After two years of trading away their best players and re-stocking the roster with journeymen veterans and mid-level prospects, the A’s roster has the look of an expansion team. And they are playing like one.

They are 6-23 after 29 games, being outscored by historic proportions, lacking so much as a single victory from a starting pitcher and still looking for back-to-back wins as a team. After a 5-4 walk-off victory Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds, the A’s will be gunning for that elusive two-game winning streak Tuesday when they open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

A long, dreary season was universally expected, what with all the trades leaving a payroll of about $59 million, by far the lowest in the baseball, and a farm system that has mostly failed to produce any prospects to build around. But this is worse than even the least encouraging projections.

At their current pace, the A’s would finish 34-128, which would shatter the major league standard for futility set by the 1962 New York Mets who went 42-120 as an expansion team. (Little-known fact: The 1916 Philadelphia A’s have the lowest winning percentage in the modern era at .235. The ’62 Mets’ winning percentage was .250; the A’s are at .207.)

Could the 2023 A’s go down as the worst team in baseball history?

The answer is no, and here is why:

History

Only eight teams in the expansion era (since 1961) have lost more than 110 games in a season That’s still 10 off the mark.

The closest any team has come to 120 is the 2003 Detroit Tigers, and they came as close as you can come. The Tigers, managed by Alan Trammell, lost 119 games, They avoided 120 by winning five of their last 6 games, including one in the bottom of the ninth inning on a wild pitch.

The Baltimore Orioles lost 115 in 2018. The Tigers (again) lost 114 in 2019.

Pace

It’s a long season, and while small sample sizes make for great debate, they tend to be undependable. After 13 games this season, the Tampa Bay Rays were on pace to go 162-0. At his current pace, A’s outfielder Brent Rooker will hit 50 home runs this season.

The 1988 Baltimore Orioles, managed by Cal Ripken Sr. started 0-21 and still lost “only” 107. The 2022 Reds were 3-19 and finished 62-100.

As it is, the run differential — they have been outscored by 117 runs already — is misleading, skewed by four losses in particular that saw the A’s outscored 52-7.

Of their 23 losses, eight have been by two runs or fewer.

Gotta be streaky

Teams that seriously challenged the 120-loss mark had multiple long losing streaks.

The Mets’ record after 28 games in 1962 was 9-19, and the wheels didn’t start to fall off until a 17-game losing streak in late May. Casey Stengel’s crew also had a 3-22 mid-summer stretch and then lost 13 straight in August.

The 119-loss Tigers in 2003 had six losing streaks of at least eight games, including 11- and 10-game skids.

So far the A’s have had losing streaks of seven and six.

Reason for hope

The A’s just established the MLB record for April losses with 23. But unlike last season, when the A’s had one of the least productive lineups in baseball, there is enough power and run-scoring potential to believe the A’s will be more competitive as the younger hitters develop. More help also could be on the way later this summer when prospects like Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof arrive.

The pitching must get better, and not just because it can’t get worse.

All-Star Paul Blackburn is expected back shortly, and even in losses there have been encouraging signs from some of the young pitchers. Left-handers Kyle Muller and Ken Waldichuk have shown flashes of why they were so highly-touted when the A’s acquired them. Mason Miller, the 24-year-old who was promoted after just 11 minor league appearances, and Luis Medina, another 24-year-old flamethrower who is back in the minors after making a spot start, could be significant additions.