When the Oakland Athletics hired a new owner and General Manager, they knew changes were in store, but no one was ready for what followed.

A rash of eight trades saw seven players, six prospects and three draft picks leave town and 14 new players, 10 prospects and seven draft picks come over to the Oakland system.

The A’s, a back-to-back 100 loss team, now sit with the best farm system in the entire league, with many options and a much brighter future.

“We knew we needed to make changes and that’s exactly what we set out to do,” General Manager Cameron Parkinson said.

The main goal under the new regime was to retool the pitching staff, something that was the main focus of almost every trade.

“The staff that the Athletics sent out on the hill last season was flat out embarrassing,” he said. “I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do anything to improve that.”

Included in the trades was acquiring the rights to the top two draft picks and along with the A’s own draft pick they were able to select the top three starting pitchers in the draft. Number one overall pick Maurice Puls going straight to Triple-A, number two pick Larry Puckett going to Double-A and Oakland’s number three pick David Chan also going to Double-A.

Not only did the farm system get an injection of pitching talent, but the big league squad did as well. With five new faces at the big league level, giving the A’s fans a lot more to be excited about. The veteran Travis Labat (33) more than likely has his better years behind him but his consistency and veteran presence has already been felt in the dugout.

“He’s been great with the younger players, but there also may come a time where he wants his own shot at a chance for the playoffs and these kids we’ve got in there now will need to be able to go at it on their own,” he said. “And I know they can, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought them here.”

Then to the new kids led by the hopeful new ace, 26-year old Antonio Guerrero who is joined by 28-year old Drew Jusino, 26-year old Joey Duran and the 25-year old up and coming lefty Camilo Mercurio.

The offense is what took the biggest blow in the offseason as the A’s moved out their big time slugger William McGeehan over to Houston who then shipped him over the Milwaukee.

“You can never replace a force like that in the middle of a lineup, but we are just going to have to do what’s best for our club and getting pitching was the number one priority,” he said.

The main reason moving McGeehan was possible is the presence of 24-year old slugger Julian Pardo who quickly is becoming one of the most feared players in the league. Pardo hit a silly .366 with 59 home runs with 146 RBI in just 134 games in Triple-A, in just his first season in professional baseball after being signed 6th overall in 2023.

“Pardo’s a special kid and one that we plan on having around here for a very long time,” Parkinson said.

The big offseason signing on slugger Justin Upton sent shock waves through the league as he signed for an unprecedented $163,200,004 deal over four seasons. Rumors are already flying of the possibility of his trade closer to the deadline, but that remains to be seen.

“He’s a one of a kind talent, there’s no doubt about that,” Parkinson said.

Even with all the change, another losing season was expected from most of the talking heads in sports media but the A’s have charged out of the gates to an 11-8 start, good enough to tie with the Angels for first in the American League West.

Pay-down Rule

This rule will only be used this season.

Only players acquired via trade during the 2024 season. including any traded for prior to the start of the regular season games are eligible to be paid down with this temporary rule.  All teams are eligible to use the rule except for FLORIDA. You can use the rule on as many players as you want as long as your team has the cash to apply a pay down.  The lowest a players salary can be if using the rule is 1 million per season.

Look at the 2024 Ammy Draft

by Daryl Donley

August 19, 2008

Here is profiles on the top 15 players drafted in the 2024 Draft.

The top three players ended up going to the Oakland A's organization. This certainly added some good young hard throwing arms to their system. Also the Cubs, Pirates and Blue Jays had multiple picks.

Houston pick: P Maurice Puls. Signing Bonus: $1,493,500
- M. Puls is a 21 year old starting pitcher that is no questionable on of the top 2 or 3 players in the draft. He as dominate all year in College. To top it off he is Left Handed and throws 95-99. He needs to work on his endurance. He was picked by the Astros and then traded to Oakland. He will start his professional career in AAA.


Seattle pick: P Larry Puckett. Signing Bonus: $2,277,000
- Larry Puckett was another starting pitcher taken at the top of the draft. He was arguably the top High School player in the country. That also accounts for his 2.277 Million signing bonus which was near the top in the draft.At 18 years old he will start his career in AA. He throws 95-99. He needs to wok on refining his slider to make the next step.


Oakland pick: P David Chan. Signing Bonus: $780,000
- David Chan was selected by the Oakland A's. He was added into their system along with the top two picks. These are three very solid pitchers to add to the organization. Chan is a 23 year old starting pitcher who was a senior coming out of college. That is why he singed for only 780 K. He is another hard thrower that is starting his career in AA.


Atlanta pick: LF Nick Casson. Signing Bonus: $1,697,500
- Finally another team other than Oakland got a player. Nick Casson was the first bat selected in the draft. Casson is listed as a LF but he certainly has the arm to play RF. I would expect the Braves to move him to RF. He also may be athletic enough to play CF. He is without argument the best high school bat. Some teams had him above Puckett. He turned down his commitment to Texas to sign with the Braves.


Cincinnati pick: 3B Moises Pedigo. Signing Bonus: $2,448,000
- Moises Pedigo is the top College bat in the draft. He slipped to the Reds and they were very happy to take him. He needs some work on his defense at third. Some scouts think he may need to switch to 1B. If he works on making consistent contact he will be a star in the Majors. He is struggling initially in his debut in AA.

Kansas City pick: 2B Dallas Caudill. Signing Bonus: $2,134,000
- Dallas Caudill plays 2B. He projects as a second basemen since he doesn't have the power. He should be a great On Base type of player. He also was committed to college before signing with the Royals. He also will need to adjust to wood bats from high school and make better contact to keep his strikeouts down.

Philadelphia pick: 1B James Barcomb. Signing Bonus: $2,300,000
- The Phillies with the 7th pick to James Barcomb. He was certainly one of the top hitters in the draft. He is 21 years old and has hit great in college. The main drawback is that he doesn't have the power to play first base and probably isn't a good enough athlete to play anywhere else. He has a long way to develop and should start in A ball. He is certainly a boom or bust type player.`

Tampa Bay pick: SS Monty Flory. Signing Bonus: $988,000
- Monty Flory is another high school player that is one of the top athletes in the draft. He has a scholarship to play defensive back in college. He really needs to look into his plate discipline. He also has enough power to switch to third base.

San Diego pick: P Daniel Bieber. Signing Bonus: $894,400
- Dan Bieber is a young left handed pitcher that appears to be a little bit of a reach by the Padres. He has the talent to develop into a good major league starting pitcher but is not in the class of the earlier pitchers taken. He Will start his career in AAA.

Colorado pick: 3B Garry Branham. Signing Bonus: $1,161,500
- Garry is another College player taken in the top 10 of the draft. The Rockies players both first and third. He has nice all around ability to play both first and third. His defense at third is not up to major league standards so he may need to permanently switch to 1B.

Baltimore pick: 1B Mark Pogue. Signing Bonus: $1,140,000
- The Orioles took on of the youngest players in the draft at only 17 years old. Mark is a young first basemen that has some good hitting ability. He has developing power. Some scouts question his ability to make contact as he moves up levels. He also was signed for a 1.14 Million signing bonus.

New York (A) pick: LF Claude Yanez. Signing Bonus: $422,400
- The Yankees drafted LF C Yanez. He is a contact hitting machine in this draft. He is right handed and has the arm and athleticism to learn the other OF positions. He as one of the cheapest singings in the first round and singed for 442K.

Arizona pick: CF Lucas Dungan. Signing Bonus: $1,078,000
- Lucas is the first true center fielder to be drafted. He is a good all around athlete. He has above average speed that could develop into 30 steals a year in the majors. He was signed late and almost went back to college for his senior year.

Anaheim pick: 1B Daniel Wireman. Signing Bonus: $825,600
- Dan Wireman was drafted at #14 by the Anaheim Angels. He is another project able first basemen that is only 17 years old. He should develop his power and extra base ability as he gets older.

Minnesota pick: 2B Frank Sunday. Signing Bonus: $855,000
- Frank Sunday is another college infielder selected by the Twins. He has good ability and could develop into a gold glove second basemen. He is a switch hitter but has struggles a tad against LHP.

Here is a list for the rest of the fist round:
Detroit pick: 2B Miguel Villalba. Signing Bonus: $1,056,000
Boston pick: 2B Thomas Justiz. Signing Bonus: $997,500
Seattle pick: 3B Reginald Teter. Signing Bonus: $950,000
Toronto pick: 3B Alex Sanchez. Signing Bonus: $646,800
Los Angeles pick: C Jose Ceniceros. Signing Bonus: $795,600
Chicago (N) pick: CF Edward Liner. Signing Bonus: $239,200
Milwaukee pick: 1B Kelly Phifer. Signing Bonus: $653,400
Chicago (N) pick: P Santiago Garza. Signing Bonus: $156,750
Pittsburgh pick: RF Pedro Alcantara. Signing Bonus: $418,200
Texas pick: P Daniel Walburn. Signing Bonus: $714,000
Florida pick: 3B Alex Marguez. Signing Bonus: $518,400
St. Louis pick: SS Alvaro Rodon. Signing Bonus: $556,800
San Francisco pick: C Eladio Bravo. Signing Bonus: $361,000
Toronto pick: C Corey Cowley. Signing Bonus: $700,000
Pittsburgh pick: P Eric Yardley. Signing Bonus: $484,100