Fresh off making yet another big-time deal by sending Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for a whole host of youngsters, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane doesn’t seem to be anywhere near done.
Bay Area News Group insider John Hickey reported late Friday night that Oakland was discussing a potential deal that would send Justin Upton and Evan Gattis from the Atlanta Braves to Northern California.
#Athletics talking with #Braves about Justin Upton, Evan Gattis sources say. Jeff Samardzija may be the bait.
— John Hickey (@JHickey3) November 29, 2014
The obvious name that Hickey (among others) are throwing around is starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija, who was acquired from the Chicago Cubs back in July. He has one year remaining on his deal and will be looking for big bucks. While that might be one of the reasons that Beane is entertaining the idea of trading him, the Braves make little sense as a trade partner. That team is in the midst of a rebuild and would likely be looking to acquire young options rather than a pricey veteran on the last year of his deal.
This leads me to believe that if the A’s and Braves are talking, it’s likely for young options who remain under team control for a while.
There is, however, little reason to believe that Beane wouldn’t be interested in Upton and Gattis. Upton hit .270 with 29 homers and 102 RBI this past season. Both the homers and runs batted in totals would have led the A’s. And while Gattis is a player with no real position, he’s a force at the plate. The catcher (by trade) has hit 43 homers in 213 career games.
We will update this story if more information becomes available.
Photo: SB Nation