Comments on: Catching Up on Recent Trades

By: Millsy

Millsy — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:37:14 +0000

Sorry, read it as a surplus to the A’s…and just being a pain.

I’m still not sure why the A’s did this. It seems to be away from their style. They’re not going to be able to sign Holliday after this season, and I don’t see them as a contender this 2009 year. Then again, that’s what everyone says about Beane’s teams every year right? It just seems to be opposite of the norm for the A’s. Think Billy boy has something else up his sleeve this off-season?

By: JoshF

JoshF — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:20:49 +0000

I hope you add the Swisher deal to this because I’m curious what your take is on him. I went to HS with Swisher and he is currently my favorite ball player but hasn’t been able to live up to the potential. That BABIP was gruesome and a lot of his indicators were inline with what he has done in the past. The bias in me wants to chalk it up as a bad season and move on which would mean the Yankees got an absolute steal in my book.

By: DV

DV — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:13:44 +0000

Willingham is about an average corner OF bat who is godawful defensively. Olsen is a pitcher who’se not only a head case but has shown declining peripherals over the last few seasons and probably shouldn’t project to be better than a 4th starter in the majors on a go-forward basis.

The two of these guys are in/entering arbitration and about to get more expensive. There is little reason for a tiny-market team like the Marlins to hold on to very replaceable production like Olsen and Willingham as they enter arbitration.

They’ll go with Volstad, Johnson, Nolasco, Miller, and Sanchez. They also have Vanden Hurk and Barone who may not be the greatest options but are close to major league ready and can provide some depth for a team like Florida.

Surely, Miller has his performance questions, and Sanchez his health issues, but put into context, given that Olsen is about to get more expensive and this is the Marlins, they have to be pickier about the players that, while are relatively inexpensive to most of the league, are arbitration eligible. They just shouldn’t be keeping below average guys without much of a ceiling into their arbitration years.

Putting the Willingham move into context is easy. Ross can move over to left and Maybin makes the jump to the majors. This improves their OF defense exponentially.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:21:03 +0000

The A’s had to send several players to the Rockies to compensate them for the lost surplus.

By: Millsy

Millsy — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:13:25 +0000

“I have Holliday valued around $20 million. He’s owed $13.5 million in 2009, so there is significant surplus value there.”

But…didn’t you say Jake Peavy wasn’t a big savings for a team he is traded to? Where is the surplus if the A’s are giving up prospects and paying the $13.5 for Holliday?