Athletics' top trade candidate is 6.20 ERA righty who doesn't like A's mound

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Athletics' top trade candidate is 6.20 ERA righty who doesn't like A's mound originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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The Athletics are tied atop the AL West through their first 22 games with an 11-11 record. The Texas Rangers are 11-11 as well, with the rest of the division sitting behind both the A's and Rangers.

But that doesn't mean the Athletics aren't going to be willing to trade away some players at the trade deadline. In fact, there's one player who is an obvious trade candidate this year.

ESPN's David Schoenfield highlighted that the Athletics' top trade candidate is Luis Severino, the 6.20 ERA righty who has openly expressed his dissatisfaction with the mound at the temporary home of the A's in Sacramento.

Athletics' top trade candidate is Luis Severino

"Trade candidate: Luis Severino," Schoenfield writes. "Severino still has good stuff but has struggled in Sacramento, where he had a 6.01 ERA last season compared with a 3.02 on the road."

The Athletics trading away Severino at this year's trade deadline would make a ton of sense. He's not been happy with the A's, and they would surely land something decent in return for the pitcher.

But, as Schoenfield also took care to point out, the $22 million player option for the 2027 season will be a hurdle for a team to trade for Severino this season.

That might give pause to teams in trading for the righty pitcher, but if they can overlook that option, with the belief that Severino will pitch a lot better away from the Athletics like he did last season, then a trade for the 32-year-old makes sense.

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Severino has a 6.20 ERA this season with a 0-2 record and a 6.20 ERA with a 1.70 WHIP. But, in his big-league career with the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, he's posted a 3.97 ERA.

With contenders always needing more starting pitching help, the trade deadline this year is a great chance to send away Severino to a contender. Even if they trade Severino, the A's could still wind up acquiring starting pitching help this year.

The lineup is in a great spot, but the A's need rotation help. Severino isn't it, so why not trade him to a new team, and reacquire some value they would spend on a new pitcher in a trade at the deadline?

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