It
was a relatively quiet December for the A’s, despite MLB’s winter meetings at
the beginning of the month. However, two
of the three transactions for the team were significant; one of which was good,
one of which was bad and sad.
Let’s
start small and get that out of the way with the news that the A’s sent Collin Cowgill to the
Mets for infielder Jefry Marte.
Cowgill had very little chance to see time in the majors with Oakland
next season based on the assumption that Billy Beane is true to his word and
has no intention of moving Cespedes, Reddick, Crisp, and/or Young. That four man rotation may not be topped in
the big leagues. Marte
played in AA last season and has been groomed into a third baseman that could
also sparingly fill in at first base or the outfield. I don't expect to be rooting for Jefry in an A's uniform anytime soon, if at all.
The
bad/sad news for December was Brandon McCarthy’s departure from the club, signing with the Arizona
Diamondbacks – who are becoming the National League’s version of the
Athletics. If McCarthy can successfully
recover from the line drive off his head and other nagging injuries, he should
have a very strong season in Arizona with the move over to the NL. I really didn’t see this one coming at all
and thought Brandon (and Amanda) would be back in the green and gold in
2013. However, the 2 years and $15.5
million in the contract were more than expected or what I would have looked for
the A’s to offer. There are very few
times that I’m not upset when the A’s lose a quality player to another team
willing to offer more money. This is one
of them, as I wish nothing but the best of luck to Brandon in his attempt at a
return to big league pitching.
The A’s
finally resolved the million dollar question for the offseason and have their
shortstop for 2013. Almost immediately
after Stephen Drew signed with the Red
Sox, Billy Beane finalized a two year deal for
Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima worth $6.5 million. Yes, we are getting Nakajima for two years
for approximately 67% of the cost of having to pay Drew for the 2013 season
only. This has been a relatively
polarizing topic among A’s fans but I’m definitely in the pro-Nakajima camp and
taking a flyer on him and his potential to succeed in MLB vs. watching Stephen
Drew hit .260 and bounce around the lineup during hot and cold streaks. Sprinkle in the inevitable injury for Drew
(given his track record) and this deal is a no-brainer for me.
During
Nakajima’s press conference,
he completely won over the vast majority of the fan base with his responses to
a few questions. If you read through the
comments from the “two year deal” hyperlink above to Athletics Nation, you’ll
find a few of his responses highlighted.
Scouting reports suggest that Nakajima is relatively solid defensively
and has a little bit of pop in his bat to go along with some speed. This is perfectly “OK” with me. He doesn’t have to come to Oakland and be a
superstar or the second coming of Yoenis Cespedes – although if he wants to
produce at that level, by all means, feel free.
Nakajima needs to come in and be a net positive / solid contributor that
doesn’t become a black hole / automatic out at the bottom of the A’s everyday lineup
– like the team has trotted out in recent years.
With
the answer now available at shortstop, it will be interesting to see what Beane
can or will do the rest of the offseason.
Will he try to improve the starting rotation, find depth at other
infield positions, or try to upgrade the farm a bit? While the Angels continue to take all the
headlines (read: signing Josh Hamilton and losing pitchers) the A’s have
solidified their starting lineup (for now at least) and look to carry over
momentum into 2013 as the defending division champions. Taking a high level view of the transactions
across the division, as well as adding in the Astros into the equation, I love
what I’m seeing in the A’s future and their chances at going back to the
playoffs next season.
