The Athletics are drawing trade interest in reliever Sean Doolittle, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal suggests the A’s should hang onto their core, something the organization hasn’t made a habit of doing.
Doolittle, 29, is in the third year of a five-year, $10.5 million extension signed in April 2014. He’s earning $1.55 million this year, $2.6 million next season, and $4.35 million in 2018. He can be bought out in either 2019 or ’20 for $500,000 or his club options can be picked up for $6 million and $6.5 million, respectively. That’s affordable even for the frugal A’s, but Doolittle’s relative cheapness is part of the reason why they’re getting phone calls. Doolittle’s trade value figures to increase even more if the Yankees decide to hang onto Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman.
Ryan Madson has seen the lion’s share of save opportunities while Doolittle has mostly handled the seventh and eighth innings. The lefty has a 2.93 ERA with a 35/8 K/BB ratio in 30 2/3 innings. As Rosenthal notes, Doolittle is averaging 94.8 MPH on his fastball, a career-high.