A’s Agree to Terms with all Seven Arbitration Eligible Players on One-Year Contracts

January 10th, 2020

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland A’s agreed to terms with right-handed pitchers Chris Bassitt and Liam Hendriks, left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea, infielders Chad Pinder and Marcus Semien and outfielders Mark Canha and Robbie Grossman on one-year contracts for the 2020 season. The A’s have no arbitration-eligible players remaining on the roster.

 Bassitt saw the most extensive action of his five-year career last year, going 10-5 with a 3.81 ERA and .229 opponents batting average in 28 games, including 25 starts. He led the A’s with 141 strikeouts, which were the most by an Oakland pitcher since Sonny Gray had 169 in 2015, and tied an Oakland record with 13 hit batters.

 Canha started games at five different positions in 2019 and batted a career-high .273 with a career-high 26 home runs and 58 RBI in 126 games. He also had career highs in runs (80), walks (67), extra base hits (45), OPS (.913), on-base percentage (.396), slugging percentage (.517) and games and matched his best in hits (112) and triples (3). Canha was hit by a pitch a career-high 18 times, which tied for second in the American League and was fourth most in Athletics history.

 Grossman played in a career-high 138 games in his first season as an Athletic last year and batted .240 with six home runs and 38 RBI. He added 59 walks for a .334 on-base percentage and also had career highs in at bats (420) and triples (3) while matching his best in stolen bases (9).

 Hendriks began the 2019 season as a set-up man and occasional opener but took over the closer role after Blake Treinen went on the injured list retroactive to June 21. He saved a Major League-leading 25 games over that span after tallying just one save over his first 279 career appearances. Hendriks led the A’s and ranked seventh in the American League in saves while going 4-4 with a career-low 1.80 ERA in a career-high 75 appearances overall. He set an Oakland record for strikeouts by a reliever (122) and had 124 strikeouts overall, which were the most in Major League history by an Australian-born pitcher.

 Manaea began the 2019 season on the 60-day injured list as he continued his recovery from Sept. 19, 2018 surgery on his left shoulder. He went 3-3 with a 4.71 ERA and .222 opponents batting average in eight rehab starts before he was reinstated from the IL Sept. 1. Manaea made five starts with Oakland and was 4-0 with a 1.21 ERA and .160 opponents batting average. He also started the Wild Card game against Tampa Bay on Oct. 2.

 Pinder spent the entire season on the active roster for the first time in his career and batted .240 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 124 games in 2019. He had career highs in runs (45), hits (82), doubles (21), RBI, extra base hits (34), games and at bats (341). Pinder started at least one game at seven different positions for the second consecutive season (38 in left field, 22 in right field, 12 at second base, eight at third base, one in center field, one at first base and one at designated hitter).

 Semien finished in the top five in Oakland history in eight different categories last year. He scored 123 runs, which tied the Oakland record set by Reggie Jackson in 1969, and also tied the record for games played (162). Semien ranked second in at bats (657), third in extra base hits (83), tied for third in hits (187) and total bases (343), tied for fourth in doubles (43) and fifth in multiple hit games (53). The 29-year-old finished third in the American League in Most Valuable Player voting after ranking second in the AL in total bases, tied for second in times on base (276), third in runs, doubles and extra base hits, fifth in hits, tied for fifth in triples (7), sixth in walks (87), tied for seventh in multiple hit games and ninth in plate appearances per strikeout (7.32).