff squads.
Never say never as far as a return goes, with the hometown advantage of the Bay Area possibly being a factor in Canha deciding his next steps in his career, but as a 33-year-old first-time free agent, this would be the time to take advantage of free agency and make as much money as possible, as he likely won’t have a better crack at a big free agency deal than after the 2021 season.
The Khris Davis extension was meant to signal a change in attitude by the team towards free agency, with a guy like Mark Canha the exact type of player Oakland fans could have reasonably hoped the team would try to bring back. With the pandemic wreaking havoc on the team’s financial outlook, though, and young outfielders on the cusp of the majors who will need to get their chance soon, A’s fans should expect the team to revert back to its penny-pinching ways for the foreseeable future, and enjoy every Mark Canha bat flip in 2021 that we can.