Long known as a franchise that makes the most out of routinely small payrolls, there have been plenty of forgotten names to stroll through Northern California in recent years.
Though I’ve made it no secret on this website that I’m a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs, my love for baseball as a sport supersedes my passion for any one given team.
With recorded history of the sport in North America dating all the way back to the beginning of the National Association in 1871, it’s hard to find a longer constant than baseball when examining cultural mainstays of the United States.
When learning about the expansive history of the sport as a young kid, I (and many other baseball fans) developed a deep fascination and appreciation for the then-Oakland Athletics. A historic franchise that had previously traversed through Philadelphia and Kansas City, the A’s were the overlooked blue blood of the league for generations.
While the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals captured much of the baseball world’s attention throughout the 1900’s as perennial contenders, the A’s were perhaps the easiest team of them all to overlook. Having won five titles during their tenure in Philadelphia, the A’s secured the franchise’s place as one of baseball’s finest with a three-peat from 1972-74 during their early years in Oakland, bookending the titles with ALCS appearances in 1971 and 1975 as well.
The A’s won their most recent title in a sweep of their rival San Francisco Giants in 1989, and have not been to the Fall Classic since getting swept by the Cincinnati Reds in 1990. Still, the A’s remained one of the sport’s most prevalent teams in the league throughout my lifetime, with the team’s “Moneyball” era coming during my early memories of watching the sport.
Despite the A’s being without a pennant in my lifetime, they have continued to serve as a shining example of how teams can find success without top-dollar acquisitions of big names. Routinely holding on to impressive prospect capital, the A’s have had a revolving door of young, under-the-radar talent for much of my lifetime.
My soft spot for the A’s flourished into more of a fandom upon moving to Northern California in August of last year, as I look to fully take advantage of having an MLB team temporarily playing in West Sacramento, just around 90 minutes from my home.
With the A’s having experienced a noticeable period of turbulence over the course of the past decade, it only makes sense that there have been a few forgotten names to walk through the clubhouse doors of either the Oakland Coliseum or Sutter Health Park.
While the A’s boast a solid core of position player talent now, it took quite a bit of rebuilding to get to this point. Here’s a look at some recent former A’s that many fans likely have forgotten by now:
1. Trayce Thompson, OF (2018, 3 games)
Primarily known by sports fans as the younger brother of future NBA Hall of Famer Klay Thompson, Trayce has had several cups of coffee in the big leagues since first debuting with the Chicago White Sox in 2015.
After spending parts of the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thompson began his 2018 big-league campaign with the Oakland Athletics after passing through waivers with both the Dodgers and New York Yankees, the latter of whom he never played a game for.
Thompson ultimately played just three games in April on a 2018 Oakland Athletics team that went on to compile 97 wins, with the outfielder going 1-for-7 with a run and four strikeouts in his very limited time with the green and gold.
Just two weeks after being claimed by Oakland, Thompson was traded to the White Sox for a player to be named later or cash.
In addition to the three aforementioned teams, Thompson has also appeared in The Show with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, in addition to more stints with the Dodgers and White Sox. Thompson last appeared in the majors with the White Sox on Oct. 1, 2023.
2. Josh Harrison, UTIL (2021, 48 games)
A 13-year veteran, Josh Harrison primarily made his name as a free-swinging utility piece for the Pittsburgh Pirates throughout the 2010’s before becoming more of a journeyman to finish his career – which included a brief stop in Oakland.
The 2021 A’s were the last competitive team the franchise fielded while still in Oakland, with Harrison being among the pieces sought after by the club’s front office to give a boost heading into a run for the postseason.
Following a season-and-a-half with the Washington Nationals, Harrison was acquired by the Athletics alongside fellow forgotten A’s alum Yan Gomes in exchange for a three-player prospect package as Oakland looked to make the postseason for a fourth consecutive year.
Unfortunately for Harrison and the A’s, both the individual and the team would fall short to conclude 2021. The A’s finished 86-76 and out of a Wild Card spot, while Harrison compiled -0.6 WAR across 48 games with Oakland, slashing .254/.296/.341/.637 alongside two home runs and four stolen bases, good for an underwhelming 79 OPS+.
There wasn’t a whole lot left in the tank for Harrison after his short tenure in Oakland. While the utility player put up a decent 2022 season with the Chicago White Sox, Harrison found himself out of the league after a rough 40-game stint with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023.
In addition to the aforementioned clubs, Harrison also spent a season with the Detroit Tigers, finishing his career having played 1,208 games spread across six different teams.
3. Andrew Chafin, RP (2021, 28 games)
The trade to acquire Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes wasn’t the only deadline move for the A’s in 2021, who poached from the rebuilding Chicago Cubs to snag left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin, who had been great for a Chicago bullpen that was dominant in the first half of the season.
A few days before the 2021 deadline, Chafin was shipped to Oakland in exchange for a pair of prospects, outfielder Greg Deichmann and relief pitcher Daniel Palencia – the latter of whom is currently the Cubs’ flamethrowing closer.
Though the A’s didn’t end up making it to October in 2021, Chafin remained excellent after landing in the East Bay. After posting a 2.06 ERA across 43 games on Chicago’s North Side, Chafin was somehow even more dominant with the Athletics, amassing a miniscule 1.53 ERA in his 28 games with the team.
In 29.1 innings of work, the southpaw surrendered just five earned runs and seven walks to go with 27 strikeouts and five saves, serving as one of the team’s most valuable players down the stretch.
After falling short of the postseason, Chafin’s time with the A’s was over as the lefty eventually signed a free agent deal with the Detroit Tigers for the 2022 season.
Having last appeared in 2025 in a season split between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels, Chafin has also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers over the course of his 12-year MLB career.
4. Ernie Clement, IF (2022, 6 games)
An under-the-radar player for several years, Clement acquainted himself with the baseball world in a decisive way last fall, stockpiling an incredible 30 hits over the course of the Toronto Blue Jays’ riveting 18-game postseason in 2025.
Before Clement was a late-blooming star north of the border, he was a career minor-leaguer looking to find a way to catch on in The Show, getting his first opportunity with the Cleveland Guardians in 2021. After a total of 103 games with the team over the course of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Clement was placed on waivers by Cleveland before being selected by the Athletics in September 2022, just before the conclusion of the regular season.
Clement made his way into six games for what was a 60-102 A’s club, going just 1-for-18 with a double and two strikeouts in what was his only big-league action with the franchise. Though Clement began spring training with the A’s the following year, he was released in mid-March of 2023, catching on with the Blue Jays just a couple of days later.
Now in his fourth year with Toronto, Clement has served as one of the few bright spots on an underwhelming Blue Jays team thus far in 2026, with the infielder currently leading all of baseball with 16 doubles heading into play on May 22.
Currently 30 years old, Clement is eligible for arbitration next season and is slated to be a free agent in 2029.
5. Jeurys Familia, RP (2018, 2023, 44 games)
The 2023 season was the penultimate campaign for the A’s in Oakland, while also serving as the definitive rock bottom of a rebuilding process that served as the nail in the coffin for baseball in the East Bay.
Mark Kotsay’s A’s were just 50-112 in 2023, a mark of futility only topped by the Philadelphia Athletics of 1916, who somehow dropped 117 games in a 154-game season. For a team that struggled so greatly, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that flyers were picked up on a few stars from yesteryear to see what was left in the tank.
Among those flyers was that on former New York Mets star closer Jeurys Familia, who was actually beginning his second stint with the franchise after serving as a trade deadline acquisition for the club in 2018, when the A’s were indeed a playoff team.
In his first stint as a high-leverage reliever, Familia posted a 3.45 ERA and a 4-2 record over 31.1 innings of work alongside 14 walks, 40 strikeouts and a save. The right-hander posted a scoreless inning in the 2018 AL Wild Card Game before promptly returning to the Mets for another three years ahead of the 2019 campaign.
Following a forgettable 2022 season split between the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, Familia signed on with the A’s once more as the team hoped there was just a little bit left in the tank from the former All-Star right-hander. Unfortunately for Familia and the A’s, there was not.
In 14 games and 12.2 innings of work in 2023, Familia coughed up nine earned runs and 13 walks to go with just nine strikeouts, ending up with a ghastly 6.39 ERA and 2.053 WHIP that two saves couldn’t possibly overshadow. Familia made his final MLB appearance on May 2, 2023 in a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners, as he was released by the franchise just four days later.
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