OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - MAY 18: Oakland Athletics Chad Pinder (10) pitches for the first time against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
OAKLAND – Stephen Vogt is playing his last Major League Baseball game Wednesday but there’s another veteran who might be saying goodbye to the Oakland A’s.
Chad Pinder, the longest-tenured and currently the highest-paid A’s player, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason after 10 years in the organization.
“Just trying to soak it all up if this is my last game here,” Pinder said before Wednesday’s game with the Los Angeles Angels at the Coliseum. “Soak it up with these guys that I love, to try to enjoy every minute of it.
“It’s a very special place to me. I don’t know what the future holds, but all I have right now is to focus on today and enjoy this time that I have with the guys.”
Pinder, 30, signed a one-year, $2.725 million contract with the A’s last November but said Wednesday that there haven’t been any talks with the team about an extension for 2023 and beyond.
Before Wednesday, Pinder was hitting .234 with a .643 OPS, and had 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 110 games this season. He’s mostly been an outfielder for Oakland but has played every position over his MLB career with the A’s except catcher.
Pinder, drafted in the second round in 2013 by Oakland, began his big league career with the A’s in 2016 and is the only holdover remaining from the organization’s previous rebuild last decade.
“Chad, the staple of six years, drafted, developed, and helped this organization get to the playoffs,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “His future in this game, he’ll have an impact wherever he goes, if it’s not back with us next year.
“He was the silent leader of the (Matt) Olson, (Matt) Chapman clan, really because he kept those two in line.”
With the A’s potentially continuing to turn the team over to younger players next season, Pinder’s future with the team is unclear at best but he added that he is looking forward to what comes next.
“I am looking forward to (free agency),” Pinder said. “It’s something that I’m blessed to be able to get to. Not a lot of guys get to that point in their career, and so it’s something I’m going to enjoy with my family and my wife. I’m excited for what the future holds.”
PUK HEALTHY: Left-handed reliever AJ Puk’s main goal for this season was to remain healthy and available for 162 games. Although his performances have been uneven at times, his continued health gives him something to build on for next season.
The question for A’s now is whether they want to keep Puk in the bullpen, and perhaps make him their closer, or return him to the starting rotation. Puk started four games for Triple-A Las Vegas in 2021 but has been exclusively used out of the bullpen with the A’s.
“We’ll evaluate that,” Kotsay said. “A.J.’s a max-effort guy. From an innings standpoint, he pitched 66, and to jump to 166 is a big jump. But we’ll take a look at it and we’ll determine a path that we feel will help our team and also the one that A.J. thrives in and is as successful.”
Puk missed the 2018 season after he had Tommy John surgery, and also didn’t pitch in 2020 with shoulder issues that eventually required surgery.
Prior to Wednesday, Puk had thrown 66⅓ innings over 62 games with a 3.12 ERA and 1.146 WHIP to go with four saves. He improved his record to 4-3 this season with the A’s 10-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.
“It’s always in my mind to start again,” Puk said. “I feel like I can do it and get through lineups. But whatever happens, happens.”
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka