The Athletics were quiet in the pre-lockout portion of the 2021-22 offseason, but by all accounts they’re readying for a teardown that will see the core of their 2017-21 teams dispersed throughout the league as they look to retool and stockpile young talent. General manager David Forst readily acknowledged this reality, telling reporters early in the offseason: “This is the cycle for the A’s. We have to listen and be open to whatever comes out of this. This is our lot in Oakland until it’s not.”
As one would expect, much of the focus has been on the big names who’ll be highly coveted by other clubs: Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas. Both Ramon Laureano and Sean Murphy have been mentioned at least speculatively, but they’re controlled through 2024 and 2025, respectively, whereas that initial quintet is either up for free agency next winter (Manaea, Bassitt) or following the 2023 season (Olson, Chapman, Montas).
While the focus on those players is understandable, the A’s also would surely welcome the opportunity to be rid of their remaining obligations to shortstop Elvis Andrus and outfielder Stephen Piscotty. Both are signed through the 2022 season with 2023 club options on contracts that are generally viewed as underwater. With several clubs still eyeing shortstop help, Andrus has come up as a speculative piece in some larger deals. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman, for example, has written about the concept of the Yankees taking on Andrus as part of a larger deal to acquire Olson. CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa suggested a similar idea for the Jays if they look into Chapman.
The problem in suggesting an Andrus trade in any shape or size is twofold, however. First and most obviously is the simple fact that Andrus’ bat has been dormant for four years now. In 2016-17, his age-27 and age-28 seasons, Andrus hit a combined .299/.348/.457 with good defense and plus value on the basepaths. He looked like one of the most well-rounded shortstops in the game. Since then, he’s batted a combined .255/.302/.360 over the course of 1728 plate appearances.
Secondly and more problematic, however, is Andrus’ contract. The 2022 season is the final year of Andrus’ eight-year, $120MM contract originally signed with the Rangers. He’s owed $14MM this coming season, although the Rangers are on the hook for $7.25MM of that sum.
An effective one-year deal for Andrus at $6.75MM isn’t particularly appealing but also isn’t so burdensome that a team in need of a stopgap at short would automatically turn up its nose. Andrus still went 12-for-14 in stolen bases and drew generally plus marks for his baserunning at FanGraphs. Defensive Runs Saved has him pegged as a below-average defender at this point, but Outs Above Average and Ultimate Zone Rating disagree.
The larger wrinkles are that his $15MM club option for the 2023 season could become a player option and that his initial trade from Texas to Oakland triggered a conditional full no-trade clause, which now gives him veto power over any deal.
Andrus’ contract stipulates that his 2023 option will convert to a player option if he is both traded (check) and then accumulates 550 plate appearances in the 2022 season. The 550 plate appearances is an eminently reachable platform as well, particularly for Andrus. While his 2021 season ended with a leg fracture sustained during the final weekend of play, he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training and quite likely would’ve reached 550 in 2021 were it not for that late injury. Andrus also averaged 625 plate appearances per season in the decade from 2010-19, so there’s good reason to think he’ll be able to reach those 550 trips to the plate next year.
Granted, a team could try to acquire Andrus with the idea of limiting his role, but that might not sit well with Andrus, who’s in line for regular at-bats in Oakland and has to approve any trade. The notion of giving Andrus everyday reps for a good chunk of the season and then curbing his playing time as that 550-PA threshold approaches is also tricky, as that sort of direct playing-time manipulation to avoid contractual milestones can lead to a grievance filing against the team. Even absent a grievance, that tactic isn’t likely to go unnoticed by other players; it’s the sort of thing that can work against a team in future free-agent discussions, extension talks or trade scenarios involving other players with no-trade protection.
All that said, it’s also worth noting that the vesting player option could very well enhance Oakland’s motivation to move on from Andrus. Because he’s already been traded once, that 550 plate appearance threshold applies even if Andrus remains in green and gold. The A’s, too, could simply opt to move on from Andrus in Spring Training or amid any early struggles that arise, and they have a shortstop-in-waiting in the form of defensive wizard Nick Allen — a 2017 third-round pick who ranks among the organization’s top farmhands. If Andrus does open the year in Oakland, his playing time will be worth close monitoring as the season wears on.
However things play out, Oakland would likely welcome the opportunity to move on from Andrus, who was only acquired in a swap of bad contracts in the first place. His trade candidacy isn’t as straightforward as most “bad contract” swaps, however. That vesting player option in his deal is should be kept in mind for fans of any team who might be eyeing Andrus as a counterweight to balance the scales in a trade involving Olson, Chapman, Manaea, etc., and that no-trade protection gives Andrus a good bit of leverage.
I don’t see either player going anywhere and the A’s are not going to be willing to take a bad contract back just to move them
I don’t think anyone is suggesting the A’s would take a bad contract to move them. I think the belief is that one (or both) could be in a package with a bigger name, such as Chapman, Olson, or one of their starting pitchers.
This is where common sense has to come into play. Even if the MLBPA doesn’t like it, Andreus should be able to change the terms of his deal to get out of Oakland for a starting job on a team with true playoffs aspirations.
Why would he do that? His current contract gives him a very good chance at getting an extra $15MM that he certainly wouldn’t get otherwise – there’s no reason for him to want to turn that down
A provision giving players the ability to leave money on the table in order to facilitate a trade is interesting but opens the door for a ton of other problems, namely teams pressuring guys to decline options and restructure so they can trade them.
No player in any sport would exchange $15m for a team with “playoff aspirations.” Players are not as championship driven as fans think they are. This is their job and their business.
dewey. The MLBPA has to approve all contract changes.
He’s not reaching that unless he has a great season in which case it won’t be as outrageous. Assuming he hits .250 again, the A’s will sit him for a younger player.
How is he getting that option to be his in Oakland? If he believes he’ll hit .320 and play great defense so a team will trade for him in July, great. That said, it’s that option that will hold back teams from trading for him. With Texas paying so much in 22, he would otherwise have suitors.
I know James. Best thing that happened to Boston was in 2004 when they refused Arod’s deal. That though was guaranteed money which this isn’t.
Nobody wants him and he wouldn’t want to change a already lucrative deal. Remember people, these athletes are making millions not chump change
Nobody wants him and he wouldn’t want to change a already lucrative deal. Remember people, these athletes are making millions not chump change.
It is gurranteed
It is gurranteed.
You mean AJBurnett didn’t want away from 15 million in Phillies to to take 8.5 million to play with his friends in Pittsburgh one last time? For some people, extra money becomes secondary to other considerations after a point.
A team with true playoff aspirations should not be considering Elvis Andrus as a viable option for anything.
That didn’t work out too well for the A’s last season.
Why? ARod’s initial contract was worthwhile. It was the extension the Yankees gave him that was an albatross.
Tom Brady says Hi
@we I bet if he got the same type of deal Bonilla did in 2011 in which he is paid a 1 mil until he is 72 then he would accept it but we won’t ever see that type of deal anymore in baseball.
For the Yankees, was that an albatross? More than anything, he probably was a headache. YES ratings increased with A-Rod’s arrival, ticket sales increased. He was a key component of their 2009 world series. Not an albatross. The Yankees could afford it.
So, uh, yeah, gotta go with RobM on this one. I’m going to just stick with facts for now and say that .283, with 1100 RBIs, 351 HRs, & 1600 hits over 1500 at-bats with the Yankees seems like the opposite of an albatross contract.
@ Dewey
What team that is hoping to make the playoffs would want him as their starting SS?
Oakland has true playoffs aspirations nearly every year. Where have you been? They missed last year but not by much. By pythag win/loss, they were better than the Mariners.
Where have you been? Oakland has made it clear they intend to reduce payroll, so they’re going into a teardown/rebuild. Your point only makes sense if you believe the A’s are not going to trade away their best players to reduce payroll.
They do, but they also have to take a step back on occasion. They’re just able to get back into contention much quicker than most teams. I wouldn’t rule out them contending in 2022 based on their history, but a lot will depend on what trades they can make, and how quickly some of the prospects they’ll likely acquire develop.
@socalbball Yet they still seem to win shedding payroll, much like the Rays. I would still say playoffs are not out of reach.
They get back into contention pretty quickly after a teardown, but they’re not magical. The last time they did this, they had three losing seasons in a row, 2015 through 2017, followed by four contending seasons in a row, 2018 through 2021. Without seeing the roster they end up with out of this teardown, we can’t really predict anything, but there’s nothing in the A’s recent track record that would suggest they’d be likely to contend in the first season after a teardown.
Deferred money for Bonilla was common back then, but bc the Mets and Wilpons we’re dumpster fires, they have been poked for the past decade+ for the Bonilla deal. They originally did it bc they were getting crazy good returns from Bernie Madoff, so restructuring and stretching it out made sense. Smart by Bonilla to rework the deal.
I don’t know… I’ve seen them exceed expectations year in and year out. Losing someone like Chapman, who did not perform so well last year, won’t kill them. They have torn it down very fast before and been in contention. No one expected them to be good after 2017 and they were… I’ve personally seen them surprise.
But to fully rule out a player ending up there for this reason doesn’t make sense to me. Any team can contend any given year and they are one of the quicker teams to come out quickly from a teardown (as opposed to others).
@Stevil
I get that, but i also see no incentive to take either player in a deal for Olson or Chapman or the Pitchers. Unless the A’s pay down either salary they would actually be lowering the return for either Olson/Chapman. If the A’s want to give players away for minimal returns the Sox could use one of the starters and take Piscotty on the A’s dime
The salaries of Piscotty and Andrus aren’t that high. The A’s wouldn’t be ‘giving’ anyone away. They would still get significant returns. Virtually all the significant starting pitchers that were available via free agency have signed, Chapman is by far the superior third baseman presumably available, and the only 1B option arguably better than Olson is Freeman, who still seems highly likely to return to Atlanta.
Their players would still be in demand, even with a conditional attachment..
“but by all accounts they’re readying for a teardown that will see the core of their 2017-21 teams dispersed throughout the league as they look to retool and stockpile young talent.”
Kills me because literally no one from the A’s front office has stated this. This is just BS created by sites like these. Could easily be lies, especially if the lockout ends with a salary floor.
If the lockout ends w a floor they’re going to take on garbage contracts and buy players.
They won’t extend Chapman or Olson and pay that LT contract. It’s the A’s way.
A’sfaninUK, do you know why we see quotes from team personnel, links to articles and tweets from renown journalists, and specific players cited in posts like this?
When you see more definitive statements, there’s a reason for it, but even the wording in this post was carefully chosen.
None of it will ‘kill’ you, though. It’s going over your head, not through it.
tl;dr He sucks and he’s expensive
I’m surprised his WAR was .6
Andrus is not going to reach 550 PAs no matter which team he’s on. The A’s or an acquiring team can rightly reduce his playing time based on decreased production.
Well the A’s can, probably. An acquiring team, not so much, as the article points out very well. He has full trade protection, so an acquiring team will have to get permission from him, and the first thing he’s gonna ask is “will I be your every day shortstop?” If not, he’s not approving the trade. Nor should he. If the team lies and then benches or cuts him anyway, their reputation among players will be in the gutter and that’s the last thing any team wants. Best an acquiring team can do is promise him full PA’s and then hope for an injury. But he rarely gets hurt.
Any team thinking of trading for Elvis has to consider it a two year deal, which greatly ups the cost to the A’s to convince someone to do it. I can see several rebuilding teams without a SS but with payroll room asking about it. Rockies are one. Orioles.
If they acquire him to be the everyday SS and he has a sub .600 ops through his first 200PAs, they can bench him and I don’t think any player is going to lose respect for the team. They’d lose more respect watching a team purposely roll out a guy who doesn’t deserve to be there.
Nobody will take Andrus in any regard, except as a dead weight contract swap, or with a good prospect packaged with him to accept him. Andrus wants to stay in Oakland? Let him. Not a single team would take him should he demand the option be picked up as a demand. his years as a useful player ended long ago and he’d be in the minors, or out of the game now if not owed so much.
He will insist on a concrete promise or he won’t approve the deal. The A’s could actually help make it happen if they acquired a cheap major league SS, like Iglesias or someone. Then Andrus would know he won’t make it to 550 PA’s with the A’s.
John, he’s not that bad. A team can win with or without him Reminds me of when Boston got Stephen Drew.
Dewey, Compare him in a way to Dee Gordon. Nobody was wanting to give him anything last cpl years and he runs much better than the not slow at all Andrus and neither is bad defensively at middle IF positions.
Both same age and Andrus had the 1 fair power year at Arlington, where everyone does and never again before, or after. He, like Gordan was a hit the ball and run guy mostly which Gordon made a living on and Gordon got 1m at last season and kind of my point. neither has a future with both slowing down and being 33yo.
@seamaholic, I understand what you’re saying, but I also think you have it backwards. It will be “easier” for the acquiring team to reduce his playing time and not risk a grievance than it would be for the A’s, hence why they have great incentive to move him. The acquiring team will simply say up front we acquired him for a part-time role.
Let’s use one of the mentioned trade partners as an example. The Yankees. So if one of their top SS prospects is included as part of a package for Olson, likely Peraza, then the A’s will simply tell Andrus that likely no later than midseason, they intend to give Peraza a shot at SS. (Hint: You won’t reach 550 PA’s with us.) we’re rebuilding; he’s our future. So you can be a part-time player for a rebuilding and likely losing A’s, or you can be a part-time player for a very good and contending Yankees team. Elvis taps fingers on desk. You know, I think I’d look pretty good in pinstripes. He’ll never achieve that player option with any team. Once he accepts that, all decisions will be easier for him.
BTW I don’t agree with Steve’s take that the tactic is the sort of thing that can work against a team in future free-agent discussions. Those player options tied to PA’s and IP’s are not guaranteed. It’s an understanding between player and team that we will honor it as long as you remain healthy and productive. Elvis has failed at the latter. The Yankees, for example, deservedly reduced J.A. Happ’s prorated innings in 2020 so that he didn’t achieve his player option for 2021. No grievance was filed and the Yankees will have no issue signing future free agents. Happ’s horrible 2019 guaranteed he would never get the innings he needed in 2020.
I tend to agree here. There are valid ways to avoid grievances.
For one, be upfront and honest. A rebuild is more important to the team than your option.
Secondly, Andrus has to perform well enough to warrant a grievance. A 73 OPS+ isn’t exactly doing that.
If the A’s have already (rightly) undercut the 550 PA benchmark by playing Nick Allen over Elvis (as they should), then what reason would Elvis have to remain in Oakland?
Elvis isn’t getting 550 PAs in Oakland or anywhere else. His OPS+ the last two years is 60 and 73. Those are not the numbers of a full-time player. He should hope for a bench role on a contender. He’s already made far more than a player of his ability should have. More than $130M after this season.
Chapman or Olson and Andrus to the Yankees wouldn’t be a bad deal. Or a 3 way trade with the Rangers that see Olson, Manaea and Andrus to the Rangers, Chapman and IKF to the Yankees, and a bunch of Prospects to the A’s. Just a rough idea but would help all 3 teams out.
Why would the rangers want andrus back
Warm memories?
At this point he is barely a warm body at short
More like a warm fart
They need at least 3-4 more middle infielders.
@tstats: A’s would want kids. One of the two young Yankee shortstop prospects and then some.
Why would the Yankees want Chapman? They have plenty of right handed batters that strike out way too much.
Why would the rangers get rid of IKF
Yankees are over 200M in payroll no way they’ll take on Andrus contract. They won’t exceed the luxury tax (or salary cap if the CBA decides upon that) for a team that wouldn’t have made the playoffs if the Blue Jays got 81 home games in Toronto!
It’s only $7m. The Yankees will spend more than that this off-season.
The Yankees will exceed the luxury tax in 2022, as they do regularly. They do now structure their contracts with the plan to regularly pull back under the luxury tax every few years. They just pulled back under in 2021, resetting their tax, so they could go back over in 2022. They’re already guaranteed to be over in 2022, so they won’t blink an eye adding one year of Andrus if that helps land them Olson.
The Yankees are simply waiting for the terms of the new CBA to be finalized, find out what the new tax thresholds are, and then they’ll begin signing and trading for players. Their 2022 payroll will be somewhere in the 235-250 range.
kellyoubreisgod
Yankees are over 200M in payroll no way they’ll take on Andrus contract. They won’t exceed the luxury tax
==================================
They’re already over the cap by a decent amount, with no reasonable way to get back under.
The problem was that we weren’t that close at the time and we knew Texeira was going to walk after a year and a half. I couldn’t care less what the problem is now.
mind as well keep Andrus as a Veteran guy, he is not going to ok a trade to a team if he is not going to play everyday and I just don’t see any team who want to promise him that and risk the player option for 2023.
I think he sticks with A’s and plays out the final year while missing the 550 PA
The Problem(s) With Trading Elvis Andrus is that MLB has locked out the MLBPA and therefore no trades can be made.
^ This…AND once the lockout is over, “his $15MM club option for the 2023 season could become a player option and that his initial trade from Texas to Oakland triggered a conditional full no-trade clause.”
Elvis Andrus @ $15M is a problem.
I can only imagine what the Seager and Semien contracts are going to look like near the end… u g l y ……
Steve’s off on this. There’s zero chance Elvis gets 550 PAs for Oakland or anyone else next season. He’ll be watching Nick Allen most nights.
The big elephant in the room is whether the new CBA brings with it a salary floor in the area of $100M. If it does, Andrus and Piscotty probably aren’t going anywhere unless it’s to bring in an even worse contract (Cano? Heyward? Hosmer?) to meet the floor.
Could they implement that heading into the next season? I’m not sure. Ok Tampa you must now spend $60 million on free agents this off-season. I dont see it happening like that
You mean a $100M salary floor suddenly will create a demand for overpaid, bad players among the non-competitive, small market teams? This sounds like some pretty crazy economics and something that is bad for the game. Why should anyone watch a team full of bad contracts?
I guess if they get prospects along with it I would work wouldn’t it? I mean if the money has to be spent, that is a potential route.
If it’s part of the CBA it won’t be implemented this off-season.
The MLBPA opposes a salary floor. Forget about that.
That player option really kills his value.
Some teams could withstand the lack of offensive production if his glove work was elite. However, it isn’t. And as he turns 33 and 34 that isn’t going to get any better.
Could he maybe move to second base and be a plus glove?
Probably yes, but once you shift him off of short, trading offense for defense become less valuable. Teams will play bad defenders at 2nd to get an extra bat in the lineup. I can’t think of a modern team who plays a bad hitting 2nd baseman for his glove.
Good point. I’m just snowballing here trying to figure out any possible way of moving Andrus for essentially 2/22 and can’t find a way.
I can easily sign Villar who is a better bat and likely equal to slightly better with the glove.
Unless Oakland is throwing in some additional talent, there’s no market for Andrus.
Does the Rangers’ commitment run out after this year even if he gets his vested option in 2023?
Yes, Oakland or other team if traded pays the for the 15 mil(and why would you).
If the Yankees or someone are just taking him as part of a deal to land Olsen or Chapman, why not just DFA Andrus after you acquire him? If he gets 550 PAs with a 3rd team, would the acquiring team (eg, the Yankees) still be on the hook for the $15m in 2023?
Depends on how he was acquired by said 3rd team. If the Yanks traded him, then the 3rd team has the obligation. If the Yanks cut him (DFA) and no one picks him up on waivers, then his contract is over and there would no longer be a $15m obligation for anyone in 2023, altough the Yankees would still owe him $7m for 2022.
As was pointed out in previous posts, Andrus has the ability to veto potential trades, and wouldn’t be interested in being DFA’d by his new team.
I mean, unless Andrus requires that the new team exercise the option as a condition of being traded, I don’t know how can guarantee that he won’t be DFA’d. Wouldn’t have to happen immediately – if he sucks they could do it in May or June.
That’s not happening but he could force another $1m or so to waive the no trade. Knowing he has no shot on the option being his or picked up, he could take it.
“The A’s, too, could simply opt to move on from Andrus in Spring Training or amid any early struggles that arise, and they have a shortstop-in-waiting in the form of defensive wizard Nick Allen — a 2017 third-round pick who ranks among the organization’s top farmhands. If Andrus does open the year in Oakland, his playing time will be worth close monitoring as the season wears on.”
The presence of a highly touted shortstop prospect, both in Oakland and in the Bronx, would seem to give each team a ready excuse to limit Andrus’s plate appearances at some point in the season. I therefore don’t see any advantage to him in refusing a trade to the Yankees, since he might get the same treatment in Oakland if he were to refuse a trade.
Would Oakland consider a one for one Judge for Olson?
They’d be getting a more valuable player, but what are the odds they’d pony up to extend Judge if they got him? The A’s M.O. suggests that they’d prefer a haul of cheaper talent under control for several years, rather than swap a soon-to-be-very-expensive player for a sooner-to-be-very-expensive player, no?
This isn’t as dumb a proposal as Frazier and Andujar for Olsen but it’s still rather dumb.
No one will ever doubt @mlbnyyfan’s passion & loyalty to the Yanks. But for some reason that is quite beyond me, he really, really wants to trade Aaron Judge.
I don’t understand it myself.
But for some reason, my guy is pretty convinced we will be better with out him. Again: I struggle with that notion a great deal.
As a Angels fan I would love to have Ramon Laureano on the club. Great defensive CF.
You have trout. Would you like legitimate or Steroid
Trout is old enough to move to a corner and is coming off a significant injury. I’m not a fan of trading for Laureano but I do hope the Angels let the younger legs of Marsh patrol CF next year and keep Trout a little fresher.
We Stay-Last I looked there are 3 OF positions available for every game. I never said anything about replacing Trout, You did.
I want Laureano for Philly. He and Bryce would be throwing out runners one after another…
An outfield defense of Judge, Gallo, & Laureano would be the best in MLB. Not to mention a spectacular sight. He & Manaea are actually the two players on Oakland’s roster I would like to see the Yanks add.
I wonder if the Dodgers and A’s won’t get a deal done for one of the 3 arms on expiring deals.
LA has 2B/LF/1B Michael Busch blocked by Lux and Muncy, unless Trea Turner leaves.
Maybe a Bassitt for Busch trade helps both teams going forward.
I expect both to have outstanding years in 2022. They’ll both lead the A’s another WS title.
The troublesome long player contract hindering progress. Makes you wonder when teams are going to wise up.
How bad does a team want Olson?
Olson, Andrus, and Piscotty for one minor leaguer
Manaea and Bassitt will probably still be traded but Montas and Chapman can stay put
Piscotty for grichuk straight up no cash no sweetners either way! Neither are any good or have any value to other teams but here it’s a challenge for challenge trade !
I don’t see any scenario in which Elvis gets 550 PAs for Oakland or any other club. You don’t give players with a 73 OPS+ and $15M vesting the next season 550 PAs. A’s could let him help mentor Nick Allen as a part-timer, and if Elvis doesn’t like that cut bait. He’s not gonna bring much back in a trade, but for his 2022 price he could be a throw-in with one of the other other guys they’re likely to move, Olson, Chap, Manaea, Bassitt, etc.
Steve lays it all out but his conclusions miss the mark: “Even absent a grievance, that tactic isn’t likely to go unnoticed by other players; it’s the sort of thing that can work against a team in future free-agent discussions, extension talks or trade scenarios involving other players with no-trade protection.”
Does anyone in MLB expect the A’s to not be cheap? Does anyone think the A’s are worried about missing out on free agents or not being able to extend players?
The A’s won’t let Elvis approach 550 PAs, nor should they. Nor will anyone expect them to. He hasn’t deserved that many since 2017.
The A’s were brutal with Coco Crisp the year he had an option that depended on plate appearances, and he was a fan favorite and much more of a long-term team member than Elvis is. It ended with Crisp being unhappy and getting traded to Cleveland, where his option didn’t vest but he did get to play in a World Series. He never played in the majors again.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Oakland just plays Andrus until they feel Nick Allen is ready and either release him or convince him to relinquish the no trade clause so he can be traded somewhere he might not play as much.
Can you believe it’s almost 2022 and there were this many words on one page used to talk only about Elvis Andrus?
Just looking at the team Andrus was apart of that lost to the Cardinals in 7. I don’t know how they lost.
I guess just insist on Andrus’ contract going with any Matt Olson or starting pitcher deal?
The Yankees might not be the worst fit, if the A’s package Olson and Andrus together. NY would obviously want Olson, but their desire to move Gleyber Torres off of SS means Elvis could possibly staff SS in the Bronx.
The Yankees would have Olson, Torres, Andrus, Urshela, LeMahieu as IF options who can also fill the DH spot when Stanton inevitably hits the DL.
I think a Dodgers-A’s trade could be built around Olson and Lux swapping teams.
LA can put Muncy at DH or 2B when he returns, with Olson as full-time 1B. The A’s would have a promising young guy with team control left in Gavin Lux.
teams shouldn’t covet
Chapman and Manaea to the Mets for Davis,Lee,Szapucki and another minor leaguer
In arbitration, poor range, *-26* career DRS at 3B … Davis is NOT what the A’s are looking for.
Looking at trade values, the package is a bit short for Manaea alone, and you’re not even giving the A’s someone good for a position of need.
They could have traded any amount of salary to Detroit, and Detroit could have given Hinch and whatever in exchange for Soderstrom. The Athletics stay in contention.
But alas…….. Al Avila is an idiot and the Athletics have no intention of staying in contention….too easy to tank.
Ultimately, the Jays could obtain Chapman, Olson, Manaea and Montas and solve all the issues in one shot, but it’ll cost the Jays a huge haul of their prospects led by Pearson and Groshans! Take a look at this;
1.Springer CF
2.Bichette SS
3.Vladimir Jr. 1B
4.Chapman 3B
5.Olson DH
6.Teoscar RF
7.Lourdes Jr. LF
8.Moreno C
9.Biggio 2B
1.Jin Ryu
2.Montas
3.Gausman
4.Berrios
5.Manoah
6.Manaea
= Legit Contenders with just one move !
I actually would switch Chapman and Teoscar between the clean up hitter and number 6 !
“Did I hear you have a bad contract?” Chaim Bloom was heard to say. “I’ll take that off your hands. For a price.” And then he rubbed his hands menacingly. For like 45 minutes. But no evil laugh, as he could not type it.