Alex Bregman, J.T. Realmuto, Mike Trout arrive in Hot Stove trades to add veteran experience to A's youth-laden lineup 

After two years of fans sitting through a difficult rebuilding program the Philadelphia Athletics have served notice with both their second half performance in the 2024 season and now with a series of Hot Stove deals that the rebuilding plan has come to an end.

The A's went 6-4 in the second half of this past season, with three of the four defeats coming after tough matchups that weren't decided until the final day. That improvement after a 2-9-1 first half was spurred largely by the development of the rookie outfield trio of left fielder Wyatt Langford, center fielder Jackson Chourio, and right fielder James Wood.

Now as the off-season has unfolded, GM Matt Veasey has decided that improvement has signaled that it's time to push back to contending status. "We saw this coming early in the summer," said Veasey. "That was a big reason for the trade to reacquire Trea Turner. We had a hole at shortstop, and the feeling across the organization was that he was the perfect player to provide a veteran presence in our young lineup."

The move to add Turner worked out so well that Veasey felt it was time to buy back in to a few veterans. On the first day of the Hot Stove period the GM dealt a pair of highly rated prospects, pitcher Cade Horton and outfielder Druw Jones, to New York. The return was third baseman Alex Bregman, who will turn 31 at the end of spring training.

A week later he sent a pair of future 2nd round Minors Draft picks to Las Vegas, reacquiring veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto and veteran lefty starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Realmuto was the club's starting catcher in 2021-22. One week after that, a second deal with Vegas saw pitcher Luis Garcia arrive in exchange for a Majors and Minors Draft pick.

Finally just yesterday the next move, perhaps the biggest of them all. Veasey dealt four future 1st round Minors Draft picks that were under club control through 2027, including the top overall pick in the 2025 Minors Draft, along with prospect infielder Termarr Johnson, to Eugene. The return package was led by outfielder Mike Trout and also included flamethrowing reliever Mason Miller, power first base prospect Xavier Isaac, and a 2nd round 2027 Minors pick.

The reacquisition of the now 33-year-old Trout brings the rebuilding program around full circle. It was the trade of Trout to Alabama as part of a huge deal on July 15, 2022 that became the first chip to fall in what became an avalanche of trades during the ensuing off-season. Those deals broke up a perennial but again contending core in favor of high draft picks and highly rated prospects.

"It's kind of surreal to be coming back," said Trout, who debuted with the A's as a rookie in 2012 and played most of his first 11 years here. "Honestly, I never saw it coming. Never considered the possibility. But I'm excited. My family is from the Philly area. They're all excited. And it's easy to see that we can really contend right away. I'm really glad to be back."

Miller was one of the A's big targets entering this off-season with Veasey saying "I think Mason has a chance to be an elite closer at the Majors level for many years to come. We targeted him early on and tried to acquire him a few times before finally getting this one done."

The Athletics have assembled an enviable group of pitchers in both the starting rotation and bullpen. While it might take until mid-season in 2025 for a few of the arms to be ready to help. their track record would indicate that all will be worth the wait.

And now with veterans Bregman, Trout, and Realmuto joining Turner the position player group promises to be more consistent, supporting the emerging talented youngsters. "We're obviously going for it now. This is what I've been waiting for, to tell you the truth," said manager Mark DeRosa. "With the expansion back to 12 teams, the playoffs is our obvious goal. From there, we'll give it a shot."

Veasey was quick to point out that there is still plenty of young talent on the Athletics roster. "We had the top Minors system in the league last year," said the GM. "And we still have one of the best in the game. Right now we have seven Top 50 prospects based on the most recent WFBL talent rankings, more than any other organization."

"Our fans shouldn't worry at all that we've compromised the future on which their rebuilding years suffering of these last two seasons was based," said Veasey. "We plan to be good for a long time once again. And we plan on starting that return to consistent contention immediately, in 2025."

You and the fan base, Mr. GM! With the WFBL returning to an expanded 12-team postseason format in the 2025 season, the A's should be one of the top contenders to return to the playoffs.