The A’s have made their first upgrade of deadline season, acquiring veteran left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin from the Cubs in exchange for minor league outfielder Greg Deichmann and minor league right-hander Daniel Palencia, per a club announcement.
Chafin, 31, inked a one-year, $2.75MM deal over the winter. It contains a $5.25MM mutual option for the 2022 season ($500K buyout), though it’s exceedingly rare for both parties to pick up their side of a mutual option. Generally speaking, if the team exercises their end of a mutual option, it’s because the player has performed well enough to make that price a bargain, which prompts the player to decline and return to free agency. If the player picks up his half, it’s usually due to poor performance or injury, and the team will subsequently decline its half. More often than not, mutual options are simple accounting measures. The A’s likely view him as a rental reliever for the remainder of the season, though the option technically creates the chance that he’ll return.
The Cubs have consistently taken a frugal approach to their offseason bullpen construction in recent years, but Chafin is one of their better low-cost signings. The longtime D-backs lefty has a 2.06 ERA with a 24.7 percent strikeout rate, an eight percent walk rate and a 50 percent ground-ball rate in 39 1/3 innings. It’s the best season of what has quietly been a solid career for Chafin, who carries a 3.14 ERA and strong 24.9 percent strikeout rate through 314 innings at the big league level.
Oakland relievers rank tenth in the Majors with a collective 3.78 ERA and 12th with a 4.16 FIP, and adding Chafin will only further strengthen an already solid group. There’s value beyond simply adding another effective arm, though. Jake Diekman has been the only consistent left-handed presence in manager Bob Melvin’s bullpen, so adding Chafin to the bunch will give the A’s an easier time matching up late in games. Athletics relievers also have the second-lowest combined strikeout percentage of any bullpen in MLB (20.6 percent), and Chafin will give them a solid boost in that department.
From a payroll standpoint, the A’s are only on the hook for about $835K of Chafin’s remaining base salary, although there are other factors to consider. The mutual option comes with a $500K buyout, and Chafin’s deal also comes with $500K worth of incentives that are fairly easy to unlock. He can earn a quartet of $125K bonuses based on games pitched, beginning with his 50th appearance of the season. Chafin, who has pitched in 43 games already, would then earn an additional $125K for each of his 55th, 60th and 65th appearances of the year.
Deichmann is a solid get in a deal for a rental reliever, as he’s a largely MLB-ready prospect enjoying a strong 2021 season in Triple-A. The 2017 second-rounder ranks ninth among Oakland farmhands at FanGraphs and at MLB.com, and he’s currently batting .300/.432/.449 (127 wRC+) in 257 plate appearances with Las Vegas.
There have been concerns about his bat-to-ball skills in the past — understandably so after he whiffed at a 34.1 percent clip in Class-A Advanced in 2018 — but Deichmann’s 23 percent punchout rate so far in Triple-A is the lowest of his career. Those strikeouts are also part of the expected package for a player with this type of pop; FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen pegs Deichmann’s raw power at a 70 (on the 20-80 scale), but he’s yet to unlock that prodigious power in games. Deichmann’s career-high in home runs is 11, and he’s connected on four so far in 2021. It’s worth noting that he’s had some injuries that might’ve impacted that, including a broken hamate bone and a shoulder injury sustained on a diving catch (link via MLB.com’s Jim Callis).
Palencia, 21, signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2020 and has only recently made his professional debut. He’s tossed 14 1/3 innings for the Athletics’ Low-A affiliate in Stockton, yielding 11 runs on 17 hits, six walks and three hit batters with 14 strikeouts. FanGraphs pegs him 12th in the Oakland system, noting that his plus fastball and above-average breaking ball impressed in a short look this spring before he was sent out of camp. Obviously, with last year’s scratched minor league season and the fact that Palencia only signed in early 2020, scouts haven’t gotten long looks at him, though the Cubs clearly saw enough to pique their interest despite some rough surface-level numbers in Stockton.
MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand had first indicated that the Cubs were closing in on a trade involving Chafin (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the A’s were the second team and that Deichmann was going back to Chicago (Twitter links). The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro first reported Palencia’s inclusion.
*takes a shot*
For every A’s comment about how cheap they are, for some reason they LOVE paying relievers. Not Matt Chapman, not Olson, but if you want 10-20 mill for being anything from nothing (Rosenthal) to terrible (Rhodes) to pretty good out the pen, you’re hired. Bet a million bucks they pick up their side of that option.
The A’s are taking you up on that bet right now to pay part of Chafin’s option.
Chafin….???
I thought that was the Doritos guy….
Chafin? I thought that was the Doritos guy….lol
Yup.
– L. Hendricks
Well, define “cheap”. The A’s will pay market rates. They have a small payroll but they do have one.
RP signings tend to be lower commitment in both years and total dollars. When you only spend $10-$20 mil on free agents, RP is a disproportionate amount of what’s available and decent at that price range.
Rhodes was an interesting case where MLB was pressuring clubs to spend. The A’s were beat out or had other free agents outright refuse to sign in Oakland and Rhodes was sort of the last item on the shelf.
I think Jim Johnson got $10 million from the A’s as well.
I heard this guy has a chafing problem.
Lol
Not directly related to this article but a picture of Chafin and the Failed Starter shirt belongs in the hall of fame
Those “obvious” shirts are amazing.
I’m glad he’s not going to the Yankees. He’d be.forced to shave that fantastic mustache
Yankees are allowed to have mustaches, just not beards.
Good answer!
He’s perfect in Oakland, the stache alone is already going to win people over.
A mustache like that belongs in Oakland.
Mr. Fingers approves this comment.
Acquiring a player from the team they will lose to in the 2028 World Series
Speaking of contracting, the A’s might be the team unless they get a stadium deal.
yeah that comment was about as brutal as childbirth good call.
Will the A’s pay for the shipment of his manual Trans Am he bought to drive around Wrigleyville?
I’d like to think he drives that thing straight through overnight and pitches the next day.
Rocking out to Radar Love on 8-track
Trans Am works, but he needs to have his Manual transmission Iroc Camaro shipped to Oakland, with a 24 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon!
He’s such a throwback. If I just up out of a coma and saw this dude pitching for my club i would swear it was 1978.
That’s why we all love him
Obviously responding to the Yankees bullpen upgrade earlier today.
Show me Logan Davidson going back to the Cubs
There isn’t anything ranked above #20 would be my guess.
#9
Deichman plus FTW
Mustache and curly hair is a perfect fit for Oakland.
Going to miss the Sheriff, he was fun to watch and a funny dude
All the ‘dumpster diving’ Cub haters never mention the castoffs and reclamation projects that actually worked out for the Cub’s bullpen the last couple of years. Chaffin is one they traded for (that nobody seriously wanted) and Tepera, is another that has shined, He’ll be next. Combined with Kimbrel, they’ve been an effective 7,8,9 combo… It’ll be interesting to see what Hoyer gets for him…
Theo threw in the towel after the cubs ws win. Promised by the cubs org to compete for years and all they did was dumpster dive. Kimbrell.and darvish were too little to late. Could have beaten those choking dodgers and anybody game in the ws.
Making the playoffs in 5 out of 6 years is not competing?
not really. Weak division. Going deep into the playoffs is.
They had a seriously good playoff run, won the WS, and went to multiple LCS.
If that’s not “competing for year”, I’m not sure what is ??
Cubs got Deichmann wow, he’s a great get – OBP machine
Can they use him immediately?
I have been tracking him a while, I like him as a prospect, his OBP is great and I was hoping Oakland would bring him up this year. We cant really tell from his current slash line – which is in line with his career, though – because Las Vegas should not have baseball played there, the hitting stats are like 90s Rockies on steroids and the pitching average is like an 8.00 ERA.
But I’m guessing if the Cubs are tearing down, he will be in the lineup as soon as there is an opening.
It’s not a full fledged rebuild.
You’re sipping that Cubbie Kool Aid, huh?
No it’s not and these mostly cards and Sox trolls that love to keep saying it is, F off. Also cards fans wtf are u doing if we are so bad? Lmfao gtfo here.
Anyway looks like a very solid return for chafin, #8-9 prospect in the as system plus another. Looks to be mlb ready, now if we could only dfa heyward I’d call him up immediately lmao
Quote Tweet
Ken Rosenthal
@Ken_Rosenthal
· 2m
Triple A outfielder Greg Deichmann one of two players Cubs are acquiring for left-hander Andrew Chafin, sources tell @TheAthletic. Deichmann, a second-round pick in 2017, is batting .300 with an .881 OPS for Las Vegas
That is good. A’s are making sure they get Chafin.
That’s actually a really solid return for the Cubs for a bullpen rental, even before knowing the second player
Its solid, but he’s already 26, and looks like hitter friendly LV is helping him slightly, looks like a low ceiling high floor corner OF. Still not bad for a rental RP.
Just turned 26 and remember, all Minor Leaguers are a year older than we’re used to because of lost season
An .800 OPS in Las Vegas is rather tame. Deichmann has an OPS under .700 in the Texas League in 2019 and he was at a median age. I am not as upset at losing Deichmann as much as I am the A’s drafted him that high and failed to develop him. He’s Billy McKinney without the speed.
I don’t know everything about his speed, but Billy McKinney never stole double-digit bases at any level. Deichmann has twice. So it’s not like Deichmann is a snail.
Stolen bases are not indicative of speed.
Don’t tell deion that
It’s Coach Sanders to you sir
Anything to help A’s beat White Sox
How about Bryant and Kimbrel too?
A’s don’t have anything of value to trade.
This is the result of that useless Adam kolarek trade with dodgers, now having to give up more assets
Yeah, because Neuse is just absolute raking right now..
What about his Gold Glove defense though?
Such a dumb trade
Which part?
Giving up a top ten prospect for a rental when we aren’t even going to compete this year.
Chaffin is solid. They wanna make a run, they need a reliable LH piece like him.
Weak farm so back of the top 10 isn’t anything special. 45 grade. They couldn’t tap into his power. I don’t see this being a huge loss. Let Chicago see what they can do with him.
Comparing the Cubs and A’s historical payrolls and associated records, Just how do those A’s do it? Season after season.
It’s even weirder when you see how badly all the money the A’s front office DOES spend plays out, not to mention $11M to Rosenthal to not play, but literally no position player not bought up internally has their best season in Oakland, free agent hitters are always bad there. Almost all their big money players are the worst players on the team.
…and the A’s as a unit still manage to be competitive. They’re a bit short of playoff caliber. But what the hay. Entertaining regular season winners…
The A’s play in a pitcher’s park. Hitters are therefore not going to have their best seasons in Oakland (see, Donaldson, Josh). History is also skewed by PED use in the past so recent history is rather suspect.
Billy ray butler aka country breakfast comes to mind
Billy ray butler aka country breakfast comes to mind
I think You should keep repeating this message some more!
A’s should have promoted Greg Deichmann instead of trading him away. The hitting has been atrocious at the Big League level.
If AJ Puk and Jesus Luzardo had been filling their roles such a Trade would not have been required.
I mean it’s not like we have a great option in right with brown and Piscotty either, I just don’t get this deal at all. Deichmann was knocking on the door.
On the latter point: not exactly, Ivrin and Kaprielian are doing exactly what the A’s wanted Puk and Luzardo to do. If anything the latter are their best trade chips and they should use them to headline a package for someone who helps them win now like Whit Merrifield.
On the first one, yes, they should have bought up the big career-OBP guy instead of the “lauded” defender, disgustingly awful hitter, and hater of the city of Oakland, Skye Bolt.
We’ve brought up Bolt/Machin/Schwindel/Wilson this season, who all had a better OPS in Vegas than Deichmann. Make what you will of that.
Why? Deichmann was hitting 7th in the Las Vegas lineup. His high walk total could very well be a pattern of being pitched around to get to the 8 hitter. Deichmann has not showed any of the power he had in college (or the A’s have failed to develop it).
I’m not sure I understand why people are amazed the Cubs got Greg Deichmann for their rock-solid lefty late inning reliever. Deichmanns are a dime a dozen. He’s 26 and has an 880 OPS but it’s in Las Vegas (so you have to mentally subtract at least 100 pts for the sheer stupid batter friendliness, not just of Vegas but the whole PCL). I mean Taylor Motter, the old Mariners farm hand, is rocking a 1.200 in the PCL. Deichmann’s just a maxed and aging out prospect who will give you some 4th OF time, and even with the weak A’s OF (and a very smart FO) they never promoted him.
The A’s system is awful, and he was barely top ten.
Because Chafin is a middle reliever. Deichmanns might be a dime a dozen, but it’s still a good return for a middle reliever.
Chafin’s are a dime a dozen, too. This guy’s been horrible his entire career until this year, and he’s a middle relief arm that doesn’t strike many out, and still walks too many. Flipping from the NL to the AL to boot, I’m sure this’ll go over like a lead balloon.
When it comes right down to it, Deichmann will likely flop, and Chafin will too, but it’s a trade both teams could afford to make if it helps shore up the pen for OAK and gives the Cubs another bat they can run out there and pray to catch lightning in a bottle.
“Chafin has been horrible his entire career but this year” he has a CAREER 3.16 FIP. “He doesn’t strike many out” he strikes out 25% of batters he faces in his career. He’s no Hall of Famer but he certainly is no slouch either
Taylor Motter is still playing baseball after his horrible 2020 with the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO? He had a .335 ops in the KBO so whatever he’s doing in the PCL looks very fluky.
Looks like Frank Viola
Best of luck to The Sheriff, did he throw six strikes or only five? In all the excitement, I kind of lost track myself. So, ask yourself do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?
Get off my lawn!
The beauty of trading a rental and getting a decent player back is, the Cubs could always sign Chaffin in the off-season. Win-win
Next up?
I’ve been an A’s fan for 35 years and this whole thing with getting cheap relievers and acting like it’s a big help is BS. I honestly think they should trade Chapman while he still has value and get a few good prospects. I can’t thinknof 1 guy in the a’s minor league system who I think is going to be a star.
Just because you can’t think doesn’t mean the A’s should trade Chapman. It’s a shame you haven’t noticed the heir apparent at SS – Nick Allen is playing in the Olympics.
Hats off to all the experts that said Pederson and Chafin would be the first two Cubs out the door.
Jed got Hosed,Heyward should be next
“Minor league outfielder Greg Deichmann is one of two players going to Oakland in the deal, he adds.”
From Oakland to Chicago, not from Chicago to Oakland.
I can hear the truck backing up Beep Beep Beep lmao
Yeah, that truck that you heard backing up, was rolling over the White Sox tonight. But yup, Eloy was back to’lighten the mood in the dugout’, so says Benetti and Stone – between their complaining about calls.
Eloy will be on IR again within the week.
I like Benetti and Stone and I’m not a Sox fan.
It must suck being so insecure about your team that you have to troll the more popular team even when you team is doing well. Has the Spx sold out their stadium yet this year?
White Sox fans have a history of this. Little brother syndrome.
And the truck backs into LaRussa who was out all night drinking in Wrigleyville and is passed out again behind the wheel…
Cubs also get the A s 12th ranked prospect Daniel Palencia. Signed in 2020 and currently in low A. Reportedly tops out in triple digitis.
Seems like a good return but I will miss him. He’s a very good pitcher who is lots of fun off the field.
Is Daniel Palenicia any good?
He’s 0-2 with a 6.91 era in single A. But he’s 21..
Fangraphs is bullish on him. Have him as 13th overall prospect in the system. They are the only legit prospect ranking group that his him in top 30.
Jed Hoyer . Stud hitter and pitcher with electric stuff . 100 mph fastball . What haul will kimbrel bring ??
Far from a stud lol.
“The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro reported just before the announcement that Palencia would be the second player.”
I appreciate reporters wanting to get credit for their work, but come on now. Does a person really deserve credit for reporting something minutes before a public announcement? And do we need to know minutes before a public announcement?
I think it’s safe to assume anyone under the age of 35 really wants to know those few minutes before. As for the rest of us we can hit the site when We wake up because we have already learned patience. This comment is not meant as disrespect just a framing of how important information is between 2 different age groups from my personal opinion.
And with this, I’m liking the potential value on Richard Bleier, who comes with an extra year of control…
Nice pickup for Oakland and hopefully for the Cubs at least one of those guys will become a decent major leaguer. After giving Darvish to San Diego the fan base has little faith in Jed Hoyer and believe Tom Ricketts is calling the shots. If Tom wasn’t more interested in buying the neighborhood than spending money on the team Theo Epstein would still be there
It’s mostly ignorant fans that think that way.
A sneaky pitcher that’s A small but great upgrade for the A,s. I was honestly hoping he would have been traded to Queens.
It’s just a shame that Chet Stedman won’t be throwing the high stinky cheese for the cubbies anymore.
Wow…if the return value for this type of reliever is a 26 yr old 40 rated hit tool and a 23 yr old A ball pitcher with a 6+ era…there should be a lot of activity coming up.
This is a really solid trade all around. Deichman is a really solid player, been high on him since he came out of LSU. If there wasn’t a cancellation of the minor league season he would’ve been up last year easily. I see him as a Mike Tauchman, Alex Dickerson, Mike Yazstremski type, not stars but guys who bloomed late, and do have the ability to hit major league pitching. Palencia has nice raw talents, can hit 99, but has struggled.
Chafin is a solid reliever that the A’s need and can give them quality innings. Just excited to see what Chafin can do in Oakland and what Deichman can do in Chicago.
Cubs need better and consistent production at the top of the order. Would be nice if Deichmann becomes that guy and being a left handed hitter is a plus. Cubs need major top of the rotation help and I know they are currently in a selling mode, but I’d like to see them trade for Berrios to fill a top spot and prepare for next year while he’s being shopped. Would like to see the club commit to Contreras and see if the Twins would be interested in a package for Berrios that would include Amaya.
Deichmann and Diekman. Remind me when there was a Scott Service and a Scott Servais playing at the same time. And also when the Yankees seemed to make a clerical error by signing Kanekoa Texeira in 2009 and realizing it was the wrong guy.
I think the Cubs should hold out longer and get more for their players. They seem to always get the short end of the stick. But, maybe it’s me.
Its Just you
I think the Cubs did great. The OF guy has to be better than Haap!
Solid trade and the next few days should be fun. Everyone should be on the table and take the highest bidder and rebuild this team properly.
2016 was magical and hopefully Jed and company rebuild this team for more runs by 2026…
Does anyone remember Warren Brusstar?
I swear that picture remind me of him!
I see what you’re saying . This guy is fatter .
And with that the second Sam Moll era has come to a bittersweet end in Oaktown.
Well that wasn’t painful for me , and what my vision is for the A’s . Mainly , because why go all out when we all know my A’s get beaten in a one game wild card just to enter .
I didn’t realize Rod Beck’s mustache was still slinging.