The Athletics were not expected to contend for the American League West title in 2008. Despite this, the team remained near first place well into July. The Athletics fortunes peaked on July 11, when a 9-2 rout of the
Angels allowed them to pull within four games of first place. The team then lost 44 of its 68 remaining games. The slide saw the Athletics finish 24.5 games behind the Angels, who clinched the division for a second consecutive year.
The Athletics struggled at the plate for most of the season. Particularly troubling was the team's lack of power hitting; apart from
Jack Cust, who hit 33 home runs, no Athletic hit more than 13. Oakland ultimately finished 11th (out of 14 American League teams) in this category. All told, the Athletics scored fewer runs (646) than any other American League team in 2008.
Off-season
Potential free agents
OutfielderJeff DaVanon,
catcherMike Piazza and outfielder
Shannon Stewart all filed for free agency after the 2007 season. DaVanon was signed to a minor league contract by the Athletics on August 10, 2007, after being let go by the
Arizona Diamondbacks less than a week later. His contract was purchased on August 17, following an injury to
Mark Kotsay, who was plagued with injuries in 2007. He posted a .238
batting average and no home runs in 26 games for the Athletics. Piazza was signed in the previous offseason to a one-year contract which began Piazza's career as a
designated hitter. In early May, Piazza was placed on the
disabled list after suffering an injury while sliding into third base against the
Boston Red Sox. Piazza was activated from the disabled list on July 20 but saw limited action after that as
Jack Cust, who the Athletics brought in as a replacement, put on a big show once he joined the team. Piazza played in a total of 83 games in 2007 and batted .275 with 8 home runs. Stewart was also signed in the previous offseason to a one-year contract after missing most of the 2006 season. Stewart played in 146 games in 2007 and led the team in batting average (.290).
October 6: The Athletics announced that they would not renew the contracts of bullpen coach
Brad Fischer, third base coach
Rene Lachemann, and bench coach
Bob Schaefer for the 2008 season.[2]
October 16:
Ron Romanick was added to the Athletics coaching staff and will serve as the bullpen coach for the 2008 season.[6]
October 23:
Don Wakamatsu was added to the Athletics coaching staff and will serve as the bench coach for the 2008 season.[7]
October 25: Outfielder
Chris Snelling was claimed off waivers by the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays.[8] Acquired on May 2, 2007, from the
Washington Nationals for
Ryan Langerhans, Snelling played in just 6 games before being placed on the disabled list on May 16 and never played in another game for the Athletics. That same day
Connor Robertson was outrighted to the minor leagues. Robertson appeared in 3 games in 2007 and posted an 18.00 ERA.
Tony DeFrancesco was also added to the Athletics coaching staff and will serve as the third base coach for 2008.[9]
November
November 2: Pitcher
Colby Lewis was claimed off waivers by the
Kansas City Royals.[10] Lewis mainly worked out of the bullpen for the Athletics in 2007, posting a 6.45 ERA and an 0–2 record in 26 games.
December 6: Pitcher
Fernando Hernández was selected from the
Chicago White Sox in the
Rule 5 draft.[12]Jay Marshall was reclaimed by the Athletics off waivers from the
Boston Red Sox. To make room for Marshall,
José García was designated for assignment. Marshall was later outrighted to the minor leagues on December 11 and
José García was not offered a new contract and became a free agent on December 12.
December 14: In a move that signaled the start of rebuilding for the Athletics, 2007
All-Star Game starter
Dan Haren along with minor league pitcher Connor Robertson were traded to the
Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher
Brett Andreson, first baseman
Chris Carter, outfielder
Aaron Cunningham, pitcher
Dana Eveland, outfielder
Carlos González and pitcher
Greg Smith.[14] Haren, the Athletics ace in 2007, made 34 starts and posted career highs in
wins (15), ERA (3.07), and
strikeouts (192). Of the players acquired from the Diamondbacks, Eveland was the only one with major league experience, having made his debut for the
Milwaukee Brewers in 2005. Eveland appeared in 5 games for the Diamondbacks in 2007, making one start, winning one game and posted a 14.40 ERA.
January
January 3: In another move as part of the Athletics rebuilding mode,
outfielder/
first basemanNick Swisher was traded to the
Chicago White Sox for pitcher
Fautino de los Santos, pitcher
Gio González and outfielder
Ryan Sweeney.[15] In 2007, Swisher posted a career high .262 batting average but had only 22 home runs, a big drop from 35 in 2006. Of the players acquired from the White Sox, Sweeney was the only one with major league experience, having made his debut for them in 2006. In 15 major league games for the White Sox in 2007, Sweeney batted .200 with a home run.
January 11: Outfielder
Emil Brown was signed by the Athletics to a one-year contract. Brown, 33, started half the games for the Kansas City Royals in the outfield in 2007. He batted .257 with 6 home runs. According to Athletics assistant
general managerDavid Forst, Brown's success against left-handed pitching was what appealed the Athletics into signing the right-handed veteran.[16] To make room for Brown on the 40-man roster, fellow outfielder
Danny Putnam was
designated for assignment. Putnam made his debut in 2007 for the Athletics and batted .214 with a home run in 11 games.
January 14: In another move as part of the Athletics rebuilding mode,
center fielderMark Kotsay was traded to the
Atlanta Braves for pitcher
Joey Devine and minor league pitcher
Jamie Richmond.[17] Kotsay was limited to just 56 games in 2007 due to back problems that bothered him in the past. He hit just .214 with a home run in those 56 games. Devine spent most of the 2007 season in the minor leagues, splitting time in Double-A and Triple-A. In 10 major league games, all out of the bullpen, Devine went 1–0 with a 1.08 ERA.
January 25: Outfielder
Jeff Fiorentino was claimed off waivers from the
Cincinnati Reds. To make room for Fiorentino on the 40-man roster, pitcher
Ruddy Lugo was designated for assignment.[18] Fiorentino spent the entire 2007 season in the
Baltimore Orioles organization, playing at the Double-A level for the
Bowie Baysox. He hit .282 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs for the Baysox. Lugo was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays earlier in the 2007 season and made a combined 38 relief appearances for the Devil Rays and the Athletics. He went 6–0 with a 5.40 ERA.
February
February 8: Pitcher
Keith Foulke came out of retirement and signed a one-year contract with the Athletics. He had previously pitched for the Athletics in 2003, as their
closer. To make room for Foulke on the 40-man roster, Bankston was designated for assignment and was later outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento on February 13.[19]
March
March 25: First baseman and designated hitter
Mike Sweeney had his contract purchased right before the Athletics first game. He had signed a minor league contract on February 11, 2008. He had previously spent his entire career with the
Kansas City Royals and his last few years with them were plagued with injuries. Sweeney had done well in spring training to earn a spot on the Athletics 25-man roster.
Joe Blanton got the nod to start the first game. The game went into extra innings and the Athletics lost 6–5 in 10. Emil Brown made a costly baserunning error in the 10th, which possibly cost the Athletics the game.[21] Rich Harden started the second game of the two-game series and led the Athletics to a 5–1 win over the Red Sox after pitching six strong innings while giving up one run on three hits and also struck out nine.[22]
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts