Oakland just traded Nick Swisher to the White Sox for Gio Gonzalez, Fautino De Los Santos, and Ryan Sweeney. This is a solid trade for both parties, but it taps the rest of the farm system for Oakland, leaving Aaron Poveda the lone prospect in Chicago's farm system.
So what does Oakland get?
Faustino De Los Santos (RHP) - A very good, high ceiling player for the Athletics, De Los Santos is a stud pitching prospect that could be a Number Two for Oakland, given three years or so. He's the gem of his deal.
Gio Gonzalez (LHP) - A little lefty with solid stuff that should be a middle of the rotation presence for Oakland. He'll slot right in on Opening Day and should fit comfortably behind Joe Blanton, provided he doesn't get traded first.
Ryan Sweeney (CF) - Another centerfield option, I felt that the Rangers should give Sweeney a shot. He's got massive power potential, but hasn't translated it into performance. Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus feels he's a fourth outfielder, but ESPN's Keith Law believes a change in organizations could be beneficial. He'll also likely open with Oakland's Opening Day squad.
Oakland now is in full fledged rebuilding mode and with all of their outfield talent and first base locked up, Swisher was likely the next one to go after Joe Blanton, due to his service time and reasonable contract ($3.5 Million in 2008, $5.3 Million in 2009, $6.75 Million in 2010, $9 Million in 2011, and a $10.25 Million club option for 2012 with a $1 Million buyout.)
With Swisher, who will be the White Sox's starting centerfielder, the Pale Hose get a very good player who can handle center, steal some bases, draw some walks, hit some homers and strikeout a whole lot. Still, getting him for cheap for five years makes the losses of Gonzalez and De Los Santos managable.
However, is it wise for the White Sox to try and contend this season? Their ballclub is much improved, but the lack of pitching and bullpen depth for the White Sox, plus the fact that the Tigers and Indians are going to be kick #### means that Chicago, at best, is a third place team and at worse will be battling the Royals again for fourth place in the division and for the Number Two overall pick.
Good move for both sides, however. Oakland gets more prospects (and an updated Top 15 Prospects List Next Week) and Chicago gets a good player signed at a long term price.
Oakland Grade - A
Chicago Grade - A-
On a side note, does it seem that Oakland and Florida will be competing next season to see who can field the cheapest team? Both squads seem to be moving anyone making more than the Major League Minimum, though Oakland has several bad contracts (Chavez, Kotsay, Crosby) weighing them down.
I think you're right about Oakland being in fullfledged rebuilding mode. Swisher is a rare guy in my opinion, one of those guys the opposition hates to see coming to the plate in a key situation, kind of like Aaron Rowand....
Swisher isn't a bad player, and God knows he came up big several times against the Rangers. He's very Rowandesque in many phases of his game, including a willingness to go all out in terms of his play.
Holy smokes, I didn't know Oakland dealt Swisher. It is apparent they are rebuilding and playing for last place next season. Swisher should thrive with the Sox and Oakland should have trouble scrounging RBIs next season. I expect a huge season from him.
At least, this vaults the Mariners and Rangers to a second place showdown.
Morisato
Is it me or are the Athletics on the way to mediocrity in terms of this trade ? This team will always be competitive but how long can they keep on going like this before everything implodes infront of Beane ?
Ownership being what it is why the hell don't they just sell the team once and for all to an owner who's ambitious enought to want a winning product on the field?
i've been reading rumors that milwaukee could be in the hunt for eric chavez. i think it's just bullstuff cooked up by some brewer fans with too much time on their hands...
anyway, thought i'd get your opinion on if it's possible at all (the idea has been that braun is NOT going to be playing 3B anymore, and will be sent to LF, making room for an incoming 3B via trade).
i've also heard talk of scott rolen (barf) and morgan ensberg (not sure).
mark loretta would have been my choice if they're insistent on moving braun.
I can tell you know, Sox fans will love Swisher, who's dad was actually drafted by the Sox before going to an all-star game as a Cub. Sox fans seem to place more stock in effort and "grinding" than they do in winning and Swisher sure is a grinder.
Anyhow, I think the trade worked out a lot better for the White Sox. Moving to the Cell should boost his home run totals by at least 5 or 10 and his OBP is a massive improvement over that of Jerry Owens, if in fact he is who Swisher will be replacing.(I suspect Swisher will be playing first base sooner than later and Konerko will be playing somewhere other than Chicago, probably Aneheim.)
Is this the best that Beane could do for Swisher, who even in an off year was an OBP beast? Wasn't he snakebit by small injuries throughout the season as well? Gio has gotten very mixed reviews and hasn't been able to get passed double A, and Ryan Sweeney did very little to impress a team in dire need of any production from their centerfielder. Compund the fact that he couldn't hit for power even in the cell, and things don't look too good for the Sweeney, who admittedly is very toolsy. The A's got a goodie in Santos, but the Sox, in my opinion, may have robbed Beane. I expect really good numbers from Swish in a oure hitters park. He is cheap and will give much more value than the Torii Hunters, Andruw Joneses and Aaron Rowands of the world. Just my opinion.
Last edited by chitownsfinest on January 3rd at 2:51 PM.
Nick Swisher: .361 career OBP/.464 career SLG (.825 OPS)
Dan Johnson: .344 career OBP/.420 career SLG (.764 OPS)
Travis Buck: .377 career OBP/.474 career SLG (.851 OPS)
Daric Barton (Minor Leagues): .412 career OBP/.459 career SLG (.871 OPS)
Beane once again shows off his genius by trading an expendable part at the peak of his value to further along his rebuilding process.
Not that this means the White Sox got fleeced -- they made out well on the deal as well. They had the AL's worst offense last season (4.28 runs per game) but with the addition of Swisher, they should be about league-average, assuming that the down years from Dye and Konerko were just that -- down years -- and not the start of a downward trend.
PF: It was a surprise to me when I suddenly saw it appear on my email.
Tophatal: Actually, I think Oakland had gone as far as it could with it's current stable of guys. On the updated version of Oakland's Prospect Report (Florida will get one as well), a lot of their guys in the minors have come from outside the organization. There's also a lot of dead money on the roster.
Cuz: Speaking of dead money...I think the A's would gladly fork over Chavez if the Brewers are willing to eat most of his contract. As for Loretta, he probably can be had for Chris Capuano.
Chitown: Swisher will be a fan favorite in no time. He's very much what the Southsiders look for in terms of a player. Swisher actually isn't bad in centerfield and he'd be a stellar upgrade from Owens, and he should see an increase in power by the move. As for him replacing Konerko, not just yet. It's more likely that Konerko would replace Jim Thome within the next three years at DH.
It's still a good package for Oakland, however. Gonzalez will likely be in Sacremento to star the season. Sweeney I feel needed to get the hell out of Chicago, but he could eventually be a servicable centerfielder or right fielder in time. De Los Santos is another good arm. It's a fair trade.
Ultra: I wouldn't call it genius. It's more good business sense. Beane saw that Swisher would soon be out of a place to play with all the outfield talent, he goes and nets more solid guys to help him rebuild the club. Beane just has a good idea of when to sell high, though the Tim Hudson deal is probably his only blemish. It's why he's the one of the best at what he does.
The A's will probably be competitive during the regular season. But I sincerely doubt that they'll be around for postseason play. They've not got the making of a championship caliber team for the postseason long haul.
Billy Beane does it again (and may not yet be done--I can see Chavez gone after his decline in health and performance last year). It's pretty amazing what he manages to do with a limited budget.
I'm sure that the M's will be glad to see Swisher gone--he was a menace to Mariners pitching--and seeing him way less than when he was in the division.
I'm a long time Texas Rangers fan who has come to love baseball as a whole. I recently began this blog as a way for me to showcase my opinions, provide some analysis, and hopefully entertain those who happen to stumble upon my little soapbox online. I'll toss in an NFL, College, or NBA nugget every now and then. Enjoy the posts everyone, and yes, getting a little love in a Deadspin post was probably the highlight of the year, blogwise.
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