I probably should’ve known better. I wrote the following after the Dan Haren trade:
In adding that group to the existing core of Daric Barton, Travis Buck, and Nick Swisher, Oakland has created some serious competition for their key offensive spots (outfield, first base, designated hitter).
What we should have already learned (years ago, in fact) is that Billy Beane is not scared of anything. When a strategy is place, he goes full steam ahead, doubters-be-damned. He decided it was time to rebuild, and he was serious about it.
So now, two weeks later, he’s continued with that plan of action, trading Nick Swisher to the White Sox for three of their top prospects, including the top two (regardless of who you ask).
If you’re keeping count, that’s nine players in two trades, seven of which are high quality prospects.
I won’t go into the merits (or demerits) of pitching prospects here. Fautino De Los Santos and Gio Gonzalez are both very good pitchers for their respective levels, but obviously face the uncertainties inherent with their position.
As for Ryan Sweeney… we’ll see. He hasn’t exactly been a world beater in two seasons at Charlotte, but he was universally recognized as Chicago’s best position player prospect. It’s possible that the A’s settled in order to get the two pitchers, but Sweeney certainly has enough credentials to not be considered a throw-in.
So the A’s won’t be competitive next year. But I strongly disagree that they’ll be “without question the least interesting for the casual fan,” as Ray Ratto wrote last night. In fact, this is a profoundly interesting and fairly unique story: a smart team that is deliberately choosing all-out rebuilding over short-term band-aids. This is a team that had a fairly empty farm system three weeks ago, and is stocking up as quickly as any team in recent memory.
Another interesting aspect: if Dan Haren and Nick Swisher can go, so can anybody else. Beane is clearly all in, and it’s tough to say he’s on the wrong path.
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