July 5, 2009, at 11:57 pm
Not the most exciting trade, but I think that we once again need to mention that Billy Beane is a genius. Here’s the news clip from Rotoworld:
Athletics acquired outfielder Scott Hairston from the Padres for RHP Craig Italiano, RHP Ryan Webb and a player to be named.
The A’s aren’t waiving the white flag just yet, but this isn’t a trade just for 2009. Hairston is under control through 2011 and should remain pretty affordable. The 29-year-old was hitting .299/.358/.533 for the Padres. The A’s could use him in center or right, depending on whether they’d prefer to bench Ryan Sweeney or send down Travis Buck. We’re guessing he’ll start in right. AL-only leagues shouldn’t be afraid to use a high waiver claim on him.
Don’t think that this is a move for Depth. Hairston is a guy who plays 2nd, and both corner outfield spots and has slash stats of .307/.364/.547. That’s pretty decent productions. Throw that along with the fact that he has ten homeruns in a park that roughly the size of yellowstone and Hairston can be a very productive hitter in a normal sized home stadium.
Jason and I were talking earlier today about how Billy Beane’s plan to compete this year was foiled by the fact that his young pitching blew up in his face. Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill were both not nearly ready to be the pitchers that Beane thought they would. Meanwhile, he had used the bad economy to sign guys like Jason Giambi, and Orlando Cabrera to small deals. He only has Matt Holliday until the end of the season. He’ll receive two first round draft picks for him when he signs elsewhere, but with all those names, Beane still sees a chance to compete in the AL West.
While they are 11 games back, The A’s have been known to make second half charges before. With improved pitching from their young starters, they could find themselves in the mix by the start of September.
[Jason's Take: Like the move for the A's. It's sad to say but saving $1.25 million is a big deal for the Padres. Neither are great prospects but PETCO is such a pitchers park that it almost makes them better by default. Webb is likely to join the Padres MLB club while Italiano will join the Padres Single A affiliate. The key to the deal might be the player to be named later. Corey Brock of MLB.com says that Padres GM Kevin Towers "sounded excited" about the player to be named later, who will be one of two pitchers in the A's organization. One of these unnamed players reportedly has Major League service time. My guess Dana Eveland.]
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