Just when we thought Billy Beane was done making moves, he proves us all wrong with the acquisition of Chicago White Sox slugger, Adam Dunn, in exchange for minor-league righty, Nolan Sanburn. Dunn is signed through the rest of the 2014 season. He is 34-years old, and has spent the last four seasons in Chicago.
In 106 games this season, Adam Dunn is hitting .220/.340/.433 with twenty home runs this season. Dunn has the ability to play first base and the outfield, but the A’s will likely use him in the role of DH. “The Big Donkey” as his teammates call him, is a great addition to the A’s. Dunn’s power is exactly what Billy Beane is looking for. During his fourteen year career, Dunn has belted 460 bombs, good enough for 36th on all-time list. His splits are .237/.365/.491. The interesting thing is that the batting average and on-base percentage are severely contrasted. If Dunn isn’t hitting bombs, he’s walking, or getting hit by pitches. Dunn has been hit by a pitch 82 times in his career.
Adam Dunn’s bat replaces catcher, John Jaso’s bat. Jaso was placed on the 7-day concussion DL on August 25th. While the A’s catcher didn’t provide much pop, Dunn’s bat adds about five to eight home runs for the rest of the season. Dunn says that he plans on hitting vs. righties. Dunn has almost a .100 point difference against righties than lefties, and has hit 16 more home runs against righties this season.
The A’s did not give up a whole lot to acquire Dunn. Nolan Sanburn is a Class-A minor leaguer with a 3.28 ERA in 71.1 innings pitched. Sanburn was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft, and hasn’t been past High-A ball.
Adam Dunn’s contract is up at the end of this season. Being 34-years old, Dunn has said that he is considering retirement. Adam Dunn has the longest service time of any player that has not made the playoffs. The closest he’s ever been to the playoffs was in 2012 when the White Sox finished three games back of the Detroit Tigers. unn has been great to the game of baseball, but baseball hasn’t been kind to him. Now that Dunn is finally on a winning team, maybe he can make that playoff appearance that he deserves.
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