One of the strangest seasons we have seen in years occurred with the 2014 Oakland Athletics. They started the season on fire and by June they were the best team in baseball. Mr. Money Ball himself Billy Beane wheeled and dealed his team to first place and they were flying high.
We had been there before with this team. Clearly Beane knew it too. He went out of character and traded his best prospect in Addison Russell for ace pitcher Jeff Samardzija. The trade that sent shockwaves around baseball occurred when he dealt Yoenis Cespedes for another ace pitcher and proven post-season stud Jon Lester. The team went on to collapse and barely make the playoffs. All could have been forgiven in the second season with a win against the eventual American League Champion Kansas City Royals in the wildcard game. Oakland blew a 7-3 lead with Lester in the 8th inning and then blew a one run lead in the 12th inning to end a disappointing season. The loss of their very good defensive catcher Geovany Soto proved to be costly as the Royals stole seven bases to pace their win.
So what did Billy Beane do this offseason? He blew up his team with a series of trades completely reshaping the team, especially the offense. Beane is still trying to get his team to the World Series. Most baseball people felt by trading his big bat in the middle of the order in Cespedes took the heart right out of his team, despite the addition of Jon Lester. Oakland struggled to score runs and their pitching wasn’t the same in the second half of the season. Beane is a master at trading a player when they hit their ceiling, getting the max return for that player. That is what I believe they have done here. Aside from moving Samardzija even if the trades don’t make sense you can bet the upside is all with the A’s.
The middle of the A’s batting order last year for much of the year was Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss and Cespedes. All three hit over 20 home runs and all had over 80 RBI. That is by far the most of any other players the Athletics have. All of those players are gone. As well as Jed Lowrie, Alberto Callaspo, John Jaso, Derek Norris and Soto. Only Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick remain from their regular starters. Now it’s time for Beane to work his magic and reinvent his team as only he can.
Replacing Moss and his 25 home runs and 81 RBI is Ike Davis who is puzzling in his own right. Remembering him with the Mets I thought he was going to be an easy 30 home run 100 RBI guy every year with gold glove play at first base. I have never seen a player fall so far, so fast and maybe this Valley Fever thing brought him down. Davis is a good guy and I will be pulling for him.
Let’s look at what Beane did here. Moss won’t get any better than what he is now. He is 31 and while his 25 home run average over the last three years is solid, that is all he will be. Davis cost only an international signing slot and he will play gold glove defense at first which is key for a team that relies on its pitching. If he can ever get back to 20 home runs and 80 RBIs that would be a bonus. Oh and he is four years younger than Moss. Moss was traded for a 24 year old prospect who right now is not highly regarded. That should tell you what Beane thinks of him.
Next Donaldson was traded for his eventual replacement in Brett Lawrie and three highly regarded prospects. Franklin Barreto is an 18-year-old shortstop who is ranked #1 on the A’s prospect list. Kevin Graverman and Sean Nolin are ranked # 6 and # 7 respectively and both are expected to contribute with the big club this coming season. Graverman who is slotted to beginning the season in the starting rotation had 14 wins across 4 levels of the Minor Leagues last season. Nolin proved to be a solid starter in Triple A last year for the Blue Jays.
Donaldson who is averaging 26 home runs and 90 RBI the last three years and is still only 29 years old still appears to have some upside. He has proved to be durable playing in 158 games each of the last two seasons. In comparison Lawrie is not even close to the same player as his predecessor is. He is four years younger but he has not proved he can stay healthy. But the three other players received for Donaldson may make this deal very worthwhile to the A’s.
With the Samardzija trade the A’s also got 4 players back. Marcus Semien is penciled in to be the starting shortstop. Renatu Nunez and Chris Bassitt were also acquired and are the # 4 and # 5 rated A’s prospects.
In two trades the A’s rebuilt the top ten of their minor leagues by getting their top prospect, and four others in that top ten. Nunez is a 21-year-old third basemen who hit 29 home runs in high A ball last season for the Chisox. Bassitt looks to be another solid pitcher much like Nolin. Don’t sleep on Beane, when he acquires pitchers. He has a knack for getting it right. Jed Lowrie was the shortstop last year and I know he had two straight seasons of 15 home runs before last year but he is 30 years old and won’t be missed. Semien’s numbers projected over a whole season compare very favorably to Lowrie’s and he is six years younger.
The real coup of the offseason was getting Ben Zobrist from Tampa Bay. The A’s moved Jaso, outfielder Boog Powell, shortstop Daniel Robertson and cash for Zobrist and Yunel Escobar who already was traded for Tyler Clippard. Robertson is a good looking A-ball prospect.
Zobrist is a good and gritty player. Getting Clippard for an average shortstop makes this deal even better. Clippard can close if Sean Doolittle is not ready and also can be shipped out to a contender mid-season if the A’s are not in the race. While not having his best season last year and being 33, Zobrist is a player with pop who can steal a base and play multiple positions. You can bat him anywhere in the order too. Crisp and Reddick will man the outfield with Sam Fuld. Craig Gentry will also get some time.
The A’s biggest free agent signing was Billy Butler, who is overrated. Outside of the 2012 season, Butler’s numbers are average at best. Last year things really fell off for him. Everyone has been waiting for that huge MVP type season from Butler. Beane always seems to know what he is doing so we’ll see how Butler works out.
The pitching staff is loaded. Sonny Gray is a credible ace. He is followed by Scott Kazmir who has found himself after his days in Tampa Bay. Drew Pomeranz finally lived up to his potential. Jessie Hahn was acquired from the Padres for Derek Norris and he can be an important cog in the A’s rotation. Coming off the disabled list at some point this year are A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker. Clippard will close if Doolittle is not ready and with Ryan Cook, Eric O’Flaherty, and Dan Otero solidifying the rest of a solid bullpen.
Beane did what he usually does just this time he really shuffled the cards. Time will tell if these were the right moves.
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