The Oakland Athletics have acquired outfielder Khris Davis from the Milwaukee Brewers for two prospects, catcher Jacob Nottingham and right-handed pitcher Bubba Derby, they announced on Friday.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the move. By adding Davis, the Athletics demonstrated their willingness to aim for contention in 2016. He boosts the middle of the order in Oakland, while also deepening their outfield. Alongside Davis are Josh Reddick and Billy Burns, who project to be the Athletics' right and center fielders in 2016, respectively. Reddick, in fact, led the 2015 Athletics in home runs, with just 20. Overall, the Atheltics' 146 home runs as a team were good for 12th (of 15) in the American League. The 28-year-old Davis is an up-and-coming slugger who should help add to that total in 2016. Last year, Davis hit .247/.323/.505 (122 OPS+) with 27 home runs and 66 RBIs in 440 plate appearances with Milwaukee. He ended the season on a real hot streak, homering 21 times after the All-Star break and 10 times each in the last two months of the season. According to FanGraphs, Davis was worth 1.3 Wins Above Replacement and should only continue to get better. The Athletics have the contractual rights to Davis through 2019. For the Brewers, the subtraction of Davis represents just another part of their teardown. Just this offseason, Milwaukee traded the likes of Adam Lind, Jean Segura, and Francisco Rodriguez as they attempt to rebuild after finishing 68-94 in 2015. As for their additions in this deal, Nottingham and Derby look to be legitimate pieces for the Brewers' next contending team. Both 20, the catcher Nottingham could be the heir to Jonathan Lurcoy's position at Miller Park. A catching prospect to perhaps replace the staple in their lineup was something the Brewers lacked until now. As for Derby, he's a little further away in terms of development, but posted a promising 1.21 ERA and a 47 to 10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 37 1/3 innings last season, his first as a professional. --Devan Fink
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The Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement with right-handed starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez on a one-year deal, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported Friday.
Alvarez, 25, was non-tendered by the Marlins in November, ending a three year stint with the club. The decision was a bit of a surprise, even though Alvarez is dealing with shoulder issues. The reason this is a surprise is that 2016 is not Alvarez's last under team control. He still is technically under contract for 2017, too. Cotillo reported that Alvarez will make $4.25 million as a base salary in his new deal with Oakland. He can earn up to an additional $1.6 million in games started incentives, possibly pushing his total salary to $5.85 million. Alvarez can also be controlled by the Athletics in 2017 through the arbitration process, making this a calculated risk by Billy Beane and company in the front office. A one-time All-Star, Alvarez could end up paying big dividends in Oakland. Last season, Alvarez struggled, going 0-4 with a 6.45 ERA in 22 1/3 innings pitched. He underwent shoulder surgery in July and missed the rest of the season. Shoulder injuries are considered tricker than elbows, so it is hard to know when he will be back. Recent reports have suggested that Alvarez may be ready by Opening Day so that appears to be a good sign. In 2014, Alvarez looked ready to lead the Marlins' staff alongside Jose Fernandez. He went 12-7 with a 2.65 ERA and a 111 to 33 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 187 innings pitched. According to FanGraphs, he was worth 2.1 Wins Above Replacement. Alvarez is the second free agent starting pitcher the A's have signed this offseason, after Rich Hill. Oakland's staff consists of Sonny Gray, Jesse Hahn, Hill, Chris Bassit, and now Alvarez. They look to climb back into contention in the American League in 2016. --Devan Fink
The Oakland Athletics announced the acquisition of infielder Jed Lowrie from the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Jane Lee of MLB.com first reported the deal.
In return, the Astros got Double-A right-hander Brendan McCurry. Lowrie does not exactly fill a need in Oakland. Rather, he adds depth to their infield, which already includes Brett Lawrie, Marcus Semien, Danny Valencia, and Eric Sogard. It is not clear exactly where Lowrie will play regularly, but he can fit at every infield position. It is possible that the Athletics decide to move one of their other pieces to fill a true need with the club, though it remains to be seen what is in the cards. The 31-year-old Lowrie has bounced between the Astros and Athletics since 2012. He spent that year with Houston, but was then dealt along with Fernando Rodriguez to Oakland for Chris Carter, Brad Peacock, and Max Strassi. After spending two years with the A's, Lowrie re-signed with the Astros in free agency. Now he heads back to Oakland in yet another trade. Lowrie is a valuable acquisition for the Athletics becomes he comes with three years of non-expensive control. He will make $7.5 million in 2016, $6.5 million in 2017, and has a $6 million team option with a $1 million buyout for 2018. In 2015, Lowrie hit .222/.312/.400 with nine home runs and 30 RBI in 263 plate appearances. He missed a big chunk of the season due to a torn ligament in his thumb, and after Carlos Correa's emergence at shortstop, he moved to third base when he returned. The Astros should be able to absorb the loss of Lowrie from their lineup relatively easily, as Luis Valbuena can slide in full-time at third base. He made 85 starts there in 2015 and hit well. The team also receives the Athletics' 30th-best prospect (via MLB Pipeline) in exchange for Lowrie. The 23-year-old McCurry posted a 1.86 ERA, 11.7 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 between High-A and Double-A last season, making all 50 of his appearances out of the bullpen. --Devan Fink
The Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics completed an interesting deal on Friday, swapping two Major League pitchers in a one-for-one swap.
The Blue Jays acquired right-handed starter Jesse Chavez from the Athletics in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Liam Hendriks,as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported Friday. Chavez will add to a Blue Jays' rotation that will take a big hit after David Price leaves in free agency. As it stands right now, the rotation consists of Marcus Stroman, R.A. Dickey, Marco Estrada, Drew Hutchinson, and now Chavez. Rosenthal tweeted that Chavez could fill a similar role that Estrada had last season, starting out as a long reliever and serving as depth in the rotation. The only way that Chavez is bumped from the current rotation would be if Toronto went out and signed another option. They just do not have the depth right now for Chavez to be in the bullpen. Chavez has filled both a starting and relief role in his career. Last season, Chavez went 7-15 with a 4.18 ERA and 3.85 FIP in 30 appearances (26 starts). He pitched 157 innings, striking out 136 and walking just 48. He is a free agent at the end of the season. The Blue Jays did have to give up Hendriks for Chavez, who had a great season in 2015 after coming out of the bullpen. The 26-year-old Hendriks went 5-0 with a 2.92 ERA and 2.14 FIP in 2015, coming out of the bullpen 58 times. In his 64 2/3 innings, Hendriks struck out 71 and walked just 11. His fastball averaged 95 mph last season, which was a good jump from where it had been. Hendriks comes with four seasons of control and is not a free agent until after the 2019 season. He is not even arbitration eligible until the 2017 season. With the A's signing Rich Hill to start in their rotation, Chavez became immediately expendable. Billy Beane and Co. in their front office obviously looked at that as a way to upgrade other parts of their team and a hard-throwing reliever was something they lacked. --Devan Fink It is hard to know what the Oakland Athletics have up their sleeve at any given moment during the year. Last offseason, they traded away cornerstone Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays, a move that shocked the baseball world. Two other players that have been rumored off-and-on as possible Athletics' trade candidates have been right-handed starter Sonny Gray and outfielder Josh Reddick, both young, controllable players that could net Oakland lots of prospect talent in a deal. GM Billy Beane told Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com today that he "just cannot see us trading Gray or Reddick." "Trading Gray is not something I think we could do," Beane said. "We have to put a representative product on the field, and continue to dream we get a ballpark. We should have good pitching, with Gray, Jarrod Parker, Kendall Graveman, Jesse Hahn, Chris Bassitt, maybe Sean Manaea during the season." Sonny Gray has been one of the best young pitchers in baseball over his three-year career, going 33-20 with a 2.88 ERA (3.36 FIP) in 491 innings, posting a 419:153 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Gray was named to the AL All-Star team for the first time in 2015. Gray, who will become arbitration eligible for the first time next offseason, could become pricey for the small-market Athletics in the future. Beane, however, thinks that the team can handle a contract raise. "I look at the way the market is going and realize the teams with the money are going to spend it on free agent pitching rather than trading three or four top prospects. Good young players are worth too much today." As for Reddick, the 28-year-old Reddick is further along in the arbitration process than Gray, becoming arbitration-eligible for third and final time this offseason, which means that he could become a free agent next year. This means that Reddick only has one more year of team control left. However, it's not likely to be an expensive one for Beane, as he is projected to earn $7 million in arbitration this offseason, according to MLBTradeRumors.com. Reddick hit .272/.333/.449 with 20 homers and 77 runs batted in over 582 plate appearances last season. --Devan Fink |
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