No-one is entirely sure when we will see professional baseball this season, but the MLB has made it clear that they expect operations to begin at some point in the near future. Whether we get a full regular season or a truncated one remains to be seen, so all we can do now is look at what teams have done in the offseason and decide if they are going to be a factor when play does eventually begin. While some teams were busy in the free agent market, others were willing to basically stand pat, which is where the Oakland A’s are at this time. Let’s take a closer look at the A’s, a team that needs to be considered a legitimate threat in the American League this coming season. Let’s check the MLB Odds and World Series Odds for the Oakland A’s 2020 Season.
Oakland A’s Analysis Before 2020 Season Start
Oakland A’s 2019 Season Performance
The Oakland A’s are a small market team that has achieved a lot with limited resources, as portrayed in the movie “Moneyball.” Part of their ability to perform at a higher level has been the money they have received from revenue sharing, but the downside to their success is that they will get none of that money for at least the next 2 seasons. That may explain why the A’s have been essentially silent in the free agent market this past offseason.
The A’s will come into the new season looking for their third straight trip to the postseason, and while they have faltered once the playoffs arrive, you get the sense that this is a team ready to seriously break out. They had 97 wins last season, hammering home 845 runs throughout the course of the year. Oakland has a young starting rotation that throws hard, limiting teams to a total of 680 runs last season.
The one thing that Oakland needs to avoid is getting off to a slow start, which has become their M.O. for the past couple of years. The Astros are going to be strong again and playing catch-up is never ideal.
Oakland A’s Offseason Moves
As we have already mentioned, the A’s did very little in the way of major moves in the offseason. Money is certainly an issue, but when you have a relatively young team that seems to be improving, why tinker too much with what you already have? They did make some trades at the tail end of 2019, but rather than making a big splash, the players that they brought in are essentially bench guys who will be there to provide some depth should the A’s run into any type of injury trouble. If this group can stay healthy and the young pitchers can continue to deliver the good, look out.
How the Bookies See the Oakland A’s
The Oakland A’s come into this season having delivered back to back 97-2in season, but they are likely going to need to cross the 100-win mark to have a shot at winning the AL West. The bookies have the Astros in as the favorite to win the West, with Oakland in at +400. As far as the World Series goes, the A’s look like a pretty decent MLB dark horse pick at odds of +2000.
