Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland Athletics‘ bullpen has been struggling this season. They currently are the second worst in the MLB with a 5.23 ERA and a 2-9 losing record. They have allowed 57 earned runs and walked 43 batters in 98 innings pitched. Everyone seems to think that the return of Sean Doolittle will help the bullpen because it will establish some stability when it comes to the various bullpen roles. However, Doolittle will not be able to help this struggle bullpen because their issues lie in inexperience and bad performances.
The inexperienced pitchers who have been bringing the bullpen down are Chris Bassitt who was recently demoted to Triple-A, Chad Smith who was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for cash, and R.J. Alvarez who was also optioned for Triple-A last week to make room for veteran minor league reliever Angel Castro. Because of their inexperience and ill-preparedness for the major leagues, these pitchers were not able to perform for Oakland. Hopefully with them all gone now, the bullpen can start improving.
However, there are also some more veteran pitchers that seem to be struggling this year even though they were rock solid last season. One of these relievers is lefty specialist Fernando Abad. Abad has allowed six earned runs which included two homers and has walked four in 9.1 innings pitched. Last year when there was instability in the bullpen due to the demotion of Jim Johnson, Abad maintained a perfect 0.00 ERA in April and then only allowed six runs in the month of May. Clearly, Abad can deal with varying bullpen roles and this season he is just in a funk.
The second pitcher who is not performing well is Dan Otero. Otero has been extremely inconsistent this season. One night he pitches lights out while the next night he struggles. In the 13.1 innings he has pitched his season, Otero has allowed seven runs and 15 hits which has earned him a 4.73 ERA. Last year, Otero was extremely consistent even throughout the closer drama that took place early last season.
Doolittle’s return will definitely help secure specific bullpen roles for each player. Unfortunately for the A’s, it will not change bullpen’s performance because the issues they are experiencing are not a result of role instability. The bullpen is just pitching poorly.
The Athletics are beginning to realize this since they are now trying alternative options such as bringing up Castro and acquiring Edward Mujica. Hopefully Oakland can find the right combination of relievers soon, so that the bullpen can stop blowing leads. If this issue is not fixed by July, the A’s will certainly be very active leading up to the trade deadline.
