Athletics to acquire Samardzija and Hammel

[reedjohnsonfan]

I have to disagree on that. I think Happ has really come along, and is throwing 94 late into games. Aside from the fact that he is a Lefty,

 

Lefties who can pitch late into games with a mid 90s fastball are hard to come by. somehow he has found a couple of MPH on his fastball (A little help maybe?)

 

Thanks. Didn't realize that, I haven't seen Happ's last few starts to be honest. It's summer and it's hard to sit inside and watch guys you consider junkballers. Hopefully gibbers doesn't call me a casual fan now.

[NorthOf49]

Was out last night so didn't hear about this as it happened... WOW!!

 

Great haul for Chicago. Elite prospects like Russell are almost impossible to acquire. If you can get one it doesn't matter if they play the same position or have a similar profile as the elite prospects you already have -- Russell is of immense value to any team. Throwing in Hammel to do that is a no-brainer. I'm sure the Cubs pounced as soon as Oakland told them Russell was available.

 

That said, it makes sense for Oakland too. Now they're prohibitive favourites in the AL. And they take two top targets away from their competitors. Look for Oakland to re-trade Samardzija in the offseason at next year's deadline for a good return; what Milwaukee did with Greinke comes to mind. They're not just trading for 50 starts of Samardzija, they're trading for him as a tradeable asset.

[reedjohnsonfan]

Hes owed 22 million for the next 2 seasons. Even if they take half of that it won't be worth the prospect to get him. He's not better than Happ and when he was in the AL East before he was terrible. McCarthy a much better option

 

 

He might not even take a prospect which would make him an attractive depth move... that's what I meant when I said he'd be interesting.

 

They are both not very good. McCarthy has potential to turn it around and so does Jackson but less so. If sh3156 is right that Happ has increased his FB velocity then that's promising, so Happ has potential to be a good pitcher too.

 

I think we should agree that both McCarthy and EJax are bad options.

[FireAlexAnthopoulos]

And I don't think if people have noticed but free agents do not want to come to Toronto and will not come to Toronto

 

You could have a hundred million freed up. Understand they do not want to come to Toronto

That's such a lame excuse. If players are willing to go to shitholes like Detroit, they'll go to Toronto. The problem is AA constantly hemming and hawing about "value" and then using Toronto as an excuse when nothing gets done. Nobody will come here if you're only willing to offer $0 for 1 year because anything else would be "bad value."

[G-Snarls]

[sh3156]

Shark is overrated anyways. Still better than Dickey. I think we gave up just as much for Dickey as this trade

[HERPDERP]

Unfortunately TDA is losing value every single day. He's getting older and not producing.

[Nox]

I agree. Prado and McCarthy would be a marginal upgrade. If you're going for a playoff push you get players better than them.

 

They would improve the Jays projected win total by like 2 wins. I don't think you're grasping how valuable that would be.

[G-Snarls]

Yankees made big try for Samardzija, finish second

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/jon-heyman/24608532/yankees-made-big-try-for-samardzija-finish-second

 

The Yankees, in need of a frontline starting pitcher with CC Sabathia out for the year, made a decent play for Cubs righthander Jeff Samardzija before he went to the A's in a six-player blockbuster, according to source familiar with the talks. The Yankees thought they made a good enough bid only to finish second, sources said.

 

Losing out was a disappointment for the Yankees, who figure to have little hope of prying Rays star David Price from the division rival. The Yankees would surely look at Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels if they were to become available, but even the Yankees have a budget, and they liked Samardzija's contract situation better. Samardzija's salary in 2014 will be $5.345 million and he's eligible for arbitration in 2015, after which he's a free agent. Some next-tier possibilities might include John Danks, Jorge De La Rosa, Ian Kennedy and maybe Wade Miley.

 

The Yankees' system is much improved but they didn't have the elite prospect to match shortstop Addison Russell, who became the centerpiece of the deal with Oakland. The Yankees' best prospects, according to a scout, are righthanded pitcher Luis Severino ("a young Pedro"), shortstop Abiatal Avelino (young upside athlete), Aaron Judge ("poor man's Giancarlo Stanton"), lefthanders Ian Clarkin and Manny Banuelos and rightander Rafael DePaula. They also have two catchers, Gary Sanchez and John Ryan Murphy, who was up earlier. The Yankees didn't want top include set-up man extraordinaire Dellin Betances and probably not Severino, either. But they did like Samardzija very much.

 

The Marlins, Mariners, Dodgers and Angels were among teams thought to be interested in Samardzija. The Blue Jays had shown early interest but may be more interested in a rental, so Jason Hammel's inclusion in the A's deal might have hurt them more.

[G-Snarls]

[G-Snarls]

^

 

Agree wholeheartedly with this

[G-Snarls]

MLB.com:

 

CHICAGO -- About a month ago, Athletics vice president and general manager Billy Beane talked to Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein about starter Jeff Samardzija. Beane wanted to make sure if Epstein was going to trade the right-hander that he'd call Oakland. Epstein has been in rebuild mode since joining the Cubs in October 2011, and he dealt two starting pitchers in '12, and again last year. The focus has been on adding young pitching and impact talent. But Epstein and Beane had a tough time finding a combination of players that fit each other's check lists. Beane wanted a way to expand the deal and get more back, and the Cubs were focused on one player who they felt was better than any pitcher offered in exchange.

 

On Friday, the Cubs acquired a player who now makes the "core four" the "fab five." "There was no pitcher available who was even close to the caliber of player that Addison Russell is," Epstein said of the shortstop, ranked No. 11 on MLB.com's list of No. 11 among MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects, who is now a Cub.

 

Once again, Epstein dealt two starting pitchers, packaging Samardzija with Jason Hammel, and sending both to the A's for three Minor Leaguers -- Russell, right-handed pitcher Dan Straily and outfielder Billy McKinney. The Cubs will also receive a player to be named later.

 

"We certainly hope this is the last year we'll be obvious sellers at the Trade Deadline," Epstein said Saturday. "Nothing would make us happier than being in the position Oakland is in, which is to aggressively add to the big league team and enhance the team's chances of making the postseason and winning the World Series."

[TwistedLogic]

The Cubs pretty much have CJ Edwards/Pierce Johnson and that's it as far as pitching prospects go. Both are having underwhelming/injury bitten years as well. I would love to try and flip Sanchez/Norris for an infielder (Bryant isn't going anywhere, but Baez could be a nice buy-low candidate). It makes sense for both clubs and we can probably get good value taking advantage of their need for SP youth.

 

The Cubs could always end up moving Bryant to RF and Baez at 3B. Still have to move one of Russell/Castro though.

 

People overrate the Rays as much as they underrate every other front office. The Cubs will trade-rape you five times harder than the Rays ever would.

[Ehjays]

hoffman and syndergaard down the line too, fapfapfap

 

Sorry no Syndergaard here

[TBJ12]

 

This might actually be best case scenario IMO. Jays didn't overpay for Shark and he's not in the AL East.

[TheHurl]

Jen-Ho Tseng is a good pitching prospect.

 

I thought Daury Torrez has been the most impressive non top 100 pitcher I've seen in the low minors this year outside of Severino (admittedly I've watched about 400 games less than last year at this point). When I look at the stats they don't match what I saw (95 MPH and throwing nothing but strikes), it reminds me so much of Henderson Alvarez.

[TheHurl]

No it's not, Stroman shows a strong chance of being a nice pitching asset for years, the Cubs main acquisition was a highly rated minor leaguer who has to prove himself now in ML. I think the Cubs partially dropped the ball on this, if they could have had Stoman but asked for too much ( like Stroman plus two more valuable assets as the rumour mill claims ), they'd be better off because Hammel could have fetched them something now as well given his surprising season. If the Cubs had met a middle ground with the Jays before the season, when the Jays pitching situation seemed more dire, I believe the talent they could have got for Shark AND Hammels would have been much better for them. But that ship sailed once Stroman showed he can pitch well in the ML already. If Stroman was still considered a prospect, he'd be rocketing up the list now.

 

Cubs are supposed to be done their rebuilding and starting to see some pay off now. It hasn't happened yet, and trading away Shark means they are likely deferring their target year for success again. Their fans are starving for a winner, attendance used to be really good but it's shrunk a fair bit. Yes, they are smart to make this trade, it's likely the best offer they can get today. But I think they had better chances earlier this year, and tried to squeeze people too much.

 

The nice story here is the Jays pitching situation has improved substantially now, despite moving Alvarez and Syndegaard, we have more young arms coming up ( our drafting style suggests this was inevitable eventually ). Our current window through 2015 doesn't mean we drop off a cliff in 2016. We can now look forward to the likely outcome of a core pitching staff at a fairly reasonable cost, leaving us with more money to scramble trying to ensure we have a reasonable offensive line up. A much different situation then what many people thought last year. Sure, lots of uncertainty with pitchers, but we have enough numbers to overcome some issues and it's so much better then 2012 after our staff got destroyed by injuries.

 

no offense as I love my little Dukie...but Stroman has yet to prove he can be a major league pitcher yet either. Every year rookie pitchers come up and start very well. It's much tougher to be good once teams have seen you. I love Stroman's future but he's far from a sure thing still.

[TheHurl]

People overrate the Rays as much as they underrate every other front office. The Cubs will trade-rape you five times harder than the Rays ever would.

 

I think many around here dislike Theo because he was a Red Sox guy and even when he went to the Cubs he was considered a guy that could only win with spending. I personally have always considered him a top 5 GM.

[G-Snarls]

I think many around here dislike Theo because he was a Red Sox guy and even when he went to the Cubs he was considered a guy that could only win with spending. I personally have always considered him a top 5 GM.

 

Even after some of those ugly free agent contracts he handed out in Boston? Or do you subscribe to the theory that some of those were forced upon him by the higher ups?

 

Have you read Francona's book?

[TheHurl]

Even after some of those ugly free agent contracts he handed out in Boston? Or do you subscribe to the theory that some of those were forced upon him by the higher ups?

 

Have you read Francona's book?

 

I think there were power struggles in Boston and certainly the moves in Boston were very different at the end of his tenure compared to what we saw at the start and what we now see in Chicago...and I don't read books (not kidding actually even Money was an audiobook for me)

[TwistedLogic]

Even after some of those ugly free agent contracts he handed out in Boston? Or do you subscribe to the theory that some of those were forced upon him by the higher ups?

 

Have you read Francona's book?

 

I didn't read any "books" but I know that Lucchino and Henry were/are notorious for sticking their stupid noses where they don't belong. Like I always say in defense of Anthopoulos, unless you know what's going on behind the curtain in these certain situations, it's best to reserve your judgement until you do learn more. The Red Sox ownership always had a large presence in their baseball operations, and if I'm not mistaken, the Gonzalez and Crawford deals were heavily influenced by them.

 

There are situations like this all around the sport. Moreno had a massive influence in the Pujols/Wilson signings, Ilitch was the drive behind the Fielder signing, Kasten is heavily involved in the Dodgers operations, and Loria has a large hand in the Marlins decisions. GMs forever have been and forever will be judged for everything their ball club does, from the draft (something GMs have almost nothing to do with, and is almost exclusively handled by the scouting department/crosscheckers) to free agency (another area of baseball where GMs play a very small role, and the owners have a monumental presence). Just like field mangers and coaches can only work with what they're dealt, GMs are in a very similar position themselves. As long as you have a s***** franchise that is headed by s***** owners and s***** executives, it doesn't matter how good or bad the GM is, he won't be able to make enough of an impact to turn the team around.

[G-Snarls]

Oakland’s Tommy Milone, with a 2.62 ERA in past 11 starts, sent to AAA to make room for Jeff Samardzija.

[TwistedLogic]

Oakland’s Tommy Milone, with a 2.62 ERA in past 11 starts, sent to AAA to make room for Jeff Samardzija.

 

http://i.imgur.com/py2PxcN.gif

 

Pitch 6 innings of 4H - 1BB - 6K ball and get demoted the next day.

[ElNik2013]

I didn't read any "books" but I know that Lucchino and Henry were/are notorious for sticking their stupid noses where they don't belong. Like I always say in defense of Anthopoulos, unless you know what's going on behind the curtain in these certain situations, it's best to reserve your judgement until you do learn more. The Red Sox ownership always had a large presence in their baseball operations, and if I'm not mistaken, the Gonzalez and Crawford deals were heavily influenced by them.

 

There are situations like this all around the sport. Moreno had a massive influence in the Pujols/Wilson signings, Ilitch was the drive behind the Fielder signing, Kasten is heavily involved in the Dodgers operations, and Loria has a large hand in the Marlins decisions. GMs forever have been and forever will be judged for everything their ball club does, from the draft (something GMs have almost nothing to do with, and is almost exclusively handled by the scouting department/crosscheckers) to free agency (another area of baseball where GMs play a very small role, and the owners have a monumental presence). Just like field mangers and coaches can only work with what they're dealt, GMs are in a very similar position themselves. As long as you have a s***** franchise that is headed by s***** owners and s***** executives, it doesn't matter how good or bad the GM is, he won't be able to make enough of an impact to turn the team around.

 

 

Well said, and nice avatar. I've said several times, owners like Sternberg and Dewitt Jr set the vision for their franchises and let their GM's do the job, but it starts at the very top.

[TheHurl]

An interesting little tidbit as far as prospects go...only once in BA's history has one team had three top 10 prospects (2011 the Royals had 8, 9 and 10 with Hos, Moose and Myers), it's only a mid-season list but on BA's list went out to special people like me on Thursday and the Cubs now have the 2, 5 and 7 prospects.

[GeorgiaPeach]

It's not as simple as that. A's had a great shot to win it all before the trade, now they put themselves in an even stronger position, plus they have Shark next season as well.

 

I'm aware of all that. But if I was choosing what side I liked better, I'm not picking short term assets past their primes, while having career years.

[GeorgiaPeach]

Just assuming/hoping that at least one will be traded in the offseason. $32 million on a couple of inning-eating fourth starters probably isn't the best allocation of resources.

 

And Colon's name thrown into the mix. Nothing like another expensive 40+ year old who doesn't do f*** all.

[GeorgiaPeach]

Ya, but I think you underrate the win now mentality, so I don't take your opinion seriously.

 

You think I'm joking?

 

I understand what the A's did and why they did it. I prefer the Cubs side all things considered.

[GeorgiaPeach]

They will have some cash next season if payroll remains the same. They should be able to resign Melky or Rasmus with Gose slotting into CF. I don't think they need an ace, rather I would focus on 2B or 3B. I think they can get that done with the current payroll coming off the books.

 

I really hope the Jays don't pay Rasmus what I think he's gonna/should get.

[GeorgiaPeach]

This team has the equivalent of manram/Ortiz of the early 2000s. Redsox turned into multiple championships. Jays are about to waste Encarnacion n Bautista

 

Manny & Ortiz obliterate Jose & Edwin. Manny's arguably one of the greatest RHH of all time. And Ortiz was a machine early in his Sox career.

 

Jose & Edwin are neither.