Offseason Outlook: Oakland Athletics

theScore's baseball editors break down the past year for each team, and look ahead to the offseason.

Free agents: Alberto Callaspo, Jonny Gomes, Luke Gregerson, Jason Hammel, Jon Lester, Jed Lowrie, Hiroyuki Nakajima, Geovany Soto

Arbitration-eligible players: Fernando Abad, Kyle Blanks, Jesse Chavez, Ryan Cook, Josh Donaldson, Sam Fuld, Craig Gentry, John Jaso, Brandon Moss, Jarrod Parker, Josh Reddick, Fernando Rodriguez, Jeff Samardzija, Eric Sogard

2014 payroll: $82 million

What went right in 2014?

Some of Oakland's best highlights this year came courtesy of its front office.

Sure, there were strong individual efforts - Josh Donaldson led all American League third basemen in WAR and Sean Doolittle (2.73 ERA, 89:8 K/BB) emerged as one of the league's best closers - but Oakland's MVP was arguably general manager Billy Beane.

The Moneyball executive swung a pair of blockbuster deals this summer, trading for top arms Jeff Samardzija and Jon Lester in less than a month with his club already in first place. 

Neither pitcher disappointed, with the two combining for 22 quality starts in 27 outings (including all 11 of Lester's) and producing 3.7 WAR in Oakland.

Oakland's staff as a whole was strong in 2014. Scott Kazmir and Sonny Gray each accounted for 3.3 WAR and threw more than 400 innings combined, while Luke Gregerson (2.12 ERA, 72 appearances) proved to be a reliable late-inning option out of Bob Mevlin's bullpen.

What went wrong in 2014?

A combination of several things, the least of which had to do with sending Yoenis Cespedes to Boston in the Lester deal.

Oakland's offense sputtered after the trade, but so did Cespedes. The Cuban slugger hit .240/.262/.411 with 83 wRC+ in his final month in Oakland, and ended the year in Boston with a .296 on-base percentage in 51 games.

As a team, the Athletics ranked last in the AL in average and second-to-last in slugging and OPS after the All-Star break. 

But the real turning point in the season came Aug. 23 in a game against division rival Los Angeles Angels. 

Doolittle suffered a strained intercostal in the 2-1 win and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. At the time of his injury the Angels and Athletics were deadlocked at the top of the AL West. He returned three weeks later to a 10-game deficit after a series of late-inning collapses and bullpen meltdowns.

Oakland's nosedive hit rock bottom when they blew a 7-3 lead to the Kansas City Royals with six outs to go in the wild-card game.

Despite several free agents coming off the books, Oakland's payroll projects to fall just $7 million shy of its franchise-record Opening Day budget in 2014. The majority of the club's financial obligations for next season will be tied up in arbitration raises, with Donaldson and Samardzija among those expected to receive significant increases in salary.

Look for Beane to keep an eye on the future and explore trade opportunities involving some of the club's top talent, as he's been known to do in the past. Some of the holes Oakland could look to address in free agency include:

Power bat

Top Target

Colby Rasmus - While Cespedes' overall value may have been slightly overstated, Melvin's lineup is certainly missing a power bat of his caliber. Rasmus could be a fit in Oakland, given his discounted price tag and concerns over Coco Crisp's degenerative back condition. The 28-year-old Rasmus struggled to a .225 average and .287 on-base percentage last year, but still hit 18 homers and 21 doubles in 104 games. There will be no shortage of teams willing to take a chance on a player with his talent, and Oakland should be one of them.

Additional candidates: Michael Morse, Delmon Young

Middle infielder

Top Target

Jed Lowrie - Beane could elect to pursue help up the middle via trade, and he'd probably find it to be a more reasonable market than free agency. Injuries slowed the 30-year-old shortstop in 2014 after a 15-homer, .344 OBP campaign the season previous, but Oakland is expected to express interest in re-signing Lowrie if his market remains in the three-year range.

Additional candidates: Stephen Drew, Rickie Weeks

Daniel Robertson - Robertson is the club's top-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com, and is an interesting name to watch this season as he makes his expected rise up Oakland's minor-league ranks. With Addison Russell now in Chicago, Robertson will get a chance to play for a starting job in 2016. The 20-year-old shortstop showed good plate discipline and an ability to get on base in high A-ball this season, hitting 15 homers with an .873 OPS in 132 games.