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January 17, 2013

Transaction Analysis

Bring Me the Bat Man

by R.J. Anderson

IN THIS ISSUE

American League

Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners

National League

Washington Nationals

OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Team Audit | Player Cards | Depth Chart

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Acquired C/DH-L John Jaso from the Mariners as part of a three-team trade; sent A.J. Cole, RHP Blake Treinen, and a player to be named later to the Nationals. [1/16]
Designated C-L George Kottaras for assignment. [1/16]

The A’s being opportunistic, now there’s a surprise. Oakland had no business aiding Seattle in its pursuit of more offense. Yet the A's finagled their way into the talks, financed the prospects portion of the deal for the Mariners, and in the process nabbed a big-league contributor of their own. All for one arm they rented from the Nationals and another whose future may lie in the bullpen.

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28 comments have been left for this article.

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CrashJones

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This was the deal that broke my "twitter cherry" as I was a part of the buzz, and even lets Athletics Nation know that there was 3 players, not 1 sent from Oakland( http://www.athleticsnation.com/2013/1/16/3884814/as-lose-a-j-cole-gain-john-jaso ). I of course had seen it on my twitter feed ( http://gregjohns.mlblogs.com ) before they had on there's, thus... POP! I have to admit, a lil buzz was felt by getting "the scoop" as it were, and lending a hand to getting the proper information out to the fans.

About the actual trade, when I heard that they gave up Cole I wasn't sure about it. Then I got to looking into Jaso, and I like the guy. Also, there was the backlash from fans over at Lookout Landing. For them to be so upset, it was a good sign.

The main selling point though was the beard factor(BF). With two catchers now on the 25 man with plus beards who can platoon and mash. That's pretty exciting stuff. Who needs defense? (kidding) Hopefully Melvin's tutelage will help them both in that regard.

As long as the PTBNL doesn't project higher then Treinen, then I'll be happy with this deal. The fact it made me go POP!, ensures that it's a deal I will never forget.

Jan 17, 2013 05:34 AM

rating: -30

Richard Bergstrom

Other readers have rated this comment below the viewing threshold. Click here to view anyway.

The first time is supposed to be special but I think twitter is turning you into a slut.

Jan 17, 2013 09:46 AM

rating: -4

CrashJones

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Wow. This has still been a positive experience despite the negativity.

Jan 17, 2013 11:13 AM

rating: -4

John Carter

Does PECOTA take into account that a team may have completely transformed itself from a very good defensive team to a very bad one? Or, should we add a half a run or so to every Seattle pitcher's projection?

Jan 17, 2013 06:33 AM

rating: -1

John Carter

Well, not that bad - they still have Ryan and Gutierrez. . . dock their pitchers a two-tenths of a run? Who sits between Bay, Ibanez, or Saunders? Is Morse the DH or one of the other guys? How bad is Jesus Montero going to be?

Jan 17, 2013 06:40 AM

rating: -1

mwright

Great job by Washington scoring one very good pitching prospect and two other bodies for one year of Morse. Cole essentially erases the departure of Meyer in the Span trade as well.

Jan 17, 2013 07:43 AM

rating: 1

jsherman

Don't get this for A's or Seattle. Seattle already had too many 1B/DH types and Morse is pretty bad in the OF. As for Oakland, I can't imagine the difference between Jaso and Kottaras is worth Cole. Last year Jaso was traded for Josh Lueke, and now he's worth Cole plus?

Jan 17, 2013 07:55 AM

rating: 1

jmoultz

I don't get this either. Unless Cole is damaged goods in Oakland's eyes, is a frontline pitching prospect that's close to the majors worth a platoon catcher?! And they threw in a pretty damn good relief prospect as well?! I don't get this deal.

Jan 17, 2013 11:36 AM

rating: 0

PeterBNYC

Is no one paying any attention to the undiminished skills of Billy Beane?

Jan 17, 2013 08:08 AM

rating: 0

John Carter

Who is the angry dude with all the negatives? J Sherman made a good interesting point about Jaso. My question about PECOTA is a very good question. That, perhaps, I could have looked up the answer is not the point. Part of the reason for asking is to stir up the idea that it should be something PECOTA considers - and if it isn't, it is something that we should be sure to do ourselves when we consider a Mariner pitching projection.

Jan 17, 2013 08:13 AM

rating: -2

onegameref

Kottaras to the White Sox seems like a nice fit. They are looking for a LH bat and Gimenez as a backup catcher on a regular basis seems a stretch.

Jan 17, 2013 08:35 AM

rating: 3

John Carter

I was wondering why Kottaras didn't end up with the Mariners when this trade settled, but take a look at Mike Zumino. He had no problem with 57 PA of AA pitching after his promotion. I know it generally takes longer to develop catchers, but he's on a rocket ship to the Majors. They don't have any other Major League worthy backstop to back-up Montero. If they give Zumino the job, I would think that sends Saunders to the bench - which means to make up for Morse and Ibanez/Bay, Gutierrez will have to cover the entire outfield.

Jan 17, 2013 09:01 AM

rating: -1

delatopia

I think Zunino gets at least half a season in AAA for reps, plus why start his clock early.

Jan 17, 2013 17:25 PM

rating: 0

ScottyB

Can we stop pretending that Jason Bay is a viable option? I have to laugh when he is mentioned as a possible DH.

My guess is only 2 of Morse, Ibanez and Morales play every day. Morse mostly in the OF, the other 2 mostly at DH. Smoak gets the chance to stick at 1B (and Morales or Morse replaces him if he can't handle it), Montero is given every opportunity to be the primary catcher (and he can bump Ibanez as DH if he can't hack it).

That's not to much of a defensive downgrade for some needed pop.

Jan 17, 2013 10:10 AM

rating: 2

John Carter

You might be right, but obviously the Mariners thought Bay can still hit or they wouldn't have signed him to a Major League contract. Today's rosters do not have room for mere pinch hitters - let alone two them, if it is:

Montero c
Smoak 1b
Morse/Ibanez of
Saunders of
Morales dh
Bay ph
Ibanez/Morse ph

It may end up this way, but the Mariners must have been dissatisfied with Smoak and Saunders, or they wouldn't have picked up Morales, Bay, and Ibanez in the first place. They can send them back to the minors, can't they? And, recall them when the geriatric gang goes to the infirmary or the old folks home.

Zumino is their no. 1 prospect (Parks says no. 2, but Baseball America says no. 1). Zumino is better defensively, so long term Montero is a DH. It would still be a bit surprising to see Zumino the starting catcher in April and their choices for backing Montero are dismal. Hence, I am expecting them to sign someone like Torreabla or Shoppach. It doesn't look like they were keen on Kotteras.

Jan 17, 2013 14:08 PM

rating: -2

Chucko

*ZuNino
Not trying to be a dick, just pointing it out.

I think Smoak is out of options, and for all the meh he's put up in the bigs I still doubt they'd subject him to waivers.

Jan 17, 2013 14:52 PM

rating: 1

Chucko

Looks like the same story for Saunders, too. Hmmmm. I'll be curious to see how this plays out.

Jan 17, 2013 14:54 PM

rating: 0

John Carter

Please, no worries about correcting me. Thanks - now I know (I have trouble with small print).

Jan 17, 2013 16:21 PM

rating: -1

nolansdad

Smoak has an option left.

Jan 18, 2013 10:15 AM

rating: 0

mikebuetow

Today's rosters have *plenty* of room, provided the GMs don't backfill them with worthless pitchers.

Jan 17, 2013 22:31 PM

rating: 0

CrashJones

Other readers have rated this comment below the viewing threshold. Click here to view anyway.

Curious indeed Chucko.

Feels like the North Pole up there, -20 and dropping.

Let me get my bearings. I posted about my first neat experience with twitter. My guess is a few pissed off Mariners fans have been through here and have been throwing snowballs at my post. Give it up you guys! It's freezing! when I said it was a good sign you were upset at Lookout I meant he must be a well liked player. I don't take enjoyment from others suffering, but the chance to root for a good guy who was so thought of is exciting.

That being said. Raw deal you guys. Unless Morse sticks around and plays well(which is possible you know) then it doesn't look good right now. Strange moves being made by your G.M. No wonder so many of you are up in arms.

Remember though. Everyone had the A's picked to finish last last year. I did too. You never know.

Cole could turn out to be a #1, but the A's dealt from a position of strength to give Norris some room to breathe. Jaso looks to be a good fit. Yet, there's still this PTBNL. This could go wrong for the A's.

It looks like the Nat's may get the best of it in the end.

Or it may be you, Mariners fans. You now have 2 Beast Modes in Seattle and by years end this could be a feel good story. He was popular in Washington from what I understand.

The Nats don't get theirs until maybe next year or the year after. Both the A's and Mariners got players who will play now. I'm hopeful it works out well for everyone. Especially the A's.

Now please. Stop throwing snowballs.

Jan 17, 2013 16:30 PM

rating: -5

delatopia

I think it's the extreme self-congratulatory nature of your post that annoyed people, including me. (I've never seen anything quite that one's-own-back-slappingly enthusiastic before, such that you may need to have your rotator cuff examined.)

The value of a scoop is greatly diminished when EVERYONE has a printing press at his or her disposal. So you beat someone by 45 seconds on a scoop? Who can verify that anyway, and does it really matter in this day and age?

Jan 17, 2013 17:30 PM

rating: 9

Richard Bergstrom

Reposting probably doesn't help.. besides, most people know that when a thread gets enough minuses to be minimized, it tends to stand out and get more attention.

Jan 18, 2013 13:13 PM

rating: -1

CrashJones

If you knew me you would know it was the enthusiasm of understanding twitter more and how it works more so then back slapping.

I understand how it could be perceived that way though.

I'm new to twitter, and here as well. I was sharing.

Anyhow, live and learn, learn to live.

Thanks for the response delatopia.

Jan 17, 2013 17:43 PM

rating: 1

delatopia

No harm. It's too easy to take +/- ratings here seriously (I do it more than I should), like they're any kind of genuine value judgment ... when it's mainly just a gauge of instant emotional reactions. Don't worry about it.

Jan 17, 2013 17:59 PM

rating: 2

CrashJones

I won't. I like clarification. Understanding.

I'm excited about life right now in many ways.

I like that someone will take time out to explain something to help someone understand.

I also like a name next to a comment.

I'm happy to be here. I discovered this site through Up & In, and I should have known as well, that here, I'm sharing with more then the Up & In crowd.

Looking back at that post I had numerous spelling mistakes, grammar was off... I was genuinely excited about how twitter can be used. I hadn't realized... and I have yet to totally of course. I wanted people to know that there were 3 prospects dealt, not 1. I don't like dealing with things not knowing all the facts, so it was neat to be able to speed the process along, even if it was only by 2 seconds. 10 seconds, whatever.

When I think of how useful that can be(plug your ears), when it comes to more important things then Baseball, it's kind of mind blowing. Exciting.

Once more. Thank you. I will sleep better now tonight ;) ... :)

Jan 17, 2013 18:16 PM

rating: 1

ChicagoOriole

It seems to me that Seattle is moving players so that 2013 is not a re-run of 2012, or am I missing something?

Jan 17, 2013 19:27 PM

rating: 0

Richard Bergstrom

It's probably Zdurineck's last gasp. If the Mariners don't turn it around, he won't be around come 2014. That's why you had that crazy Upton proposal.

Jan 18, 2013 13:16 PM

rating: 1

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<< Previous Article

Skewed Left: Washingto... (01/17)

<< Previous Column

Transaction Analysis: ... (01/16)

Next Column >>
Transaction Analysis: ... (01/18)

Next Article >>
On the Beat: Final Fre... (01/17)

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