In the middle of one of the worst seasons in major league history, the Oakland Athletics are 28-75 entering Wednesday and have a run differential of -259 with 59 games left to play in 2023. With the lowest payroll in baseball and a farm system ranked toward the bottom of the MLB, it doesn’t look like things will get better for the Athletics in the near future.
Plus, with their future in Oakland up in the air, the Athletics are not giving fans much reason to come to support them as the season wears on.
Here are the Athletics trending up and down in 2023.
Stock up
JP Sears, pitcher: Acquired from the New York Yankees at the 2022 trade deadline, Sears has provided the A’s with quality pitching that they have been lacking.
The 27-year-old left-hander is in the middle of his first season as a full-time starter in the MLB, and he is proving that he belongs.
While he is only 1-7, Sears has posted a 4.19 ERA over 111.2 innings pitched and has improved on his ability to miss bats with a solid uptick in strikeouts. After posting a 6.56 K/9 in 2022, Sears is at 8.14 K/9 this season.