Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In July

A few key storylines to keep an eye on

The A’s ended the month of June going 12-16, which is a massive step up from the disastrous record they posted in May that sunk their postseason chances. The past two months have squashed any hopes of the playoffs for the 2025 A’s, which started out hot before faltering. The bullpen still hasn’t figured itself out, but the team is almost fully healthy on the position player side of things, and Jacob Wilson continues to emerge as a superstar at one of the most difficult positions on the field and has an excellent chance to start the All-Star Game.

Even with October baseball now out of the question, there are still storylines to follow over the final three months of the season. And at a critical juncture in the rebuild, the next few months will be important in shaping the future of this club’s on-field chances. Here are a few of the biggest things to watch over the course of July:

1. Who gets traded?

This is the most obvious question for the team to ponder over the next four weeks. At 34-52 the A’s are clearly and fully out of the race for the playoffs and will be acting as one of the few true sellers at the deadline. In the American League alone there are six teams within 4.5 games of the final Wild Card spot, so it should be a quality seller’s market that the A’s can hopefully take advantage of to extract maximum value from other organizations.

There aren’t many glaringly obvious trade candidates on the roster though. The team’s best players are for the most part still pre-arbitration or signed to a long-term deal already. The most obvious candidate to get moved is second baseman Luis Urias. With the imminent return of Zack Gelof, Urias will likely be seeing less at-bats and become the top option on Mark Kotsay’s bench, but he’s hitting more like an everyday player.

Since becoming the regular starter at the keystone the 28-year-old has more than held his own, slashing .240/.321/.379 with seven home runs and a pair of stolen bases. He’s also been able to avoid the strikeout, going down on strikes just 34 times compared to 24 walks. He’s also right in the prime of his career so he offers a bit more upside for acquiring teams.

Once considered a top prospect in the game, Urias has shown flashes over the years. He’s currently signed for just this season for a cheap $1.1 million. That should hopefully drum up more interest in Urias for teams that are up against their payroll ceiling. With the A’s in rebuilding mode and Gelof returning, moving Urias at or near the trade deadline to a contender seems like a no-brainer for all parties involved.

After Urias there aren’t many other obvious trade options on the position player side of things. Miguel Andujar was on his way to being a prime trade candidate but is currently shelved due to a strained right oblique. He could still be on the move, but likely at a far less expensive acquisition cost now that he’s injured and unlikely to return before the deadline. Veterans Gio Urshela and Austin Wynns could be other options for playoff-contending squads but won’t bring back much in the way of impact prospects.

Then there are the pitching options to consider. Starting pitcher Luis Severino, who only just signed a massive three-year contract this offseason, is not pleased playing in Sacramento at a minor league ballpark and his home/road splits bare that out. It seems unlikely that the team would dish out that massive contract only to get rid of it three months into the deal, and the MLBPA would likely not be happy to see the A’s shed payroll yet again. He might not be an Athletic for long but trading him during this deadline seems unlikely, especially if they’re not absorbing another bad contract in return.

Other trade options from the pitching staff could include lefty Jeffrey Springs, but he’s tied to a contract that’s paying him $10.5 million this year and next, plus a $15 million team option for 2027. Fellow lefty Sean Newcomb could be left-handed bullpen help for a contender as he’s posted a solid 2.60 ERA in eight relief appearances for the A’s. And the team could finally consider trading closer Mason Miller, but it’d be selling low on an electric arm that was the organization’s top pitching prospect just two seasons ago. The team might not have as many trade candidates as they’ve had in years past but they still have players they could move if they want to.

2. How does Zack Gelof look when he returns?

Slated to be the undisputed starter at second base before an errant pitch cost him the first month-plus of the season, Zack Gelof is steadily inching his way closer to his return to the squad.

The first couple years of his career have been a roller coaster to say the least. The former 2nd-round pick busted onto the scene in 2023 after his post-All Star break callup along with teammate Tyler Soderstrom. While Sodey’s stay was temporary, Gelof’s was permanent as he slashed an incredible .267/.337/.504 with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases in just 69 games. That’d have made him a 30/30 player had he played a full season and by the end of the year he was the team’s best hitter and an exciting building block to look forward to in 2024.

Maybe the expectations were too high but Gelof was a major let down last year. In his first full season as a major leaguer Gelof saw regression in almost every category. The power and speed were still there but not nearly at the same rate as his rookie campaign. He never really snapped out of his season-long slump and by the end of the year Gelof was the league leader with 188 strikeouts.

This year was supposed to give the team a definitive answer of who Gelof would be as a big leaguer. Would be return to his rookie form and dominate in the batter’s box, or would the former top prospect look more like the overpowered hitter that struggled all season in 2024? That question has been put on hold since he broke his hamate bone in his hand with just a week to go until the season opener, and it’s been delayed even further with his rib injury he suffered while rehabbing.

Prior to that Gelof was enjoying a solid spring training and looking comfortable in the batter’s box. He went 11-for-37 with a pair of home runs, giving reason to believe he’d fixed the mechanical issues over the offseason. Now he’s on his second rehab, and the club has a plan for his return already set up, per Mark Kotsay:

So far he’s looked about as well as you’d hope. He’s hitting .286/.474/.500 with a home run in nine games, and perhaps more impressively he’s drawn 10 walks compared to just six strikeouts. Getting him back to his 2023 form would be a massive boost for the team. It’d not only help them this season, but it’d also cross off one position of need as the team tries to build back a postseason contender.

3. Who is the next prospect to get the call?

Already this season the A’s have graduated several top prospects to the major leagues. Nick Kurtz, Denzel Clarke, Logan Davidson, Gunnar Hoglund, Jack Perkins and now Colby Thomas are all prized young players that the team has promoted to their major league roster just in the first three months of this campaign. That’s thinned out the farm system a bit but there are still other intriguing players that could be making the jump to The Show in the near future.

Among the pitching options, right-hander Mason Barnett, who ranks among the top-5 prospects in the system, could be an option for the starting rotation if some players get moved at the deadline. Acquired just last year at the deadline in the deal that sent reliever Lucas Erceg to the Royals, Barnett hasn’t had a great year for the Aviators posting a 5.79 ERA but the A’s could still see what he can do against major league competition. Fellow righty Luis Morales similarly is a top prospect who is having a rough go in his first taste of Triple-A but possesses raw stuff that could play up well in the majors. Kade Morris, yet another righty starter, was acquired last year from the Mets in exchange for Paul Blackburn, and so far through five starts for the Aviators he’s sporting a solid 4.08 ERA over 28 ²⁄₃ frames. Any or all of those pitchers could be donning the Green & Gold within the next few weeks or before the season is over.

There aren’t as many prized prospects among position players after the team graduated most of them already. Still, someone like catcher Daniel Susac could be an option to learn behind Langeliers for a few weeks at the end of the year. A former 1st-round pick, Susac has been having a solid season in Triple-A for the Aviators slashing .303/.388/.520 with 10 home runs as the primary backstop. Or perhaps former 6th-rounder Brennan Milone forces the A’s to call him up with a big showing in Las Vegas. If the A’s are feeling extra aggressive, someone like outfielder Henry Bolte could be an option, though he’s still currently at Double-A.

Add in the fact that the team may also acquire a notable prospect at the trade deadline, and there are still plenty of names to look forward to seeing make it to the big leagues. If this season is a lost cause, then it’s time to look towards the future and figure out which young players will help the team make it to the playoffs again. Three months of baseball to go.