SB Nation • 10 min read

Elephant Rumblings: Bullpen improvement since Miller trade

Morning to you all!

For those of us that have stuck through the pain and suffering and continued watching this team through thick and thin, many of us will have noticed something that the first half sorely lacked: quality results from the bullpen.

The numbers don’t lie. Since losing flame throwing closer Mason Miller the Athletics’ relief unit has actually gotten better as a whole. That’s been an unexpected development, to say the least. No

one in their right mind would have expected the bullpen to actually improve after losing their best arm but that’s what’s been happening since the trade deadline. Baseball is funny, and relievers are hysterical.

The biggest improvements to the unit have been from the lefties. Veteran Sean Newcomb and third-year Hogan Harris have been the two best arms in the bullpen with ERA’s of 0.84 and 0.59, respectively. They’ve both gotten two saves each but have also been called upon earlier in games, pitching wherever they are needed, whether the fifth or the ninth innings. And they’ve combined with three other arms to collect the team’s five saves since the Miller trade, so it’s been a mix-and-match situation at the end of games, to be sure.

It hasn’t just been the two left-handers though. Right-hander Justin Sterner was the team’s best reliever in the early going before a midseason implosion that ultimately led to a demotion to the minors. He’s rediscovered himself in recent weeks though and has a 1.61 ERA since August 1st. Fellow righty Michael Kelly hasn’t been quite as sharp but leads the team in appearances since the trade deadline and also collected a save. Rookie Elvis Alvarado has chipped in with a decent 3.79 ERA at the backend of the ‘pen, and another rookie in Brady Basso, injured all year, has yet to allow a run in seven appearances lasting 7 1/3 frames.

The good thing is the club is expected to be able to bring back all those arms next season outside of Newcomb, who will reach free agency yet again but could also find his way back to the A’s. The club can’t rely on these final two months to judge the unit’s strength and sit back this winter though. It wasn’t too long ago these same arms were the ones blowing games left and right and sinking the A’s hopes in the early summer. The front office will need to reinforce this unit but now it seems like they should be able to get at least a couple productive arms out of this group heading into next season. We need pitching in the most desperate way.

It’s no secret that there aren’t any set roles in the bullpen right now, and that was even more obvious after A’s HOFer Rollie Fingers asked the bullpen who the A’s closer was and they answered, “We all are!” That’s about as good a mindset as these young relievers can have at this point in the year. It’s hard to imagine the team going with this sort of bullpen strategy again next year but for now what works works, right? Now let’s hope they finish the year on a high note.

Have a great Thursday A’s fans!