Oakland A's and the MLB trades today...

[Dawg61]

Billy Beane is doing some magical stuff in Oakland. Best record in baseball and have the 27th highest payroll. Of the 25 players on their roster, 17 have been traded for, 5 have been signed as free agents, 1 has been claimed off waivers and only 2 have been drafted and homegrown by the team (Doolittle and Gray). Beane is clowning on the other 29 GM's right now. I hate the Cespedes trade for them (.637 winning % with Cespy in the lineup, .389% with him out of the lineup). But at this point we've got to think that Beane knows something everyone else doesn't. Adding Lester after already adding Samardjiza and Hammel is impressive. Some big time cojones today by Beane and the A's. Cardinals got better today too as did the Tigers and Red Sox. I thought today was a fantastic trading deadline for MLB. Very surprised by some teams doing nothing though. Phillies did nothing when they so desperately need to dump payroll. Dodgers didn't add anything and the Giants, Blue Jays, Brewers and Pirates were very quiet as well. Exciting day in MLB.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

Billy Beane is doing some magical stuff in Oakland. Best record in baseball and have the 27th highest payroll. Of the 25 players on their roster, 17 have been traded for, 5 have been signed as free agents, 1 has been claimed off waivers and only 2 have been drafted and homegrown by the team (Doolittle and Gray). Beane is clowning on the other 29 GM's right now. I hate the Cespedes trade for them (.637 winning % with Cespy in the lineup, .389% with him out of the lineup). But at this point we've got to think that Beane knows something everyone else doesn't. Adding Lester after already adding Samardjiza and Hammel is impressive. Some big time cojones today by Beane and the A's. Cardinals got better today too as did the Tigers and Red Sox. I thought today was a fantastic trading deadline for MLB. Very surprised by some teams doing nothing though. Phillies did nothing when they so desperately need to dump payroll. Dodgers didn't add anything and the Giants, Blue Jays, Brewers and Pirates were very quiet as well. Exciting day in MLB.

Phillies tried to give Ryan Howard away and no one would take him even with the Phillies paying him .

[messageboardsuperhero]

I'm an A's fan and am somewhat on the fence about the Lester trade- although I'm leaning toward thinking it was a good idea.

Let's break it down a little bit. With Cespedes out of LF, the A's are losing a player with a career wRC+ of 117, a wOBA of .339, a .318 OBP and 66 HRs in 1546 plate appearances (1 HR ever 23.42 PAs). And despite some highlight throws, Cespedes is actually a very average defender. Frankly, I think a lot of people look at his raw tools and overestimate how good he is, IMO. Cespedes has a ton of raw power, but has yet to prove himself as a truly elite power hitter. Not to mention the fact that his contract runs out after next season- and there's not a snowball's chance in hell that the A's are going to be able to resign him.

Now let's look at what they get in return. Obviously Jon Lester is an elite MLB ace with a ton of playoff success and the ability to shut anyone down on a given day- which is IMO the main cog that they've been missing in postseasons of the past. Now, as for what happens in LF, you might be surprised by this. The A's are planning on platooning Steven Vogt and Johnny Gomes agains right handers and left handers, respectively. If you combine their career numbers (righty splits for Vogt and lefty splits for Gomes) and compare them to the career numbers I just gave you for Cespedes, it's actually pretty shocking. Combined, Vogt and Gomes have a career wRC+ of 123, a wOBA of .351, a OBP of 354, and 69 HRs in 1699 plate appearances (1 HR every 24.62 PAs).

Platooning Vogt and Gomes actually gives you significantly BETTER career offensive numbers than keeping Cespedes- and this doesn't even consider the fact that Vogt is in the middle of a career year in which his numbers vs. rightys are outstanding, while Cespedes's production has been tailing off since 2012. Now, the A's may lose a little defensively, but that's why they traded a AAA pitcher (Tommy Milone, who has had some success this year but won't play a role going forward) for one of the borderline elite defensive OFs in the game in Sam Fuld to play CF while Crisp and and Gentry are hurt- he should be able to pick up most of their slack and cover some of the ground that Vogt and particularly Gomes can't get to in LF.

Everytime I see a trade like this, I initially am questionable about it- but the more I break it down, the more sense it makes. The A's get one the elite SPs and best postseason pitchers of our generation, and actaully get better offense in return by adding Johnny Gomes to the trade and utilizing the platoon system. Billy Bean just has a different way of thinking that most other GMs can't quite seem to catch up to. Now this is definitely going all in for this season, but the window for opportunity with this roster is right now. And it's not like Cespedes was signed long term anyway... The A's have a chance to win it all, and they are doing everything in their power to make the most of this.

I also think that this works out great for the Red Sox, but that's for a different post...

[camsu]

Go A's.

Moss will play LF full time now. He has been in RF, 1stB and LF so this gives him 1 place to be. Gomes will DH with Vogt and Rhand hitter Blanks or Freeman playing 1st at times. Just think Kazamer is our 4th starter now, 4th. What a rotation. You put Chavaz back in the pin where he is more comfortable, it is just WOW. Really hate I had to give up my tickets a few yrs ago, this is the year we go all the way.

[Dawg61]

Sometimes you have to have to put down the paper and actually think about what you're saying. The platoon monster of Johnny Gomes, Sam Fuld and Steven Vogt is better than Cespedes. No. They aren't and you just used up 3 players out of your 25 man roster to create a replacement for Cespedes. Fans in Oakland love Cespy and he was a huge reason for their success. .637 winning % with Cespy in lineup, .389% with him out of lineup.

[msstate7]

Go A's.

Moss will play LF full time now. He has been in RF, 1stB and LF so this gives him 1 place to be. Gomes will DH with Vogt and Rhand hitter Blanks or Freeman playing 1st at times. Just think Kazamer is our 4th starter now, 4th. What a rotation. You put Chavaz back in the pin where he is more comfortable, it is just WOW. Really hate I had to give up my tickets a few yrs ago, this is the year we go all the way.

Might wanna wrap up the division first. Angels 2 games back.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Sometimes you have to have to put down the paper and actually think about what you're saying. The platoon monster of Johnny Gomes, Sam Fuld and Steven Vogt is better than Cespedes. No. They aren't and you just used up 3 players out of your 25 man roster to create a replacement for Cespedes. Fans in Oakland love Cespy and he was a huge reason for their success. .637 winning % with Cespy in lineup, .389% with him out of lineup.

At what point did I say that Sam Fuld was in this platoon? Fuld is NOT in Oakland to help replace Cespedes- I said that he'd be in CF to catch some of the defensive slack while Crisp and Gentry are out. It's unclear as to whether or not Fuld will even stay on the roster when Gentry gets off the DL. The only player who is being brought in to help replace Cespedes is Johnny Gomes. And you act like LF is the only spot that Vogt and Gomes will play- both players can DH too, and Vogt can catch and has been playing a serviceable first base. All I'm saying is that the A's have brought in enough right handed production in Gomes to compliment Vogt (who they already have), so that losing Cespedes isn't that big of a deal this year.

And I love watching Cespedes play too. The issue is that his reputation/tools doesn't match his on the field production. And how relevant is that winning % discrepancy? The lack of success of previous teams with Cespedes out of the lineup has little to do with how THIS YEAR'S team will play. The A's didn't have NEAR the rotation (or lineup) in 2012-2013- not to mention the fact that he had his best year in 2012. The bottom line is that Cespedes was a more important piece in 2012, and when he was out, it hurt the team more than it would now. Does that make sense?

And let's be real here, he wasn't going to be an Oakland A after the 2015 season anyway.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Might wanna wrap up the division first. Angels 2 games back.

The Angels scare me. If the A's were in any other division, they would have a commanding lead right now...

[msstate7]

The Angels scare me. If the A's were in any other division, they would have a commanding lead right now...

The angels are a good club. The a's certainly don't wanna get in the wildcard game esp if the mariners make it. The a's have great starting pitching but I'll take Felix over anybody in a 1 game series.

(I realize the mariners aren't wildcard right now, but I think they get there)

[Dawg61]

At what point did I say that Sam Fuld was in this platoon? Fuld is NOT in Oakland to help replace Cespedes- I said that he'd be in CF to catch some of the defensive slack while Crisp and Gentry are out. It's unclear as to whether or not Fuld will even stay on the roster when Gentry gets off the DL. The only player who is being brought in to help replace Cespedes is Johnny Gomes. And you act like LF is the only spot that Vogt and Gomes will play- both players can DH too, and Vogt can catch and has been playing a serviceable first base. All I'm saying is that the A's have brought in enough right handed production in Gomes to compliment Vogt (who they already have), so that losing Cespedes isn't that big of a deal this year.

And I love watching Cespedes play too. The issue is that his reputation/tools doesn't match his on the field production. And how relevant is that winning % discrepancy? The lack of success of previous teams with Cespedes out of the lineup has little to do with how THIS YEAR'S team will play. The A's didn't have NEAR the rotation (or lineup) in 2012-2013- not to mention the fact that he had his best year in 2012. The bottom line is that Cespedes was a more important piece in 2012, and when he was out, it hurt the team more than it would now. Does that make sense?

And let's be real here, he wasn't going to be an Oakland A after the 2015 season anyway.

I'll say this, I give Beane and the owner credit for having the cojones to go for a ring this year. Huge huge risk here though. It is very conceivable that to start the 2016 season the A's no longer have Lester, Samardijza, Hammel, Cespedes, Addison Russell and their top draft pick from 2013. So basically every single piece they just traded for and also every piece they just let go for these 3 pitchers. It is WS ring or bust for the A's THIS YEAR. Not next year. That is a gigantic amount of pressure for a club that has been 1-12 in postseason series the last 20 years. So Samardijza and Lester are going to be the two guys that finally reverse that trend of losing in the playoffs? Doubtful. What if Lester and Samardijza stink it up in the playoffs? I'd watch out for the Angels now. They did minimal to affect their clubhouse chemistry and you know that every single hitter in Oakland is having doubts about losing Cespedes in the back of their minds. What about Lester? He now walks into a clubhouse and fan base that absolutely LOVES Cespedes and he is the reason they no longer have Cespedes. That has to be somewhat uncomfortable for him. Don't you think?

[messageboardsuperhero]

I'll say this, I give Beane and the owner credit for having the cojones to go for a ring this year. Huge huge risk here though. It is very conceivable that to start the 2016 season the A's no longer have Lester, Samardijza, Hammel, Cespedes, Addison Russell and their top draft pick from 2013. So basically every single piece they just traded for and also every piece they just let go for these 3 pitchers. It is WS ring or bust for the A's THIS YEAR. Not next year. That is a gigantic amount of pressure for a club that has been 1-12 in postseason series the last 20 years. So Samardijza and Lester are going to be the two guys that finally reverse that trend of losing in the playoffs? Doubtful. What if Lester and Samardijza stink it up in the playoffs? I'd watch out for the Angels now. They did minimal to affect their clubhouse chemistry and you know that every single hitter in Oakland is having doubts about losing Cespedes in the back of their minds. What about Lester? He now walks into a clubhouse and fan base that absolutely LOVES Cespedes and he is the reason they no longer have Cespedes. That has to be somewhat uncomfortable for him. Don't you think?

Oh, there's no doubt it's risky- and I said that I'm still somewhat on the fence about it. I was just trying to explain Beane's rationalization for doing it.

At the end of the day, you never know who got the better end of a trade until a couple of years later.

[Dawg61]

Oh, there's no doubt it's risky- and I said that I'm still somewhat on the fence about it. I was just trying to explain Beane's rationalization for doing it.

At the end of the day, you never know who got the better end of a trade until a couple of years later.

Definitely appreciate you trying to explain his thought process. It has left me scratching my head but that's what Beane does. He leaves everyone scratching their heads and trying to play catch up. The guy is a master at work. 27th payroll. Amazing. Imagine what Beane could do with the Dodgers or Yankees payroll.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Definitely appreciate you trying to explain his thought process. It has left me scratching my head but that's what Beane does. He leaves everyone scratching their heads and trying to play catch up. The guy is a master at work. 27th payroll. Amazing. Imagine what Beane could do with the Dodgers or Yankees payroll.

The thing about Beane is that he really doesn't give two shits about clubhouse chemistry- he's always thought that it's overrated. I guarantee you that Beane gave little-to-no thought about how losing Cespedes would affect the clubhouse- because he saw more value in the combination of Lester and Gomes (assuming Lester can duplicate what he did last year for the Red Sox in the playoffs and can continue what he's been doing all regular season).

Now, what Beane lacks in that department, Bob Melvin makes up for it. Melvin just has a great way of getting players to buy into the platooning and accepting their roles- he's a big reason why players love to play for Oakland.

[Smitty]

The thing about Beane is that he really doesn't give two shits about clubhouse chemistry- he's always thought that it's overrated. I guarantee you that Beane gave little-to-no thought about how losing Cespedes would affect the clubhouse- because he saw more value in the combination of Lester and Gomes (assuming Lester can duplicate what he did last year for the Red Sox in the playoffs and can continue what he's been doing all regular season).

Now, what Beane lacks in that department, Bob Melvin makes up for it. Melvin just has a great way of getting players to buy into the platooning and accepting their roles- he's a big reason why players love to play for Oakland.

Funny thing is they had planned on a huge Cespedes t-shirt La Potencia giveaway next week.

[Dawg61]

Funny thing is they had planned on a huge Cespedes t-shirt La Potencia giveaway next week.

Yea it's tomorrow or was supposed to be and that's the same day that Lester pitches. I think they should still give out the tshirts. I want one too.