The Athletics announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Jharel Cotton for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Daulton Jefferies from Double-A Midland. Oakland’s 40-man roster remains full.
Cotton, 27, joined the A’s alongside righties Frankie Montas and Grant Holmes in the 2016 trade that sent Josh Reddick and Rich Hill to the Dodgers. At the time, he was considered a fairly well-regarded pitching prospect and a potential long-term rotation piece, but things haven’t panned out that way. While Cotton impressed with a 2.15 ERA in 29 1/3 innings with the A’s in 2016 following that trade, he was unable to replicate that over a larger sample in 2017.
That 2017 season saw Cotton limp to a 5.58 ERA in 129 innings, due largely to an alarming 2.0 HR/9 mark. He missed the entire 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery, and his 2019 comeback season was shortened by a hamstring issue that eventually required surgical repair. At this point, it’s been more than two years since Cotton has thrown an inning in a Major League game.
Jefferies, 24, was a Competitive Balance selection (No. 37 overall) by the A’s back in 2016. He split the 2019 season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, where he worked to a combined 3.42 ERA with an otherworldly 93-to-9 K/BB ratio in 79 innings (10.6 K/9, 1.0 BB/9). Jefferies barely pitched from 2016-18 thanks to a shoulder injury during his junior year at Cal Berkeley and Tommy John surgery in 2017. But the 2019 campaign was a resounding comeback year that has moved him firmly into the ranks of the Athletics’ most promising young arms.
O’s should take a look
Yup
Mets. Cheap possible bullpen or fifth guy
Exactly.
O’s (and the Tigers, Marlins, Royals and a couple others) should take a look at any player with potential that can be obtained at little to no cost. Cotton certainly fits that description.
He could certainly give us a better year than Hess, Ynoa, and Brooks, who accounted for 30 starts.
MLBTR called cotton a DFA candidate in their A’s offseason piece. Got that one right.
would have guessed TJ Mcfarland or Blackburn over Cotton since his pitch combo seems like it has upside in relief at least where as TJ is a fringe 40 man guy and Blackburn is what you see. Ok but less upside then Cotton in both cases.
I dunno, a guy named TJ or a guy that had TJ.
I’ll see myself out now.
One more hard decision for them to make. Do they DFA one of Treinen or Buchter for Wandisson Charles, who is also R5 eligible.
They won’t DFA Treinen, they can get something of value back for him in a trade.
I’d say the same for Buchter
Charles isn’t worth the time of a contending team. Way too wild, give him to the Royals and let him figure it out.
Yeah you probably shouldn’t give away a kid that improved after moving up a level, and throws a triple digit turbo sinker.
Add it to the Angels scrap heap of pitchers
Bummer — I had a feeling this was going to happen. Was hoping Cotton would get another shot with the A’s, but such is baseball. He’ll be a nice low-risk signing for a rebuilding club — Royals, Tigers, Orioles, Marlins, Mariners.
Farhan, where you at?
Even with the poor Josh Reddick stint in LA, it’s looking like the Dodgers won that trade. Especially when you factor in the PED thing for Montas. I guess Holmes still could do something, but as a neutral party I’d take the Dodgers side of that trade right now.
The Dodgers didn’t win that trade, are you kidding? The “PED thing” hurt him more than it helped him. Not because he won’t ever be the pitcher he was in the first half of 2019 because he won’t be “using” even though the supplement in his system was to aid in recovery, because he came back at the end of the season as exactly the same kind of pitcher he was in the first half of 2019, and then went over to play in the DOWL and is only dominating with a sub 1.50 ERA. If he’s even half the pitcher he was last year in 2020 the A’s overwhelmingly win this.
I am just going to emphasize the two words in my comment “NEUTRAL PARTY.” You are clearly an A’s fan. I appreciate you standing by your team, I do the same thing for my Rockies, but I also know that sometimes I am blinded by fan love as well.
I’m not blinded, the Dodgers just didn’t outright win that trade.
In my opinion, they did. Agree to disagree.
And your opinion would be wrong. We got half a season of elite pitching from Montas alone, where the Dodgers got about a 6th of a year of elite pitching from Hill and complete mediocrity from Reddick.
Grant Holmes comes up in any capacity and puts up league average numbers that’s an overwhelming win for Oakland.
I think we need another year before we can declare a winner of it, but as it stands right now, the A’s look like the favorite. If Montas can even come close to how he pitched for the first half of 2019, he’ll make this more of a win for the A’s.
By definition, an opinion cannot be wrong. But that aside, I’ll just argue my point.
Reddick and Cotton basically cancel each other out at 0.2 bWAR each. Holmes has done nothing thus far, so he can’t really be counted yet. which brings ups to Hill vs. Montas. I would argue that you have to count the 3 years Hill spent in LA after that initial season, because he may not have signed there had he not played well there. When you look at that it that way, Hill’s 6.2 bWAR in LA far outshines Montas’s 2.1 bWAR in Oakland. For that matter, Hill’s 1.4 “sixth of a season” bWAR is almost bigger than the 3 year total of Montas.
So yes, I’m sticking with my original opinion of BLINDED.
How can you say that the A’s lost the trade just because the 3rd piece of the deal got TJ and didnt pan out, when one ELITE player is still on the team in MLB, and the other big name prospect is almost ready? Your defense post will be made irrelevant by this time next year when Montas is racking up Cy votes and Holmes is in MLB.
Dumb take, be better. Don’t say trades are won or lost until all players are off the team.
As a Yankees fan, the As got way more than the Dodgers. Montas is a top 50 sp and really young, will be in the rotation until the As cant afford him. Getting any help from the other pieces is just icing.
Would you rather your opinion be wrong or dumb? Take your pick.
@hflew -I’m an A’s fan. More importantly, a data analyst/accountant, who’s worked with an agency who knows how analytics in FO work.
Here’s what the trade was:
2 months of Josh Redick
2 months of Rich Hill
for
6 service years of Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton.
To actually evaluate a trade correctly, those times are important. The Dodgers did not acquire the rights to Hill beyond that season. So if you want to look solely at bWAR, then that has to be considered. But only doing that would be kinda short sighted – the Dodgers made the trade for the short term, to win a championship. They didn’t, so the trade already didnt go well for the Dodgers.
Now the A’s still have 5 years of Montas, 6 years of Holmes (if thats worth anything) versus the Dodgers having no assets left from the trade, and havent for 2 years. Them resigning Hill at 3-48 is independent of the trade and had a whole different asset cost than the Hill they acquired.
So for anyone to say the Dodgers won takes a lot of leaps that are not logical.. The argument that you count the Hill years where he signed post-trade doesnt hold water, because anyone could have signed him, and he came at a significant dollar cost – more so than the standard 8m = 1 WAR. Since the 48m wasn’t part of the trade, the benefits it reaped are not part of weighing the trade value against the A’s.
Well but it seems like people are already counting chickens on those future years for Montas et al. They could all flop or drop dead next year. Stranger things happen.
Strike Four is arguing against me,. There is no better evidence that my argument is correct. Check and mate.
Anyone COULD have signed him, but the Dodgers got a big head start in negotiations. That has to be factored into the equation.
@hiflew
Correct. Hard to put a dollar value on that, because it varies so much at the individual level. Someone like Hill was most likely signing where he got the most money, considering his age and prior career trajectory, but it likely did help. It’s a non-zero number (the impact of him re-signing) however it can’t be taken as significant either.. at least IMO
I actually believe his story, a lot of nutritional substances contain banned substances and list them in a way that is different then they may appear normally. He didnt get off, and should have done his homework, but I think he wasnt on PEDs and his whole improvement is obviously tied to the new splitter more then anything else. He also didnt get the full year service time this season, so I believe the team has five more seasons still, although he may now be a super 2.
Please don’t homer here, be better. Montas cheated just like most of the league cheats, only he got caught. Just own it, an A’s player blew it, it doesn’t mean you have to distort reality just because you truly believe anyone who wears your fave teams uniform is infallible.
Its not that. When it happened there was an article about this on fangraphs or somewhere else. In it it talked about how lots of products in a GNC or other nutrition store contain banned substances and they will sometimes be listed in there chemical combination instead of product name. The non PED banned substances can be included for other reasons for non professional athletes. The article points out that it is on the player to do the research to make sure that they dont unknowingly ingest a banned substance so there is no grounds to appeal unless they can prove in a chain of custody that a tainted product made them unknowingly ingest a substance that shouldnt have been in a product they purchased.
One of the most prevalent times to take a PED for players is when they are recovering from an injury, or at the tail end of a season for endurance. Neither of those apply in this case. Montas didnt have any real substantial difference in the way his pitches he threw prior to this season looked. The splitter made the difference by giving him a third pitch. If anything his FB velo this season seemed a little down from his earlier appearances especially relief.
I am not saying that there was no chance he was juicing, just that there is a more substantial case then in most instances that he took something banned without taking PEDs in conjunction since that was his statement to MLB when it occurred. He looked no different after 80 games worth of sim games in ARI and he pitched like he never left in his final start. I would bet that next season he picks up where he left off, and if he wasnt lying then what we saw should be what we get.
I care far more about what he is moving forward then what happened in the past.
I also believe his story, because the A’s wouldn’t have bothered trying to protect him and challenge the suspension if they didn’t. That isn’t their thing, and they didn’t just challenge it because of procedures.
look up Montas suspension there is a good article where the onus is on the player to check all variations of the names of banned substances against what they take. He may have appealed they dont reveal it always, and it was basically spelled out that even if his story was true it wouldnt have warranted any reduction in the suspension. Since it wasnt an accident out of his control he did it and deserved the punishment by baseballs rules. It just also can be true that he didnt take it for masking purposes, told the truth, and never took steroids, while carelessly taking exercise supplements.
Whether or not he took PEDs he was guilty of what they suspended him for, and it would be a really really tough case to make to exonerate himself for what he did. There was almost no possible chain of events where he doesnt get suspended, despite tons of those scenarios not including PEDs. At least according to the reputable article at the time it wouldnt be that outlandish to just mess up, and the mess up wouldnt exonerate him since its his responsibility to not mess up.
I would say based on the evidence its around 50/50 he took a PED. Just my guess.
Keep in mind, I don’t care he used PED’s. I figure almost all players are doing something to get an advantage. Like, for instance, having people in the crowd clapping drums to signal what pitch is coming.
The Dodgers didn’t have time to waste 4 years and PED suspensions on Montas. Cotton is gone and Holmes on year 6 in the minors. Its a pretty washy trade.
Montas pitched on an elite level as much as Rich Hill does but only missed time due to a non-injury, meaning he will throw 150+ IP next year, and LAD gave Hill like $50 million, so no, youre dead wrong.
Montas also let his team down by getting suspended. A team was relying on him to pitch in October and he hurt them bad by doing so. Dodgers got a good pitcher and real leader in Hills time there. He also had them up 2-1 in the NLCS and no one was complaining then
Hill is a part time player – he lets HIS team down by only playing a half a season.
Doesn’t surprise me you like making excuses for a PED user. Montas has to prove himself all over again in 2020. And thats the most ridiculous statement you can say when talking about a player on the Dodgers. The regular seasom for them is meaningless. Those guys clinch the division on opening day so Hill missing regular season games is a comical argument. What a coincidence he has not missed any playoff games due to injury.
Can we say that both team washed in the trade. It was a win. The Dodgers got what they needed from Hill in playoff performances and was nails regardless of missed time during the season, while A’s got young pitching for pretty much zero investment. And in the Dodgers case that’s what mattered most. Basically the A’s were able to pull off what every non contending team is trying to do. The Dodgers were able to trade pieces with no path to their roster for reinforcement help, what every contending team is looking to do to supplant their rotation.
Montas doesn’t have to prove himself over again in 2020. Regardless of whether we choose to believe his story about a tainted supplement what was in his system had very little to do with the improvements he made as a pitcher. He didn’t throw harder, and performance enhancing drugs don’t help you throw a splitter.
Also a reminder Montas ended the DOWL season with a 1.44 ERA and 26 strikeouts in about 25 innings. Believe he only had 6 walks, too.
Still a part time player no matter how salty that makes you.
Get em, Montas is getting Cy Young votes next year, bet.
Lol sure just like how the Warriors are winning it all this year and Strasburg is a lock for SD. You call him elite after 16 games. Ross Stripling was elite in 2018 for a larger sample size and it didn’t mean a thing. You have to repeat it. No one is elite after 16 games.
athleticsnchill
If PEDs don’t help, why did he take them? Big risk for nothing?
Checkmate.
Which is why I believe his story about the supplement he was taking being tainted. He saw no noticeable gain from it, so why take it on purpose?
I think it is too early to say the Dodgers won the trade, definitely in their favor, but if Montes comes out like we think and Holmes continues to be healthy, it could swing the other way. I would wait until a few years and see how their careers progress.
Dont be surprised if the A’s offer Cotton a minor league deal right away, so unless he gets real offers he may choose to stick around.
Why would Cotton want to be 16th on the starting rotation depth chart?
He hasnt proven he can be a healthy or effective starter yet, but OAK has a few bullpen slots open, he could be a multi inning swingman with the way his change plays, and if I remember he was better till 3rd time through. I like Cotton as a 1-3 inning guy who could spot start when needed. I kinda wanted them to trade Fiers for financial room, and roll with Montas/Manaea/Luzardo/Puk/Bassitt as there rotation. Probably trade Megden since he is out of options and isnt one of the 5 best starters. Blackburn too. They only needed to add Jefferies since all the other rule 5 guys made it before seasons end, but next year theres a lot to protect. Try and trade any of those three SP for one with options. Kap/Jeff/Holmes/Howard/Dunchee are all high minors depth, and it seems anyone pitching in LV gets a huge asterisk next to the AAA stat line. I fell like Fiers money could be repurposed, and he is rather average but benefitted from the ballpark and team defense.
I think the pitcher hungry Rangers will give an invitation for Cotton to make its roster. If he has put behind his injuries I think he might turn out to be something special.
I totally disagree that Oakland has bullpen slots open. Unless you want McFarlane, Mengden, Wendelken, Buchter or Treinen DFA’d or traded.
Bassitt is going to the pen too, because Puk is mostly likely starting in the Opening Day rotation. Let me know who you bounce from that group. There’s no way in hell they’re starting Puk and Luzardo in the minors, so they have to be there.
I agree with that. Although in 2016, with how poorly Reddick did in LA, it looked like a major steal for Oakland. Now, not so much.
I agree it’s too early. Plus it’s ridiculous when trades are compared because timing is often not taken into consideration. Dodgers missed on Reddick, but frankly they’re stacked in OF. They needed Hill in their rotation and hes been a solid rotation piece for their playoff runs. None of the traded players would have given them the “now” value that Hill has given them.
The trade itself for 2 months of Reddick and Hill wasn’t worth it. Stop counting the 3 years of Rich Hill they got from signing him.
Never said anything about 3 years. In 2016, Hill won Game 3 of the NLCS by pitching 6 scoreless innings. That’s a lot of value in that alone. Then it was an easy decision for him to sign with the Dodgers. That being said, it’s not like it hurt the As much because they’ve been winning so who cares.
And the Dodgers went on to lose the NLCS. End of story. Re-signing Hill was independent of the trade. Montas provided more value in his half a 2019 season then Hill did as a Dodger in his trade in 2016.
To use your logic, then Montas got popped for PEDs and the As couldn’t get out of the Wild Card. Since the trade, they’ve never gotten past the Wild Card, yet the Dodgers have been in the WS or knocking on door each year. End of story. Agree to disagree. Once again, this a moot discussion because the As have have moved on wayyy past Reddick and Hill. They needed them far less than the Dodgers did (Hill).
I am a die-hard rangers fan, and I hate the a’s, but they won that trade easily. For starters, Jeffries was a competitive draft pick made because of the trade, and he looks great. Montas is great, (even without P.E.D’s). And Holmes is okay. Reddick was average for the dodgers, and hill had a few DECENT seasons. A’s won the trade.
Jeffries was a competitive pick that OAK won in the lottery not traded in the deal. They drafted him with a pick that was always OAKs.
Ok jeffries is my mistake, I didn’t realize he was theirs to begin with. But still Montas is panning out better than anybody else in the deal, and cotton should go to the mariners, I think he would fit their scheme.
That Montas and Holmes might both be stars in the game as soon as next season is a thing that could feasibly happen. For two rentals and no title? A’s destroyed LAD on that deal. You don’t count Hill’s post-FA years.
Can’t count Montas’s and Holmes’s future success YET. They could flop, get injured or die… These things happen.
But the value Montas alone has provided has been as much as the 2 months of Hill and Reddick the Dodgers got.
Good idea findingnimmo…Mets def should take a look
Wow. I remember hearing about him as a future stud with a mid rotation arm as almost a floor. Sad to see injuries play such a role in his career.
That said, if he’s close to healthy he’ll have a plethora of minor league deals available to him.
A++++ changeup, but most of the rest of the package was more back end starter, and he never got anywhere near his minor league K numbers in the bigs.
Flat fastball with so-so control and a cutter that invited batters to hit home runs off it. He needed a reliable pitch to setup the change up, because an elite offspeed pitch with nothing to set it up is really nothing to write home about.
Thats where I think FB good Curve thats slow and deep, and Change would be a solid multi inning reliever that doesnt see a second time through.
I just think scratching the cutter entirely and going to a slower slider would have benefited him more, but he still couldn’t command his fastball well enough to set either pitch up. Without that control hitters were going to spit on the change up and sit on the slider or fastball.
Wonder if he will be …. picked up.
28 next year and his arm is totally shot after TJ – remember, not everyone comes back after TJ – Cotton is one of them.
Solid move by Oakland to protect the far higher ceiling Jefferies though, he’s the opposite of being able to come back from TJ better than ever. He will be in MLB in 2020, he probably deserved a late season look in 2019, and would have were the A’s not in contention.
…and you know for a fact that his arm is “totally shot?” In 2019 he had hamstring problems that required more surgery which didn’t help his repaired arm. You expect too much too soon.
His stuff was pretty terrible from what I saw, but he’s simply not a fit on a contending team anyway.
Keeping Blackburn who has no place on the roster really over the higher upside Cotton reminds me of last year when they gave up Ritchie Martin while rostering the Terribad Aaron Brooks that would have been easily signable to a minor league deal. Martin could have played out of his mind in AAA Vegas instead of terribly in BAL, and been packaged at the deadline for something nice instead of picked first in the rule 5.
I mean AARON F*(&^(*&^ing BROOKS FFFFFFFFS. I love BB but every once in a while he does something that just makes no sense where he is trying to be way to smart for his own good.
Yeah I don’t miss Richie Martin. And I’m not really going to miss Cotton, or Blackburn when he’s inevitably DFA’d. Not like they’re really going to get to pitch much. The Las Vegas Aviators rotation is looking like Kaprielian, Jefferies, Holmes, Dunshee, Howard and Gossett right now.
Imagine if they developed Muncy, then the Profar trade never happened. Get a career year from Pagan and no terrible play from Profar most of the year. Probably a title?
No idea, but we gave Muncy opportunities in the majors and it took him getting cut to decide to do something about it. He was a monster in the minors, but there were too many holes in his swing that major league pitchers exploited, and he was too slow to make adjustments.
It was a wake up call for him, and one that he needed.
Reds should take a look
i agree 1000% .. along with what we have already and getting DeLon today i think this would be great if we could get him straightened out
He will get picked up by someone. Maybe even makes a starting rotation for a rebuilding team like Miami.