The Oakland Athletics have traded three All-Stars since Thanksgiving. With this has come a ton of criticism from both the A’s fan base and experts around the baseball world.
Coming off three consecutive trips to the playoffs, it made little sense that Oakland would sell off quality players for a bunch of no-name prospects. But in reality, this has been Beane’s philosophy over the years, and it’s kept the A’s in contention for the most part.
Now after dealing Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss and Jeff Samardzija, the A’s have $20 million more to spend in the offseason. This much was noted by MLB.com’s Jane Lee.
And by trading Donaldson, Moss and Samardzija, Beane not only collected nine players, but shed more than $20 million from payroll, funds that aren’t expected to just sit in his pocket, but be reallocated to even more players this offseason.
No matter your opinion on the moves he’s made, Beane was able to build up a farm system that has been lacking serious talent for some time. And there is no guarantee that all nine of the players Oakland has acquired in these three separate deals will be with the organization come the new year.
As of right now, the A’s have multiple options at catcher, first base and in the outfield.
Ike Davis, Billy Butler and Stephen Vogt will split time at first with both Butler and Vogt playing other positions or acting as the designated hitter.
In the outfield, Oakland still has Coco Crisp in center and Josh Reddick manning right field (for now). Enter into the equation Vogt, who can play either left or right, and that’s not a bad offensive outfield. With Brett Lawrie at third and Derek Norris (for the most part) catching, things are coming into place.
Where Oakland needs to add talent is in the middle of the infield and potentially at a corner outfield spot. And with $20 million-plus to spend, the team can potentially afford to dole out the big bucks for a power hitter.
In terms of pitching, the A’s are still in a good spot. Sonny Gray will man the No. 1 spot with both Jon Lester and Samardzija gone. Scott Kazmir, who doesn’t seem to be on the block, will likely act as the No. 2 starter. After that, you have a lot of talent and question marks. Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin are coming off Tommy John Surgery. There is no telling when they will return to action.
Drew Pomeranz pitched well before landing on the disabled list after punching a chair. He finished the 2014 campaign with a 2.35 ERA in 20 appearances (10 starts). More than that, the former top-10 overall pick of the Cleveland Indians netted nearly a strikeout per inning and boasted a solid 1.12 WHIP.
Then you factor in Chris Bassitt (acquired from Chicago for Samardzija) and Jesse Chavez. Needless to say, there is plenty of talent vying for five spots in the A’s rotation. This doesn’t even take into account a veteran arm that Beane will likely add before spring training.
So while many will jump to conclusions about Beane’s moves thus far, it’s important to take a wait-and-see approach with the talented general manager. There is a reason he’s one of the best in the business.
Photo: ESPN.com