"Why going for Yankees scraps?"; "You deserve better than this" - Fans react to Athletics reportedly signing 3B Gio Urshela
The Oakland Athletics (who are moving out of Oakland) have added another free agent in Gio Urshela. After handing out the biggest guaranteed contract in franchise history, they did not stop there.
Urshela is a veteran infielder who has bounced around between teams lately, but it represents that the Athletics are willing to at least try and add to their roster even after signing Luis Severino for $67 million.
Urshela most recently played for the Atlanta Braves, and he was a midseason acquisition for them as part of their playoff push. Now, he's likely to get a lot of playing time on a team that won 69 games last season.
MLB fans had their say on the move, but most aren't very inspired by what the A's have done this time.
"What, did a real team not want to sign him?" one asked.
"Did them moving to a new stadium make them realize they not poor anymore? ... Anyway still a 60 win team," another said.
"All it took was to get out of Oakland to start making moves," one chimed in.
"The problem is in December it looks all well and good but there's nothing from stopping me from thinking he would be traded for nothing come the trade deadline," one complained.
Urshela has played for a lot of teams, but his most notable tenure was with the New York Yankees. The third baseman is now under contract with his former teammate, Severino, for one year with the A's.
Athletics declined to trade Mason Miller
The Athletics are clearly interested in adding talent to their roster this offseason. They aggressively signed Luis Severino and have now added Gio Urshela. That apparently includes keeping the talent they have.
Mason Miller was the centerpiece of a considered trade between the A's and Philadelphia Phillies. The A's would've gotten star third baseman and 2024 All-Star Alec Bohm in return, but they felt that Miller could be a cornerstone and didn't want to trade him, per NBC Sports Bay Area.
Miller had a breakout season with 28 saves and a 2.49 ERA. He also recorded 104 strikeouts and 21 walks in just 65 innings.