The A’s acquired David DeJesus from the Royals for right-hander Vin Mazzaro and left-hander Justin Marks, the teams announced today. Royals GM Dayton Moore says Mazzaro will join the team’s rotation and Marks will start the season at high Class A Wilmington.
Mazzaro, 24, posted a 4.27 ERA in 122 1/3 innings for the A's this year with 5.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. He became expendable when Oakland won the bidding for Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma earlier in the week. If the A's reach a deal with Iwakuma, he'll join Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden in the team's rotation.
DeJesus batted .318/.384/.443 in 394 plate appearances this year, but he missed the final two months of the season because he required surgery on his right thumb. The 30-year-old, who has spent all of his eight-year career with the Royals, has experience in left, center and right. He joins Rajai Davis, Coco Crisp, Ryan Sweeney, Conor Jackson and Jack Cust in a crowded Oakland outfield that could clear up if Jackson and Cust are traded or non-tendered.
Marks, 22, posted a 4.87 ERA as a starter in the lower minors in 2010. The 2009 third rounder posted 9.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 as he picked up his first significant experience as a pro.
DeJesus will earn $6MM in 2011 and qualify for free agency after the season. Mazzaro may qualify for arbitration as a Super Two next winter, but he cheap for now and won't hit free agency until after the 2015 campaign.
I think this is a win for the Royals but DeJesus is a good player and will fit in on the A’s.
5.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 is pretty damn awful. I know Cahill has similar numbers and did well but that had more to do with his ridiculously unsustainable .230 BAA. The Royals clearly bought high here.
Not sure if you mean Batting Average Against or BABIP, but neither of those figures were .230 in 2010 for Cahill. If you meant BAA, that is absolutely sustainable. If you meant BABIP, it might not be sustainable, but BABIP is a stat that you should compare to an individual’s career number, not the league average. Who knows, he could be a guy whose career BABIP could stay in the .260-280 range (currently at .260 for his career).
Yes, I meant, BABIP, sorry. .238 really isn’t sustainable. Even a bump to .260-.280 means a significant increase in ERA. He’s a product of the defense behind him, the K/B ratio on any other team would mean a mid 4’s ERA at best.
But he isn’t on any other team, he is on the A’s. You are right, Cahill is not a great starter, but he is perfect for the A’s. Cahill hasn’t been lucky per say, he is just playing into the A’s strength, which is defense particularly infield defense. Billy Beane has concocted a rotation of pitchers that plays to their strength and in turn are efficient. Best of all they are cheap, and will continue to be cheap.
The A’s made a great trade here. They sold high on a starter who in reality, is not that good. David Dejesus can be a 4 win player for the A’s, while Mazzaro is most likely a league average starter.
Why can’t it be? He is a groundball pitcher with a nasty curve and sinker. He gets guys to beat the ball into the ground and there have been so many easy routine groundballs when he pitches that it’s just ridiculous. He probably wouldn’t be as good on any other team but if you watch him pitch, that BABIP won’t rise up that much and he is still improving. He isn’t a strikeout pitcher nor did anyone ever thought he would be. He is a groundball pitcher and a really good one at that.
Ground balls normally have a higher BABIP attached to them than fly balls do. The A’s have a great defense, but they’re not gods.
Even so just watch the guy pitch and stop looking at sabremetrics for a moment. The guy already had #2 stuff attached to him from the moment he signed that rookie deal with potential to be an ace. If you throw him behind a great defense he will become an elite pitcher. Throw him behind a team with garbage defense and he will become an average pitcher. Even if he does not repeat the season he had last season he is still going to be a very solid #2 pitcher because he will not regress so badly that he will become an average pitcher with an ERA in the mid 4s.
Believe whatever you want to believe. He had a fantastic season, no doubt about it. But you can keep the talk of ‘stuff’ and ‘believing what you see with your own eyes’. I’ll stick to the numbers, because numbers rarely lie. He will not repeat his 2.97 ERA. High 3’s, Low 4’s is where he will more than likely end up. Still solid, but not elite.
I agree he isn’t elite, and I’m pretty sure sportsfan isn’t claiming he is. But the Oakland infield is THAT good. They have top defensive players at every single position. They saved nearly 50 runs last year. That’s beyond great.
This is a great move!!!!!!!! I love this move for the Royals!!!!!!!!! I love Vin Mazzaro!!!!!!!
Subtract his back-to-back starts against the Yankees and Angels respectively, he had a great sophmore season. He is a future ace with swing and miss stuff, although it isn’t great stuff. He has one of the best fastballs for a guy his age and by record, most pitchers who have made 35 starts before their 24th birthday have turned out to be good pitchers.
I love this move for both teams but I love it for the Royals more. This is a steal while his value is low. He is one of the most underrated pitchers in Baseball.
This entire comment baffles me. Since when does Vin Mazzaro have “swing-and-miss stuff?” Let’s take a look-see:
K/9 rates at each level Mazzaro has been at in his professional career:
’06 (Low-A) – 6.11
’07 (Hi-A) – 6.74
’08 (AA) – 6.82
’08 (AAA) – 7.22
’09 (AAA) – 6.99
’09 (MLB) – 5.81
’10 (AAA) – 9.16
’10 (MLB) – 5.81
His best two numbers here came in sample sizes of fewer than fifty innings, so trying to justify “swing-and-miss stuff” with those numbers would be completely absurd. He just doesn’t miss many bats.
Good velocity, or even good overall stuff, does not guarantee strikeouts or success. Just ask Joe Saunders, who has been unable to get swings-and-misses despite above-average stuff from the left side.
Vin Mazzaro is not a future ace. His ceiling is a future #3 starter, and he’ll likely settle into the back-end of a rotation as a nice strike-thrower who doesn’t miss enough bats to be anything more.
You could also throw out his two best starts, 7/4 against Mighty Cleveland and 7/18 against Terrifying Kansas City, a combined 15 innings with 2 ER allowed, and you’d end up with a truly terrifying season. You can cherry-pick the two worst starts of nearly anybody in the majors and end up with an upper-half-of-the-rotation starter. An FIP of 5.13 and xFIP of 4.72 are indicative of his true skill level.
Like azdsnd pointed out, it’s pretty exaggerated hope to think he’ll be an ace.
Also I think your exclamation mark key was sticking or something, much like it was when you acted like you were the number one fan of the A’s the other day.
I love the Oakland A’s as do I love every team n Baseball. I am happy about every move be every Baseball team because I Love Baseball.
I love baseball too and I can sit down and enjoy a game between any two teams, but to claim that you’re this HUGE fan of every team is nauseating. There are teams I like more than others, but as a Blue Jays fan I find it annoying that when the Jays make a move you’re the number one Jays fan, then the Royals make a move and you’re the number one Royals fan and so on.
You also talk down to everyone on here as if no one else knows anything but you, which I think is pretty pathetic. You expect everyone to take everything you say as fact and not question it at all. I don’t go on here to read your silly trade ideas, you have ruined the discussion board for many people like myself.
You know a lot about baseball, I won’t argue that, but other people do too, including many who oppose what you say.
Actually, you’re wrong because I love discussing Baseball topics with everyone on here and the reason you see my posts so often is because when someone replies to my comment, it goes to my phone, then I will reply instead of ignore it.
I by no means think that I know more than anybody in fact I could name many people on here who know more than me. I’m myself, I love every team and if you don’t like that then I’m sorry, but the Jays and the Royals are two at the top. I do have confidence ibmy knowledge though therefore if someone tells me something that I disagree with I will say it, doesn’t mean I’m belittling anybody.
Maybe it’s just your writing skills that need work then, because every time I read your comments they go two ways: If you agree with someone it comes across as “Oh good job” as if you were some sort of teacher, rewarding their students. (Thus talking down to people) If you disagree you just start with “You’re wrong,” as you did just now. (Also talking down to people)
That’s my opinion and because you write on every single post as if we are all dying to hear from you, you’re going to have to be open to that type of criticism. I don’t mind that you constantly post on here, it’s more that you talk down to people.
I hear ya and am not taking it personally at all in fact I’m absorbing it. And thanks for the feedback. I do love MLBTR though and Baseball as I said before, which is why I comment whenever I’m at a computer, but I guess what you’re trying to say is its not so much the excessiveness as it is the way I come accross sometimes, which I’m going to work on because I don’t want to make people feel bad at all and I guess your trying to say that that’s what I’m doing sometimes.
But if I like to make people feel good by saying I agree or good stuff instead of giving a like because its more direct and again, makes people feel good. And next time instead of saying you’re wrong and more, ill just say why I disagree but its hard sometimes to get your point out when you feel defensiveless
Exactly, for me personally, I always learn more by having an open mind about the game because no one can or will ever know everything about the game. I’m glad you took the message because I don’t enjoy hating on people unless I feel very strongly.
Anyways, I still disagree that someone can be a hardcore fan of every team (and this is coming from someone who owns a hat and shirt for every team, symbolizing my passion for baseball) but if that’s how you enjoy the game I have no problem. I’m all about promoting the game.
I agree with you and like your devotion and we are very similiar. I have every hat, almost there with the shirts, but I guess what I can tell you is, like you, I just love the game of Baseball, and since I follow every team, I just love every team I don’t know how else to say it. But some teams I like more than others.
And I really appreciate the help and feedback. This conversation is the type that I love having, just talking Baseball. any team, player, minors, Majors, College, HS, ballparks, fans, whatever. I just love talking Baseball. But back to what we were saying, your trying to tell me that I don’t know everything about the game? Come on! Joke — gotcha
Strangely, I bet we are eerily similar. By the way, gotta get a new Nats hat now, thanks to the changes. I can’t keep up with that team!
Always changing their soddung uni’s. Yeah well if your ever in NY we’ll go to a Mets game tickets on me!!!!
Ladies, can we put down the lip gloss and get back to talking about baseball and not where your going on your next date?
Haha, I know that was weird.
Why exactly do you capitalize the word “baseball”?
Laughing out loud.
This makes zero sense for the A’s.
Unless they non-tender Jackson and Cust, which is expected, then it makes perfect sense. Despite his ability to steal bases, Rajai Davis is a fourth outfielder.
Cust is a non-tender again. And the A’s likely won’t resign him this time.
Anyway Cust is pretty much a full time DH, he shouldn’t even factor into the A’s outfield discussion.
because they have no intentions on signing that guy out of Japan right?
No, because they traded a controllable starter with good stuff for a year of a 32 year old outfielder returning from injury. It makes no sense because they didn’t need another contact-hitter type. They needed a power bat to drive in runs in the middle of their order. Any deal Mazzaro was involved in should have justifed those means.
You can spin a trade any way you want. You decided to point out the positives of Mazzaro and the negatives of DeJesus. DeJesus not just a 32 year old outfielder returning from injury. He has great plate discipline and above average fielding capabilities. Mazzaro has a mediocre ceiling and likely isn’t valuable enough to be swapped for a legitimate power hitter. He also has no place in the A’s rotation.
I don’t disagree with you, but A’s fans were turning their nose up at the idea of a lot of players because Mazzaro was so valuable. Like I said, not disagreeing.
For one, DeJesus is 30 years old, not 32 and if my memory is alright, Crawford is 29 and is expected to give 5+ years. Also, Mazzaro, probably the worst of the A’s starters, was expendable because of the A’s oppurtunity to sign the Japanese guy, who’s name escapes me, thus giving the A’s less leverage and making him (Mazzaro) less valuable.
Mazzaro easily has the worst stuff of all of the starters. His stuff has the least amount of movement and really the only thing he has going for him is that he has above average control more times than not. His control is above average at best but it’s the movement that just kills you because his stuff is just so straight. His fastball is straighter than ruler.
Well, consider that Mazzaro is replacing Bannister. That’s an upgrade on both performance and dollars spent.
I don’t hate this deal; both sides got rid of something they didn’t really need for something that is probably better than what they already had. Win/Win I guess.
This is actually a pretty bad trade for the A’s if they don’t do something about that OF log jam.
Coco Crisp had a 3.3 WAR while the remaining 12 outfielders they used COMBINED for 0.1 WAR while DeJesus managed to post a 2.9 WAR despite ending the year early due to injury. The A’s had 5 young starters plus Josh Outman, Bobby Cramer and the rights to Hisashi Iwakuma, now they have 4 young starters plus each of those guys. They were dealing from a point of depth by letting go of Mazzaro, it was hardly unexpected to see him dealt.
you and the 11 people that liked this, have no idea what they are talking about.
cant decide if this is a good trade or not. i feel like the A’s could have got more out of thier extra pitching
That’s my first thought, too. DeJesus is decent, I guess, but I’ve been waiting his whole career for him to come into his own and it hasn’t happened.
i think the A’s should have waited for some of the top pitchers to get picked up so some of the teams who missed out might be willing to overpay for one of their extra pitchers.
I’m with you – I just don’t get the Dejesus “hype” every year. He’s okay. A good guy to have, but not really a huge talent or exceedingly good at any aspect of his game. A well-rounded above average.
Darn. Was hoping the Reds would be able to get DeJesus for LF.
Even though it was only one game it must suck for Justin Marks to know he pitched to an ERA of infinity last year.
I think they trade Davis and another pitcher for a big bat. I don’t understand this move unless they trade for a better offensive player, not that DeJesus is bad but he’s not a 3/4/5 batter.
.363 wOBA in ’10 not good enough for you? Because I’d take it.
You forget that DeJesus is joining the A’s
In other news, new Royals pitchers Vin Mazzaro has been hospitalized with crippling depression.
Comment of the year candidate
Makes sense with the posting. Nice upgrade.
Nevermind, he’s only a marginal upgrade with the bat over Sweeney and he’s 5 years older.
Mazzaro could be a nice #3 for the Royals. Pretty good arm…just needs to develop a little bit more of his secondary stuff.
whose #2? i’m assuming your referring to Mike Montgomery but i’m not sure.
Luke Hochevar is still the Royals #2 for now.
This is a great move for the Royals. Vin Mazzaro is one of the most underrated pitchers in Baseball.
Funny!
Hmm, I thought the A’s would have targeted more of a power bat. Nonetheless, DeJesus is a good player.
Yeah I’ve always liked DeJesus, but I definitely feel like the A’s could’ve gotten more or at least a 20-25 home run type of hitter.
DeJesus will fit in nicely, but that’s kind of the problem, the A’s have a bunch of pieces of the puzzle but they’re pieces to a different puzzle. Get some power and then they’ll be on the right track.
Please see 2010 SF Giants. The A’s, with the help of 20-25 HR’s from Chris Carter, will be a force in 2011.
Power bats don’t play particularly well at their park. I think they have all but conceded that a power bat isn’t going to do for them what it does for other teams in other locales.
But DeJesus is a well rounded player. He fits well on just about any team. Mazzaro wasn’t going to crack the A’s rotation this year either, and they have several other pitchers in the pipeline. The bottom line is DeJesus is of more help to them than Mazzaro is.
Wow. Didn’t see this one coming. Nice return for DeJesus though.
Huh? Why? The A’s already had more than adequate outfield defense in Crisp, Davis and Jackson. Why would they need Dejesus, not to mention having to give up a good young SP in Mazzaro.
Don’t forget Michael Taylor. Or he is a bust now.
No he is a few years away from major league. The team isn’t going to worry about saving a spot from him in the future… not that this does anyways.
A soon-to-be 25 year old that is years away from the major leagues?
he’s not years away, he’s months away from at least getting an opportunity at the big league level.
not a bust, he still hit fairly well in AAA but the power wasn’t there yet. Give him 2-3 years and see if he pans out, some of the better players developed in their mid to late twenties, like Jayson Werth.
Trade. Bait.
I smell a type A trade during the trade deadline.
Who is trade bait at the deadline?
Dejesus, especially if the A’s fail to contend. This is similar to the Holliday and Sheets acquisitions, only on a smaller scale. I’m guessing they’re hoping he rebuilds value.
Exactly. It’s a smart business move in my opinion. You know that Dejesus is going to net prospects at the trade deadline because everyone can use an OF who gets on base and plays decent enough defense.
This also gives their organization a chance to see how their farm system shapes up. They can identify holes and fill them in a trade. Or they can wait, hope for type A status, and get two picks.
Sounds like a decent plan.
“because everyone can use an OF who gets on base and plays decent enough defense”
Yes, and there are more than enough of them to go around. Wasn’t this the theory behind the A’s signing Crisp this time last year? Who did they trade him for at the deadline again?
Agreed
Because only Crisp performed as well or better than DeJesus did (FanGraphs WAR) last year… he’s a definite upgrade.
Davis and Jackson are really, really bad at baseball. Ryan Sweeney is injury prone.
The A’s have zero outfield outside of Crisp. who has his own injury issues.
Connor Jackson suckkkkkks
Just want the A’s need, another hitter for the bottom of their lineup. Who is a free agent after 2011.
The A’s are doing quite well then going into the season if their #9 hitter is coming off a .384 OBP season.
The offseason has officially begun!!!
Dude Michael Taylor is still in the Minors…Vin Mazzaro had his ups and downs but it might work out in KC….SO whats the Starting OF: Crisp, DeJesus, Sweeney??? great range in that OF getting a .300 hitter in DeJesus when he is right…The A’s love to surprise everyone with their moves soo I’m not sure this is the end of it
Very nice trade for the Royals!
GREAT SUCCESS!
Does this mean Frenchy is coming to town? Awesome!
No offense, but I think you’ve reached rock bottom if you’re hoping for Jeff Francoeur to come to your team.
Your sarcasm meter is broken. :p
You never know with Moore, the Royals are turning the corner to the future but that guy never surprises me.
That’s what I was thinking, either him or a Guillen sequel. Moore really knows what he likes!
That said, nice trade by Moore. DeJesus is alright but he’s more a complimentary player who had a really good half-year in 2010.
Absurd statement. DeJesus’s WAR (FanGraphs) since 2005: 3.5, 3.8, 1.9, 2.6, 3.3, 2.6. He was on his way to a career year this year before he got hurt. David DeJesus is a heck of a baseball player, and definitely an everyday player.
An everyday player yes but not a middle of the order type slugger that teams usually look for in a corner outfielder, thus he’s really a complementary player. You need this type because not every player is a star (think Scott Brosius). I’m not saying he’s a bad player, I’m saying he’s not an elite hitter.
Not an elite hitter? Then I suppose you don’t think that Alex Rodriguez, Jay Bruce, Andres Torres, or Andrew McCutchen were elite hitters last year. Because they all posted a wOBA of .363, the exact same mark DeJesus also had with the Royals last year before his injury. BABIP-inflated, to be sure, but still an absurdly good number.
this trade reminds me of the one the Giants made last year with the pirates when they gave up Tim Alderson for Freddy Sanchez. The only difference is that Alderson wasn’t (and still isn’t) anywhere near big league ready.
Good trade for the Royals but there’s no guarantee that he’ll pan out over 5-10 years. DeJesus is good defensively and solid offensively. It’d be a good deal if the A’s already had the power that they so desperately need. DeJesus fits with some teams, not the A’s… yet.
I don’t understand why Vin Mazzaro is being so overrated by everyone. Yes he is a solid pitcher but in no way is he going to be as valuable to a team than Dejesus is. Plus this is one of those moves that Beane always does right before he pulls out a big one. I’m looking at our outfield and we have 5 or 6 guys now to fill 4 spots. At least two of Rajai Davis, Coco Crisp, Conor Jackson, Ryan Sweeney, Travis Buck and Jack Cust are not going to be on this team by the time Spring Training starts so don’t worry about it. Even Dejesus himself may not be on the team but I highly doubt that.
If Zack Grienke is traded, does Vin Mazzaro become the Royals’ ace? That’s a scary thought.
You forgot Mr.Chen
No, Zack Grienke becomes the ace because Brian Bannister was let go!
Not every team has an ace. John Lamb is already the Royals ace and he is NW Arkansas.
If you’re going to throw out a pitching prospect in that system, shouldn’t it be Duffy or Montgomery?…
Lamb is the best and has the best upside. One of the best prospects in Baseball.
That’s hardly as much of a consensus as you make it out to be. Lamb is good, but so are the other two. And what does “one of the best prospects in baseball” exactly mean? Top-50? Sure. But it’s not like he’s sniffing anywhere around the top-15.
For example, Sickels prefers Duffy: minorleagueball.com/2010/10/24/1772207/kansas-city…
He is one of the top 5 pitching prospects in Baseball behind Tehrean and Pineda
I love upside and projection in a single player. Upside and projection in an organization I love even more. KC is going to get their system to the point that they’ll be lobbing a lot of prospects at the big league team. Maybe there will be a Saberhagen in there…but a team isn’t built on just stars. If they can fill that bullpen with cheap decent plus arms…it’d make one area they wouldn’t have to waste free agent dough.
Off topic but who’s the Yankees ace if they get Lee? Halladay is the Phillies ace but really they’ve got three, or maybe two and a half. I think Lester is the Sox ace even if Beckett and Lackey are getting paid like aces. What bothers me is that teams like the Cubs have some descent starters but unless you count Z (who does anymore?) they don’t have an elite tor and it seems like that’s what you need now.
I still say Sabathia is the ace.
And let the trading begin! I was hoping for the Braves to pick him up for Beachy and Marek but ah well.
what a horrible move that would have been… let’s trade a young, potentially solid starting pitcher and a RH relief pitcher (something we need this year still) for a guy to hit at the bottom of the order with AGone. And he would be a one year rental at that… totally what we need!
Im tired of the crap outfield the Braves have been putting together. Let’s see a real, middle of the order bat in the outfield and stop adding a bunch of 4th OFer types or guys who hit at the bottom of our lineup. We already have a 2 hitter in Prado, Dejesus adds nothing to this team.
If you don’t understand the value of DeJesus then you don’t know what you are talking about. He gets on base at one of the best rates in the league. He would be a great lead-off hitter, something the Braves don’t have. DeJesus is also great at defense, an aspect that the Braves were exposed at being very poor at near the end of last year. If you think DeJesus is a #4 OF then you are insane.
There was no point in this for the A’s… yet. Beane has a history of moves coming in pairs… especially right after a big “wtf” on the first one. Who knows he might spend about 15 minutes in green and gold like Ryan Langerhans. But seriously, I hope this isn’t it as far as dealing from strength (pitching) to weakness (power hitting… or hitting period), because otherwise this is pretty underwhelming. Chris Carter isn’t going to step in and hit 40 home runs. I think the lineup would be hard pressed to get 20 from more than one guy even.
DeJesus > Langerhans
Yeah the A’s need power, but DeJesus is a good player with a high OBP. When the A’s had winning teams in the early 2000s they did it with players who found ways to get on base.
Don’t count this trade out yet… but yeah I think they could’ve gotten more haha
I wasn’t making a comparison of the two players – merely stating that there’s been a precedent for players to be flipped by the A’s.
this trade dont sit right with me i dont like it
Considering that there were rumblings of Mazzaro being involved in a Mark Reynolds deal, it’s hard to truly believe that the A’s got the most out of their pitching surplus.
To be fair, though, I think DeJesus is in line to be a Type A free agent in a year, which will help bring back some value to Oakland.
Errr, likely Type B due to the injury. Still will help recoup some future value. And they get more value now out of this move.
No way we’ll he be a Type A Free agent.
A fun way to start of the offseason! Was nice to check MLBTR and finally see a significant trade on the front page. It’s exciting 🙂
And speaking of the trade, it looks like a decent one to me at first glance…Dejesus isn’t a power bat, but I think its fair to say he’ll be a strong upgrade to the extremely weak Oakland lineup. I think they’re going to try to combine Dejesus high BA/good contact skills with guys like Daric Barton who are OBP machines. Not a lot of power, but will be a better run-scoring strategy than what they had this year. I remember Mazzaro pitching, vaguely, in the one game he played against Boston….seems like he’s got some promise. Plus, this helps make sense of their bid on that Japanese pitcher a couple days ago. Looking at it quickly like that, Oakland seems to have both upgraded their offense and their rotation. Sounds good to me. And the Royals were able to move the soon-to-be pricey Dejesus for some promising pitchers.
I am so happy the offseason has begun xD
Yeah, but the upgrades for the A’s are marginal I’d say, it’s not like they’re adding Lee and Crawford. For a team that struggled offensively DeJesus probably isn’t the answer. And, perhaps worst of all they just got a lot more expensive. They’re paying DeJesus now and the posting fee, not to mention whatever the contract turns out to be.
Dunno, seems like a lot of work for not enough reward.
I suppose. I think though that Oakland’s not done making upgrades. As someone else said, they’re now beginning to have a surplus of outfielders, with DeJesus, Davis, Crisp, Jackson, and the kid in the minors, Taylor. They could definitely make a move with one of those guys plus another pitcher or something to bring in an offensive upgrade to the infield. And yeah they are small improvements I suppose, but I do sincerely think Dejesus is a nice fit in the lineup. *shrugs* I dunno. I like Oakland 🙂 I’m interested to see what they do the rest of the winter; another offensive upgrade or two, and they could have a really intriguing team for next year. At the very least will give the Angels a major run for their money; could even threaten Texas if they can’t resign Lee and don’t make many other major moves.
Well, you could be on to something, their friends across the Bay just won the World Series without an elite offense. The A’s are similarly geared so who know’s. I think you’re right that they are probably planning other trades too, I just can’t see DeJesus being the answer to their offensive problems.
Oh, I agree. DeJesus as a standalone is definitely not a solution for a very troubled offense. But its a very good start in my opinion, and leaves plenty of opportunity for a chain effect to take place which will end up bringing some more pop to the lineup.
statistically, saving a run is more valuable than scoring a run.
Nice move for the Royals though getting a good, young, cheap arm to replace Bannister.
Can you say “Weirdest Trade Ever”?
For all the love that Billy Beane gets, he makes a lot of pointless trades.
He’s a genius… at self-promotion. Next thing you know someone will make a movie about the guy.
billy beane is up to something. he’s a pretty clever gm. i dont think he’s thinking about keeping dejesus. he’s looking at cashing in on a weak OF market at the right time. i dont this this is a bad move at all. i actually think the royals didnt get enough for dejesus. he’ll only cost 10.5 million the next 2 years and has put up stellar offensive numbers for a center fielder (not to mention he’s an above average defensive center fielder). i might be the only one, but i say..
Good move, A’s.
Only under contract for 1 year @ $6M, I agree as a Royals fan tho they still didn’t get enough for him. Especially if he stays on Type A status.
I’m guessing Beane will flip DeJesus for more prospects midseason a la Matt Holliday. They must be pretty confident about getting Iwakuma under contract to dump extra pitching.
This move actually makes sense for Dayton Moore. He just managed to free up an outfield spot for, guess who?
Jeff Francouer …
I guess the A’s have a thing for acquiring injured outfielders that previously played for the Royals, i.e. Crisp.
Not only Crisp but we’ve also swung trades for Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon from KC
Pretty fair trade, imo. Dejesus is a very good, underrated player. Mazzaro had a decent year and has room for growth, but his numbers look good in part because of the A’s defense. If he can’t improve that SO:BB ratio and stop giving up so many homers, his long term success won’t be that impressive. Still, a nice addition for the Royals, especially with Marks involved.
Beane is a genius when it comes to flipping. I’ll bet $20 that Dejesus isn’t in a Oakland uniform on Opening Day.
And I’ll bet $20 that he -is- in Oakland, but one of Crisp/Davis/Jackson is not.
Crisp will be back in 2011 as his option was picked up for next year. My bet is that Jackson will be non-tendered due to the injuries he’s had in the past two years.
god I hope so
Beane WAS a genius at flipping, but he’s made some very very weird moves the past few years. Most GMs, like Beane, value their own prospects more than ever and have not tended to make that mid-season ginormous trade. That being said, it’s cyclical with GM’s — look at how Sabean is a genius now but was villified two years ago
Sabean isn’t a genius in any way, the scouting staff he hired is just really good and gave him Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Bumgarner, and Posey from the draft while he supplied the likes of Zito, Rowand, and to his credit (or luck) Huff & Burrell.
Didn’t mean to like but rather to reply. I’m not a Giants fan nor am I trying to say Sabean is a genius, however, he must have some smarts if the scouting staff HE hired returned said players.
Oh absolutely. I suppose it didn’t seem like I was giving him credit for that, but I meant to. I guess I got wrapped up in my fervor over how terrible some of the contracts he hands out are…
Two years ago? More like two minutes ago!
Is he gonna trade DeJesus for Reynolds? That would be a good trade for both sides.
I like the deal as well for KC. Mazzaro is a huge upgrade over Bannister in the rotation. I’d almost bet, as others have mentioned, that Frenchy is coming to town, but if it’s as a platoon player, it might work out. He’s solid as a splits guy. In other hot stove action, I’d still love them to explore a deal involving Greinke for Colby Rasmus, plus another pitcher. We’ll see – it’s early, but GMDM is on the prowl already!
You know, I feel like we’ve been saying the same thing for the past few years after every Billy Beane trade:
“This is weird. He must have something else up his sleeve…”
But then nothing else substantial happens…
If this is the Beane’s only “big” offensive move this winter, I’m going to have to say I’ve lost my faith in the man.
“I’m going to have to say I’ve lost my faith in the man.”
Join the club…
Finished 2nd in his division with one of the youngest teams in baseball. Has a great farm system. An excellent, cheap, controllable staff. No bad contracts at all now that Chavez is off the books. He did all this with an extremely low budget. Now ownership is willing to spend. The A’s are in great position to compete for the next several years. I’m not sure which part of this has caused you to lose faith.
The team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006 and the only solid move Beane has made since then was the Dan Haren trade, and out of that deal, he gave up Carlos Gonzalez for three months of Matt Holliday.
So I guess getting rid of Joe Blanton for Josh Outman and Adrian Cardenas, plus Matt Spencer is just a bonus, is bad as well. Or how about getting Kouz and Sogard for basically nothing. Or even getting Adam Rosales for nothing. And even getting Joey Devine for Mark Kotsay is bad. Getting Jerry Blevins for Jason Kendall was bad too huh? Beane is making good trades just not the wow we really ripped them off big time deals.
Let’s see…
Outman had Tommy John surgery. Jury’s out on that one.
Cardenas hasn’t played in the bigs yet.
Spencer was traded to the Cubs in the Jake Fox deal.
Kouz had a terrific defensive season, but he’s not much at the plate and rumor has it he may be non-tendered.
Sogard hasn’t played in the bigs yet.
Rosales looks like a nice utility guy, I’ll give you that.
Devine hasn’t pitched since 2008.
Blevins is a decent bullpen piece.
I like sf55’s Billy Beane deals a lot better than yours.
You rip the players the A’s got – but what about the ones they sent away?
Blanton – an inconsistent 5 starter.
Scott Hairston – 3rd/4th outfielder with no pop. (unfortunately, bad trade in acquiring him, but at least it was a decent recoup)
Mark Kotsay – finally healthy and hitting a bit this year, but has been a bench player since leaving OAK
Jason Kendall – a good defensive catcher who cant hit, easily overtaken by Kurt Suzuki
Sure you can rip on the pieces they got. But you can’t say that in the trades mentioned, the A’s were on the losing end of any of them.
Who am I ripping? I’m just saying that most of the guys you mentioned haven’t contributed anything to the big league club (yet) and the ones who have have played minor roles.
The Blanton trade could turn out to be an incredible deal for the A’s, depending on how Outman comes back and how Cardenas develops.
I guess what I’m saying is, at this point, am I really supposed to praise a bunch of trades from which the A’s haven’t reaped any benefits on the big league level?
to be fair I was going to mention the Blanton and Kouzmanoff trade as well. Didn’t want to be redundant.
Obviously the jury is still out on Outman and Cardenas, I still like the trade though.
The Kouzmanoff trade was weird because the main player the A’s were trading away to the Padres, Scott Hairston, was acquired previously from the same team. The A’s essentially sent Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb, Craig Italiano, Aaron Cunningham, and Scott Hairston for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard.
The big prospects in that deal were Gallagher and Cunningham. Gallagher has been really bad, while Cunnigham looks like a fourth outfielder. Ryan Webb looked good for the Padres coming out of the pen, but the A’s seem to have an overabundance of effective relievers every year so his value was low. Craig Italiano was converted to a reliever, not much value there. I love Eric Sogard’s plate discipline, but he looks like a career utility man. He provides good insurance in case Mark Ellis gets hurt. These players are really low value, nobody gave up anything worthwhile.
The trade really comes down to this, the A’s got a slightly younger player, who plays a premium defensive position, that can post consistent WAR totals between 2.5 and 3.0. Third base was one of Oakland’s most glaring weaknesses going into the season, and the A’s filled it with a slightly above average player.The Padres received a platoon outfielder who plays corner outfield and will be lucky to accumulate 2.0 WAR ever again. In my opinion the A’s won that trade.
Outman was a stud before the TJ surgery and as noted before a lot of people come back stronger.
Cardenas easily a top 10 prospect in the A’s minor league system
Spencer is gone and no one really cares he was just a bonus as said earlier
Kouz is probably not going to get non-tendered. You just don’t non-tender those kinds of guys and you forget to mention that he added in about the only pop for the A’s with 16 while missing 2-3 weeks. He could have easily had 20 and we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
Sogard has played in the bigs for a bit and is a candidate to take over for Ellis next year. Good solid hitter everywhere he has been and his short time in the bigs was no exception.
Devine was a major part of the pen in ’08. He is going to be a stud when he returns. You don’t post an ERA under 1 in 45.2 innings by accident.
But he turned three months of Matt Holliday into Brett Wallace, which turned into many years of Michael Taylor. Obviously Beane would like that trade back, but I still don’t believe Carlos Gonzalez is quite as good as he was this year.
What about the Nick Swisher deal? He got Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney for him. In a perfect world the A’s keep Swisher, but obviously he couldn’t. Beane got much more for him than the White Sox did later on.
He also got Michael Wuertz for nothing.
Some teams have to rebuild because they can’t spend $100M+ every year on payroll. Oakland is one of those teams. Beane should be credited for actually committing to a rebuild, unlike most GMs. The team is now in a great position to compete for several years, as I pointed out in my first post. Beane has found several quality players off the scrap heap. He has also assembled one of the best young cores in the league.
You’re missing the mark if you are judging Beane based on how many times the A’s have made the playoffs lately and how many blockbuster trades he has pulled off. Beane has been building for the future and the future is very bright in Oakland.
I’m really just playing devil’s advocate here, fellas.
It’s obvious that the A’s are a rebuild/retool team. I’m not so thickheaded that I don’t understand that.
It’s just that I don’t think Billy Beane is above questioning, which is where a lot of people place him. The guy obviously has his flaws, and putting together a half decent offense has been his biggest issue since building the lineup around Eric Chavez fell apart.
And that’s where this trade comes into question. Which such a fantastic surplus of solid pitching, it seems to me that a better offensive player should have been acquired. Whether DeJesus is just a stepping stone to that better offensive player remains to be seen.
I honestly don’t think he will be done just yet. Its still pretty early in the off season. The only reason why he hasn’t had much going on in the past year is because the A’s were still in a rebuilding mode. Now that the A’s are in a win-now mode, Beane will definitely do whatever he can to improve the offense. Just look two years ago when the A’s were trying to compete. They acquired Matt Holiday (who nobody thought would happen) and signed Jason Giambi. While those deals didn’t go exactly as planned, the A’s still showed that they had plans up their sleeves. Even last year, when the A’s were standing pat on their roster, the A’s traded for Jake Fox and Adam Rosales, two minor leaguers who Beane hoped would strike gold and contribute to the club. While Fox didn’t pan out much, Rosales ended up being a very cheap and solid versatile super utility man who ended filling in for Mark Ellis when he was injured. Point is, The A’s will, by all means, do whatever they can to improve the club. They’re not done yet.
The DeJesus bashing is just downright incorrect.
This is a guy who plays stellar LF defense and good RF defense. He hits for average, with a little bit of pop and the ability to get on base. He was in line to be a type-A free agent at the end of 2009 if he hadn’t been injured, and might still make it to the type-A threshold by the end of 2010, although with his limited 09 playing time it’s unlikely.
He’s in the prime of his career, could hit 1st, 2nd or 3rd on most big-league teams (3rd for Oakland), and is making $6 million next year. Enjoy the pickup, A’s fans. He’s a heck of a ballplayer, and we’ll be sorry to see him go in KC.
I like you, dude.
As an A’s fan, I like the deal for all the reasons you’ve stated. The A’s trade their least important young pitcher with upside for a solid hitting, OFer who can play D. Probably as good a return as they were going to get.
I was thinking along those lines. I remember reading last year, pre injury, all the rumors about other teams wanting him. And now he gets traded for a below average pitcher and suddenly he’s chopped liver.
Anyone who thinks this deal is just a deal to acquire Dejesus is foolish. As previous posters have indicated, this is a typical WTF! deal that is accompanied with a positive HOLY S!!T type deal.
Plus for you Royals fans, who I admit you won this deal, Mazzaro has an awful fastball that tends to be his pitfall. It is as straight as an arrow. Marks is very intriguing though.
FYI the guys a free agent after this season. More reason to expect a second part of this deal from Oakland’s perspective.
I think we should of traded Mazzaro for Mark Reynolds. Why do we need more Outfielders?! Doesn’t make any sense. Bad trade.
I’m pretty sure Beane was not at all a fan of Reynolds K rate. And I’m not either. I don’t care about the home runs honestly, he looks totally lost most of the time at the plate. Besides that too requires some shuffling, with Kouzmanoff on the team. (or is he headed to minors or something? don’t keep great tabs on oakland :P) Also, who knows what Arizona’s asking price really was. It may not have been worth it.
Yeah you got a point. Reynolds K rate is horrible. I’m loving David’s batting averages but I felt like we could of got more or someone better fror Mazarro in my humble opinion.
Well, remember Mazzaro was never a huge prospect for you guys. His numbers aren’t dazzling for 2010, and some of his peripherals aren’t too promising either. And as another poster mentioned, he has a super flat fastball, and that could begin to really hurt him. I agree Dejesus is flawed too, but assuming (and this may be a faulty assumption, I admit) that Oakland makes a couple other moves to go along with this one, this trade may work out really well for the team. Reynolds is horrible at getting on base at all, and that really doesn’t seem to work in Oakland’s plan right now. Dejesus can’t hit it out of the park as often, but when paired with some high-OBP guys, and some fast guys like Davis or Crisp, he could start driving in a lot of runs.
Not sure why people dont like this trade…Mazzaro wasnt anything special(although he is young and has time to improve), not really sure the type of prospect Marks is. In my opinion this is a decent trade for the A’s, they get a pretty good outfielder who can hit and hopefully with a few other moves by the gm, improve that offense.
The deal itself isn’t bad when you look at what the A’s give up. It’s that DeJesus is essentially an older, more expensive version of Ryan Sweeney.
Of course, the more I think about all of this, the more I expect to see DeJesus with a different team within the next week or so.
The thing is that Dejesus is an upgrade over pretty much any outfielder they had last year. Losing Mazzaro doesnt hurt their rotation much but I guess they may use Dejesus+ another pitcher to trade for someone who can hit in the middle of the lineup and drive in runs.
They get Dejesus for one year!!!!!!! Rajai Davis was far better last year and possibly the year before than Dejesus, that’s one reason why this deal makes no sense.
But they’ll likely get high picks out of him, if he doesn’t have a bad year he’ll likely be a type A free agent. And Rajai Davis isn’t necessarily going anywhere, so why does that make this a bad trade?
Rajai Davis was not better. He never gets on base. DeJesus can. FanGraphs WAR agrees with me (2.7 for DeJesus in an injury-shortened season, 1.2 for Davis in 143 games). It really isn’t close, actually…
A perfect example that SPANdemonium does not determine the worth of players, the GMs do.
WTF???
Well they basically just traded for the same player, for more money and two prospects. Disagree?
1. Dejesus is a pretty different player from Rajai; with more pop in his bat he projects to be a middle-of-the-order type guy for Oakland. I’m thinking they may hit him right after Barton, to work the OBP/BA connection there. And its not like they lost Rajai in this trade; again, you’re making it sound like they’ve still only got Davis, but lost cash and prospects. Instead, now they’ve got another good outfielder for a relatively decent cost. Its not like Mazzaro was a major prospect either, and with Oakland’s pitching surplus he’s not a big loss. Now you’ve got three competitive outfielders in Crisp, Davis and Dejesus. Move Jackson, let Cust go, or something, and use them plus more pitching to bring in an infield upgrade. Add to that a FA or two, I’m thinking a DH, and you’ve got a nice set of upgrades there.
Cool. Some action. On paper, seems like a wash for both teams. In fact, I think the A’s did a little better here obtaining an “A” talent in the field and at the plate and the Royals, while these guys are good in their own right, are more like a couple C’s. Maybe a B- and a C-
Wonder what Oakland would want if they were going to move Ryan Sweeney. He’d be a nice fourth outfielder for a lot of teams, though he may now be fifth or sixth on the A’s depth chart. Then again, there may be more balls in the air.
I say the A’s keep Ryan Sweeney, but who knows what Billy Beane is up to. He’s a solid hitter who is terrific on defense. He’s been a high average type of guy with pretty good plate discipline who hits the ball gap-to-gap. Only two things hold back Sweeney; Lack of Power and staying healthy. He hasn’t shown much power since coming up with the A’s (just 12 hrs combined in the last three seasons). However, Sweeney is just 25 (26 in Feb.) and I’m sure he will continue to improve as he reaches his prime in the majors (as long as he avoids any nagging injuries that have plagued him the past couple seasons). Sweeney does have some trade value in him, but I would like to see what he can do as he gets older.
Plus he’s ANOTHER left handed bat. The A’s have huge issues with having to many of those in the lineup
Yet another reason to think that DeJesus will never put on an Oakland A’s uniform…
I think it’s more likely some of the younger outfielders with more service time get moved. Rajai Davis makes sense.
Either way, despite my earlier criticism, I’m thinking this is going to be a busy offseason for Billy Beane.
Well we will see this one will probably be a wash depending on whether DeJesus can stay healthy. I know Rockie fans are sure as hell happy with the A’s. It seems like the outfield will be crowded. Although look for Cust and jackson to be non tendered. Although what does this mean for Taylor
Taylor will probably spend the year in Triple-A again, with the A’s hoping he can reach the potential he had before being acquired by the A’s. Taylor struggled throughout most of the 2010 season in the minors, but he did hit well at the end of the season. I could see him as a mid-season call-up if he hits well in Triple-A.
Crisp, Davis, DeJesus.
That’s one speedy outfield. Yikes.
Yes, however, we heard that same song last year.
The A’s make some moves that just make your head turn. This is one of them. I’m guessing he gets flipped.
BoSOx, I agree that he is an upgrade over Davis in the power and RBI department, however they could have gotten better out of this package. In fact the more I think about it, Davis might not be offered ARB. So they get Dejesus for about 3 mill instead of 6, plus the two prospects. Just not a fan of the return from some decently valued YOUNG prospects.
Carter will be starting in the outfield, along with Crisp and Dejesus. Yes I think the A’s will hang on to him.
As a Royals fan, if they go the scrap-heap route, I wouldn’t mind seeing Brad Hawpe along with Frenchy. Hawpe absolutely murders righties, and Frenchy is solid against lefties. Along with Alex Gordon and two of Blanco/Maier/Dyson, might be fun to watch.
i would have thought they might get a bit more for vin than david….not saying david is bad but a young pitcher with potential to get an aging out fielder who had a career year?….what if they dont get a contract with the pitcher that they won the bidding for, then this move does not make sense..
Maybe it’s me but I never saw Mazzaro as more than a mid/back rotation kind of guy. I’m not sure what ppl expected Beane to get in return for him. DeJesus on the other hand is a solid, capable hitter with a lifetime .289/.360/.427 line coming off of what could’ve been an all-star caliber year. IF, and it’s a big IF, DeJesus can give you a .300/.370 year in Oakland then consider yourself to have made a good deal. And you know if he is having a good year you can always flip him for a prospect. Mazzaro was never going to bring in the power bat the A’s need but DeJesus is still a step in the right direction. Had they acquired a power bat first and then made this very same trade then ppl would be calling this a nice complimentary deal. It can still be that just that it was done ahead of what will probably be a bigger deal or signing for a more potent bat.
Yeah, DeJesus is established and Mazzaro doesn’t seem like he’ll be an ace.
SPAN, where you at? What do you think of this? Surprised he hasn’t chimed in.
So much for the second coming of the “Big Three”.
Big 3 is Cahill, Anderson and Gonzalez. If they all stay healthy, 2 or the 3 will be all-stars next year.
I think we could have gotten more for Mazarro. Not just him straight up but more of a package for a number 3 bat. I like the trade though, we need to get more offense and have a lot of depth pitching so we can take the risk. If he stays healthy thats a solid trade.
They do have Josh Outman coming back from rehab plus Tyson Ross. Dejesus didn’t have a career year either. He’s something like a .289 lifetime hitter.
Have you seen the lifetime averages of the other A’s players?
If they do get a power bat, this deal will look good, I agree.
The A’s management are fantastically intelligent. I predict this will work out for them yet again. I always love seeing them fly under the radar on these kind of deals. You never know what they are going to do!
I know Dejesus was hurt last year, and all but god that’s all it takes to get him? I am pissed Wren didn’t go after him sooner.
Plus Anikel sucks.
Ankiel is gone. Already cut loose by the Braves.
I know that. That’s why I am able to say he sucks now.
Fair enough.
Wait, did Allard Baird sneak back into the front office? Still, this is better return than he ever got. But part of me wishes Moore had tried to get more. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. I just really, really hope this doesn’t mean Francoeur is coming to town.
Someone else posted earlier about a Francoeur/Hawpe platoon in RF for the Royals. Gotta say, if they could pull it off, you might be able to squeeze some production out of Frenchy. Don’t sweat it just yet.
As a life long Royals fan, I can tell A’s Fans they got a great player in DeJesus. I really hate to see him go, but we managed without him the last 2 months, and I understand why we moved him. I wish him continued success in Oakland.
Can somebody tell me what pitches Mazzaro throws?
Super straight fastball that sits in the mid 90s usually about 92-95, changeup with little movement and an average slider. His strength comes from his control which is above average more times than not. He can also get rattled a bit though if he gets lit up early. I truly believe that the only reason why his ERA was so low is because of the defense saving him a lot. Beane did a good job selling high on him.
So let me see if I’ve got a handle on Beane’s offseason so far. He is likely to spend about 30M over 3 years for a guy everyone has pegged as a 4th starter. And then just traded a minimum wage 4th starter who would be cheap for years for 1 year of a good but not great OFer which will cost 6M
so essentially he is paying 36M for 3 yrs of a 4th starter and 1 yr of an OK RFer
Seems to me he could have kept his cheap 4th starter and had 35.5M to spend on a much better bat (or two or three)
But Beane is supposedly a genius. LOL
Normally I would corret you but I have a feeling it would go right over your head.
The A’s management is incredibly smart, and Beane is a pretty clever GM. I can see them flipping DeJesus for more pitching mid-season. But if they don’t, I’m sure they will get a power bat that includes one of their excess outfielders like Rajai Davis. This move basicly opens up for more trades.
i’m surprised other clubs would deal with billy beane. normally beane comes out on top all the time. this was a great trade getting dejesus.
Yes, he made out terrific in the hudson trade….and the harden trade….and the big trade with the rockies…..and the milton bradley trade…and on and on
He trades away all the position players that have any future, even when they have years of cheapness ahead of them, and instead keeps building lineups full of 2 and 7 hitters. Yay!
Is there anyone on the A’s roster capable of 20 HRs next year?
No power at 1b. No power at 3b. No power in LF. No power in RF. Their new DH better be Babe Ruth reincarnate
You named about 5 bad trades. I can name well over 15 good trades.
You can quantify it anyway you want. Right now he is paying just about the same amount of dollars for an OF of Sweeney/Crisp/DeJesus as he could be paying for an OF of Eithier/CarGon/Swisher
He has a lineup that currently has a few #2 hitters and a few 7/8 hitters and ZERO 3,4,5 hitters
In fact ever since the mitchell report, he has built a bottom of the barrell offense EVERY year
So it seems the bad trades have outweighed the good ones the last few years
Can you think of another team in baseball who currently doesnt have a 20HR hitter on the roster?
The Royals.
Uh yeah no. Ethier and Swisher cost more than their entire outfield combined. Once again you named a handful of bad trades, I can name a whole lot more good ones. The team last year went 81-81 with almost no production from the corner outfield spots. I believe the A’s spent more time on the DL than any other team this past season. They managed a .500 record with an offense of #2 hitters and #7 hitters while maintaining one of the lowest payrolls. In the past the A’s haven’t had a lot of money and they couldn’t take a ton of risks with long term contracts with the Eric Chavez craziness still going on. We will see what happens in the future as the A’s have shown recently the willingness to spend.
“So it seems the bad trades have outweighed the good ones the last few years ”
I mean you would rather have Nick Swisher, Andre Ethier and Carlos Gonzalez. I might rather have Chris Carter, Brett Anderson, Michael Taylor, Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Sweeney, and Kevin Kouzmanoff who were all acquired in some way related to Swisher/Gonzalez. I will admit that those trades weren’t great, but they were hardly terrible.
I could talk about the problems the A’s organization faces like the unwillingness of players to play in Oakland (Adrian Beltre!!!) and other things like that. I could go in depth on some of the trades you don’t like and try to explain them. But I’m not, I have a feeling you have already made up your mind and nothing I can say will change it. I could show you how Beane received Cory Lidle, Johnny Damon, and Mark Ellis for A.J. Hinch, Angel Berroa and Ben Grieve. Or Jose Ortiz, Todd Bellitz, and Mario Encarnacion for Jermaine Dye. Or how he got Eric Hinske for Miguel Cairo, then traded Hinske for Billy Koch, then traded Billy Koch for Keith Foulke who saved 43 games and had a 2.08 ERA. In the end none of that would matter to you because you don’t remember how Billy Beane made the A’s a powerhouse for 10 years with a measly payroll.
Beane clearly isn’t building his team around power, so I don’t know why you insist on judging the A’s based on that aspect. And yes, it is possible to win games without hitting a home run (see Oakland’s record last year).
…I hate this trade, but it’s typical of Dayton Moore to sell low on MLB talent. At this point, I could see Zack Greinke going to the Mets for Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez.
This is a great move. Now Beane needs to trade Gio, Ellis and Rajai to Florida for Dan Uggla. Then sign Manny Ramirez to an incentive-laden deal.
C- Suzuki; 1B- Barton; 2B- Uggla; SS- Pennington; 3B- Kouz; OF- DeJesus, Crisp & Manny; DH- Carter
SP- Anderson, Cahill, Braden, Iwakuma, 5th starter (whoever wins out between Outman, Ross and Mortensen).
so much for Oakland’s good defense……..
Not a bad trade trade for Beane. Love Dejesus plate discipline, but he doesn’t give the A’s nearly enough slugging.
Not a horrendous deal. But he gives them what they already have. Solid 2-type hitter. In Oakland he has 15 HR power. And the thumb injury shouldnt do much to effect him this year provided that it is completely healed.
But i also wouldnt be totally surprised if the A’s used him as part of another deal to go out and get more of a middle of the order type guy. They already have Crisp, Davis, Sweeney, Buck, not to mention Michael Taylor at AAA. You could get the same numbers out of a Davis/Sweeney platoon as you could playing DeJesus everyday and for far less money.
Plus the timing doesnt quite fit. Why deal away a young SP with upside who is under team control til 2015 before you begin negotiations with the guy from Japan? It just seems like they could have made this trade in January just as easily as they could have right now.
I could be wrong but it just seems like DeJesus might not wanna buy a place in Oakland just yet.
I think it’s sort of a bad move for both teams.
The Royals should have hung onto DeJesus to trade him at the deadline for a more valuable player than Mazzaro, and the A’s should have hung onto Mazzaro because he is a cheap pitcher that fits the mold of their rotation (pitch to contact, rely on good defense) and DeJesus doesn’t really improve their outfield (David, Crisp, Sweeney).
Since I don’t care about either team, I’m just glad the trades are starting to fly!
Major upside on Mazzaro. I would put a package together for him with KC including Gardner & a prospect & then sign Crawfors for LF.
Your rotation would be: CC/ General Lee/ Pettite/Hughes/ Mazzaro & put AJ in the pen!
Good Trade maybe fro Royals.
I think it’s a nice move for the A’s! I wanted the Giants to get him last year right before he got hurt.
King
If you want to vote, and see the consensus, on who this trade benefited most baseball-polls.com/?p=248
come give your opinion
There are four directions on the compass. It’s amazing that the Royals organization has been able to spend the past 25 years without going in a single direction. One would think that over the course of these ages they would have accidentally found some semblance of credibility.
To see them make moves that might even make sense is astonishing. Not every move or pick will turn out, but it should be generally agreed that the Royals have found a compass point.