Here are some of the latest rumors out of Oakland as the A's look to be buyers and not sellers at the trade deadline…
- Yunel Escobar's reported attitude problems have given the A's pause in pursuing the Blue Jays shortstop, but after talking to Toronto sources, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle "the sense I got was that Escobar has matured from his Atlanta days, when he was at his worst. Two people with the Blue Jays told me they really like Escobar and his reputation is overblown." In terms of other possible shortstop upgrades, Slusser doesn't think Marco Scutaro "is a top option" for the A's and Stephen Drew might not be available if the Diamondbacks make other moves.
- The A's are focusing on shortstop more than third base, opines Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group. Brandon Inge entered tonight's action with a .211/.269/.395 line since joining the A's, but Stiglich writes that Oakland values his defense and clubhouse leadership.
- A.J. Griffin's "value is at an all-time high" and the rookie right-hander could be a "viable trade chip" to get the Athletics a shortstop, a rival executive tells Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Griffin, 24, has impressed since joining the A's rotation, posting a 2.25 ERA and 3.63 K/BB ratio in six starts.
I would not mind having Marco Scutaro back in the A’s. Big fan favorite for us. He would fit in well for SS (and possibly 3B) while Pennington is injured and Hicks still learning. We need batters that can hit for average, and Scutaro is one of them.
I’d take Scutaro if all other possibilities failed and as long as they don’t give up a decent prospect in return.
He was just traded to the Giants.
Only trade griffin for asrubal, starlin, or another long term option. Griffin is a beast!
Griffin is good but I don’t think he’d bring the A’s a face of franchise SS like Asdrubal and Starlin.
If Lindor was closer to being ML ready, i could see a deal around this happening
Griffin isn’t worth a B+/A- level spect though who at only 18/19 has room to grow into one of the best spects in baseball.
i think you misunderstood. If Lindor was closer to ML ready (for the Indians) then Asdrubal would be “expendable” to an extent so a trade could make sense. wasn’t talking about Griffin for Lindor. And if that was an actual trade, A’s would jump on that in a heart beat
The comment was so far down from the original post that I didn’t even think it through, my bad.
I’m still fine with him for Yunel, since Yunel represents enough of an upgrade and is controllable for long enough to make it worth it
I wouldn’t trade yunel for griffin straight up though. I would do brett anderson for yunel.
no no no way, Brett Anderson is a #1 or #2 pitcher when healthy, Griffin at best is a #3
Anderson>>>Griffin
!?
I dont see Oakland trading for a 3B. Inge has improved enough over the last week and he seems to important to the team chemistry. We almost certainly need an upgrade at SS.
haha, love how the media caters to the audience. fans complain that yunel’s reputation as a lazy showoff is outdated, and voila! out comes an article saying hes a changed man.
It’s lazy journalism. Writing about Escobar’s prior reputation is legit…but you’d think sources would be checked to offer one single well-rounded story. Mention that he had prior issues with the Braves, but use the Jays info to bring it up to date. Might also be the nature of print media in this day and age. There are most certainly people out there who have no idea that Escobar had a reputation of any kind.
No way! Griffin has been lights out to the top offenses in the league so far.
We have Anderson coming back soon, and Straily and Peacock ready to replace him in AAA. He’s the perfect candidate to trade while his value is this high, especialy for an above average shortstop like Yunel, and possibly even Rollins, although I’d be much more hesitant to trade him for Rollins
Have you seen Peacock this year? He’s not particularly vying for a rotation spot just yet.
Look at more than just the numbers. He’s still got a very good fastball that hits the mid 90’s. He’s been commanding it better the last month or so after the team made him make some mechanical adjustments before the season started. The curveball is still a plus pitch that fools hitters and he finally has a changeup which improves his arsenal.
Don’t just look at the numbers at face value, since minor league numbers don’t mean much if anything at all. He’s ready and will be just fine in the majors
also, at this point, the only parks he may have trouble in are Coors and Arlington, but the same could be said for pretty much any pitcher
not counting impending FA, Anderson, Straily, and Parker all have more upside than him and its not close. and the A’s have others to fill out a rotation and give depth.
I love AJ Griffin, and I’ll root for him if he’s traded, but trading him for multiple years of a SS where the A’s have jack squat is generally a good idea.
A’s really need to Free Dan Straily!! soon. Look up Dan Straily on youtube and it’s the 3rd or 4th video down, the one by MLB Dirt, it shows his recent game he pitched against the Raniers (Dan Hultzen was his counterpart). It’s just awesome, his curveball had some wicked bite.
Trust me, I’m already on the Dan Straily (!!!!) bandwagon and think he should be up in MLB in early august. I understand upgrades and the necessities of making a big one in the infield, but I’ll be saddened if he’s traded because the guy’s electric.
what i am most surprised about on the jays front is the lack of talk about kelly johnson. makes me wonder if he’s the one actually on the block.
Finally someone asks the Jays about Escobar’s alleged ‘attitude’ problems, instead of just repeating the charge.
Please note that the Jays say there are none. How about from now on when they mention ‘attitude’ problems with Escobar they also acknowledge he had problems in Atlanta, but none have surfaced since being dealt to Toronto.
I think it’s bogus that Yunel’s even on the market; but if anyone needs a shortstop they are not very bright if they didn’t consider him, especially based on things that happened over two years ago.