{"id":1845,"date":"2016-11-12T21:13:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-13T02:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=1845"},"modified":"2016-11-12T21:13:52","modified_gmt":"2016-11-13T02:13:52","slug":"oakland-2016-season-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2016\/11\/12\/oakland-2016-season-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland A\u2019s 2016 Season Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Oakland A\u2019s <\/strong>finished 2016 with a disappointing record of 69-93. Oakland has now posted back-to-back seasons of fewer than 70 wins after three consecutive trips to the postseason. The A\u2019s won consecutive AL West <\/strong>division titles in 2012 and 2013 and competed in the Wild Card Game <\/strong>in 2014. Oakland averaged 93 wins over those three seasons, but were unable to sustain that success. This season was a disappointment and left the roster in need of an overhaul moving forward.<\/p>\n

Oakland A\u2019s 2016 Season Recap<\/strong><\/h2>\n

MVP: Khris Davis<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Outfielder Khris Davis had a phenomenal first season in Oakland. The 28-year old set career-highs and led the team in many offensive categories. Davis led the A\u2019s in hits (137), home runs (42), runs (85), RBI (102), and OPS (.831). He rounded out his campaign with 24 doubles, four triples, 42 walks, and a triple-slash line of .247\/.307\/.524, while appearing in 150 games.<\/p>\n

Davis established himself as a top-performer for Oakland this season. More importantly, he is under team control for three more seasons. Davis will be arbitration eligible this offseason, but Oakland will certainly try to hang on to him. The front office will likely let the next three seasons play out through arbitration without a contract extension. This will benefit the team\u2019s payroll, but Davis will likely earn a big payday.<\/p>\n

Biggest Disappointment: Sonny Gray<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Staff ace Sonny Gray had easily his worst season to date. The right-hander was coming off his first All-Star <\/strong>season and a third place finish in Cy Young<\/a><\/strong> voting. Expectations were high after consecutive 14-win seasons of 200+ innings pitched.<\/p>\n

Gray struggled all the way in 2016. He finished with a record of 5-11 alongside an ERA of 5.69. Gray was unable to post a complete game this season after recording a total of five over the past two seasons. The potential is still there, but it is certainly no secret that the A\u2019s need a strong rebound for their ace in 2017.<\/p>\n

The struggles may not be entirely Gray\u2019s fault. He made two separate trips to the disabled list<\/a> in 2016. There is little doubt that these injuries affected Gray\u2019s effectiveness. His strikeouts per nine innings and walks per nine innings were right on par with Gray\u2019s career numbers. The main difference in his pitching was a high rate of hits and home runs. A complete season at full health should see Gray\u2019s effectiveness return and his ERA improve.<\/p>\n

Best Surprise: Rich Hill<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Southpaw Rich Hill posted a resurgent season for the A\u2019s. Hill had not started more than 13 games in a season since 2009 as a member of the Baltimore Orioles<\/strong>. The 36-year-old made 14 start for Oakland this season and was fantastic from the start. He led the team with a 2.25 ERA, 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.54 FIP, and a tiny 0.2 home runs per nine innings. Hill was a shot-in-the-arm for a young and growing rotation.<\/p>\n

The best part is that Hill was able to have an impact on the A\u2019s beyond this season. The struggling A\u2019s decided to trade the lefty prior to the trade deadline. The Los Angeles Dodgers <\/strong>acquired Hill and Josh Reddick<\/a><\/strong> in a trade for three pitchers<\/a>. Both Hill and Reddick became free agents at the end of this season, making the trade a slam dunk for Oakland.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n