Call me pessimistic, but I don’t understand this trade. While I believe the A’s received a huge return for him, I would have liked to see the A’s get more than one position player in return. That being said here’s a look at what the A’s will get from the Nationals:
Brad Peacock RHP: Ranked the third best prospect in the Nationals organization by Baseball America, he is the biggest piece of this trade. Between double-A and triple-A last season Peacock had 15 wins 2.39 ERA and .99 WHIP in 25 games. He made his debut in the majors in September last season, he had two starts in which he won both games and only surrendered one run in 12.1 innings.
AJ Cole RHP: Ranked the fourth best prospect in the Nationals organization by Baseball America. Cole had a 4-7 record with a 4.04 ERA in 20 games (18 which were starts) in Class A last season. The thing that stands out most to me is his 10.9 SO/9 and 2.4 BB/9.
Derek Norris Catcher: Ranked the 9th top prospect in the Nationals organization by Baseball America. Norris posted a .210/.367/.446 in 423 plate appearances with the Nationals double-A affiliate last season. He had 20 homeruns and 46 RBI along with 13 stolen bases.
Tom Milone LHP: In triple-A last season Milone had 12-6 record with a 3.81 ERA in 24 starts, again, the big thing that stands out is his 9.4 SO/9 and 1.0 BB/9. He made his major league debut in September where he went 1-0 over 5 starts with a 3.81 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.
My first reaction, as I said before, is I don’t understand why we are getting so much pitching in return since we were told at the beginning of the off-season that we were already “deep in starting pitching”. While I think all of these players have a big upside I would like to see us start obtaining players that can hit. I also don’t “get” the Norris pick up unless we are already giving up on Max Stassi.
As for Gio, I will miss him. Over the past couple of years he has grown to be my favorite player in Oakland. While I understand the need for rebuilding at this point, it doesn’t ever make it any easier to see your favorite player get shipped off. I wish him the best in Washington and hope he has a great 2012 season for them.
Meanwhile the A’s also have Brandon McCarthy as equally confused (for a different reason):
