Kluber and the King come to Philly

Post date: Aug 15, 2017 6:54:27 PM

In separate deals, the Athletics acquired a pair of proven winners to fortify their rotation

Athletics GM Matt Veasey has coveted Corey Kluber for a couple of years now. "Our interest goes back at least two years. If I told you how many times I approached Indians GM David McNickle about him, well, it's at least a half-dozen."

The persistence finally paid off in early July. The Athletics GM sent a package that included young starter Zack Godley, top prospect pitchers Brandon Woodruff and Dylan Cease, pitcher Rafael Montero, and a boat load of Minors Draft picks that included a pair of first rounders.

In return, the Spokane GM finally yielded and sent Kluber east to Philadelphia. The 31-year old veteran will join an Athletics rotation that Veasey has completely rebuilt since the Winter Meetings. That rotation has become one of the best in the WFBL in 2017, and now will only get better.

"We've really emptied out what was one of the best minor league systems in the WFBL," said Veasey "But we've added tremendous weapons to our team. We really believe this is now a club that can contend for a championship right now, and into the foreseeable future."

"If you're asking me, I'm ecstatic," said manager Buck Showalter. "We can match up with any rotation in the game now. Let's just hope these fellas stay healthy."

For a decade, every time the Philadelphia Athletics faced the division rival Montreal Expos, odds were that the Expos rotation was being led by Felix Hernandez.

'The King' has been one of baseball's top starting pitchers since he debuted as a teenager all the way back in 2005.

But now as a 31-year old, Hernandez is clearly not the same dominating pitcher that he was during much of that time. The veteran righty also is fresh off a DL stint, missing a few weeks due to inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

"He ain't what he used to be, but we think he is still a damned good starting pitcher," said A's manager Buck Showalter on learning that he was adding a new arm to his rotation mix.

The A's sent injured pitchers Jose De Leon, currently on the DL with his own shoulder issue, and Braxton Garrett, out with Tommy John surgery, north to Montreal.

There was also a swap of some Minors Draft picks included in the deal. The A's have received the Expos own first round pick at 16th overall in next week's 2017 WFBL Minors Draft as part of that package.

(NOTE: the Athletics used that 16th overall pick to select 2B Keston Hiura)

"We're rolling the dice a bit on this one," said GM Matt Veasey. "Our reports say that Felix can still show that high-level form at times. We don't see this as a one-year deal. We are hoping that he stays a part of our mix for a couple of years while we take a run at a title."

The addition of Kluber to team up with Chris Sale and Stephen Strasburg at the top of the A's rotation makes it one of the best in the WFBL. The Hernandez addition gives the club another proven veteran depth piece. If they can stay healthy, this group should give Philly a real shot at a WFBL crown in September.

The A's then moved to restock that minor league system a bit with a big late week deal. Veasey sent George Springer at the front of a big package out to Saint Louis. In return, highly regarded starting pitcher prospect Tyler Glasnow and second base prospect Scott Kingery came back to Philly. The A's also picked up the Cardinals first round Minors Draft pick in 2020.

"We can't be happier with what George was able to do for us while Mike (Trout) was out for seven weeks. His contributions kept us in contention," said Showalter. "This deal hopefully will help us not only compete now, but remain competitive into the future. We wish George all the best in Saint Louis."