Mason Miller, Brent Rooker trade bait?

The ballparks were packed Sunday, with Oakland Athletics fans eagerly donning their jerseys to commemorate a World Series championship against the Los Angeles Dodgers 50 years ago.

There was spectacular sunshine and a joy and excitement in the crowd of 18,491 that was both welcome and out of place. A handful of 1974 A’s were saluted, and then the current version struck out 16 times against Pablo Torres and Griffin Jax in a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

That came a day after they struck out 10 times in a 10-2 loss to the Twins and Bailey Ober, with the A’s facing the bats as if they were facing Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens in consecutive days.

The fleeting sense of normalcy is unlikely to return to the Coliseum as the Athletics reached the halfway point of the season with their 81st game Monday night in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels and Griffin Canning. At 29-52, the A’s entered Tuesday eight games better than the A’s in 2023 (21-60) and three better than 2022 (26-55), seasons that ended with 112 and 100 losses, respectively.

And before Tuesday, they had lost four of their last five, 13 of their last 16 and 16 of their last 21 games. A 17-17 record on May 4 — a .500 mark that was the stated goal of manager Mark Kotsay’s training camp — he has gone 12-35 since.

Monday’s loss kicked off the A’s six-game road trip through Anaheim and Arizona before returning to Oakland and the final countdown of 40 home dates in a place left to fall under John Fisher’s ownership, with an eye toward Las Vegas via Sacramento.

The grand final is against the Texas Rangers on September 26. At that point, they will likely have lost over 100 games for the third straight season. The last time was 1919-21, when the franchise was in Philadelphia and the manager was Connie Mack.

The good news for local fans — those who attend and those who don’t — is that the A’s are considerably more competitive than they were a year ago. At the halfway mark, they were outscored by 101 runs, as opposed to 223 in 2023 and 116 in 2022.

The A’s are tied for second in the league in one-run decisions with 28, winning 12.

“We are what they say we are,” CEO David Forst told reporters last week. “If you watch us play, if you watch the Greek tragedy, we’ve been stuck the last two weeks finding ways to lose games by one run. . . you don’t get a trophy for every game, but we’re there almost every night.

“We can’t find a way to win and frankly that’s part of development. It’s part of being a good major league team, and obviously we’re not there yet.”

A few things to watch as the A’s play the streak:

Who is the All-Star?

Closer Mason Miller has 14 saves in 16 attempts and, before Tuesday, hadn’t allowed a run in his last seven appearances. He led all relievers with 60 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. He went 0-2 in 21 at-bats, gave up no hits and struck out 16 of them. A 28-save season would be an A’s rookie record ahead of Andrew Bailey (26 in 2009) and Huston Street (23 in 2005).

Of course, if Miller pitched the day before the All-Star break, the A’s would likely sit him out for the game itself.

If it’s not Miller, designated hitter Brent Rooker could return again thanks to the one-per-team rule. He’s batting .257, but with 13 homers, 44 RBIs and an .831 OPS.

Who is traded?

There will certainly be interest in Miller, and the Athletics should make the most outrageous demand possible before giving up such a talent under team control, receiving both top-tier prospects and a veteran reliever or two in return. Rooker has already appeared in trade rumors, though he is strictly a designated hitter.

Veteran starters like Paul Blackburn (metatarsal stress reaction), Ross Stripling (elbow) and Alex Wood (left rotator cuff tendinitis) should be back on the mound in the next five weeks and show something.

Seth Brown has gotten hot in Las Vegas and Ryan Noda has been playing better, though he won’t be displacing Tyler Soderstrom from first base anytime soon. A left-handed hitter who can play all three outfield positions and first base, Brown will get interest if he hits. So will two of the A’s top hitters, Miguel Andujar (.324, two hits and 14 RBIs in 27 games) and Abraham Toro (.260, six homers, 24 RBIs). Andujar is 29, Toro is 27, and neither is a plus defender.

Relievers Austin Adams and Lucas Erceg will also be discussed.

All or nothing

The A’s are seventh in the majors with 91 home runs and second in hits with 791.

If it seems that too often the A’s are swinging from their heels rather than putting their head to professional clubs, it looks that way.

What about Kotsay?

Given the pay hand Fisher received, the A’s manager has been on the job for two and a half seasons, and there’s still no way to tell how good he is at his position. Kotsay is popular with players and is famously competitive. The fact that it has kept the lid on the volcano for so long and maintained a positive outer atmosphere is remarkable.

The core of the future