Slumping A's Deal to Stir Pot

Post date: May 19, 2014 11:26:39 AM

Justin Verlander & Kate Upton become the new Philly "It" couple after big A's trade from Houston

When the Athletics got off to a rousing 2-0-1 start after the first three weeks to the season, the club appeared primed to finally step forward as a true contender in the WFBL's always tough Owens/East division pennant race. However, things have turned decidedly sour in a mont-long slump that has seen the offense completely disappear, losses mount, and the club's 2014 fortunes take an ominous turn. 3 straight losses, and a tie preceeding them, leave the club winless for a month.

All that, and they trail badly in Week #7 right now to Alabama. There is serious concern that the A's are about to fall into a 2-4-1 hole. Outfielder Bryce Harper and catcher/captain Matt Wieters are both lost to injury for an undetermined length. Something drastic needed to be done.

GM Matt Veasey struck to shake things up this week, pushing ahead with three key trades. In the first, Carlos Beltran was dealt to New York in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick and pitcher Marco Estrada. Then he dealt away prospect outfielder Andrew Toles to bring back pitcher Kyle Gibson.

But these two were only the precursors to the big one coming. Late on Wednesday night, Veasey agreed to a trade with Houston in which starting pitchers Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Minor were both sent west. Coming to the A's is one of baseball's best, starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Along with the hard-throwing righty, the A's got pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and a 2nd round Minors pick in the 2015 Draft from the Colts. For now, Dice-K is expected to sit in the bullpen, and his role with the club may be short-lived.

The 31-year old veteran Verlander brings instant talent, durability, and a record of high-level performance to the top of the rotation. He is expected to team with Yu Darvish and Stephen Strasburg as a trio of regular aces in the Athletics rotation going forward. Estrada slots into the A's rotation depth. He should jockey for time with Ian Kennedy, Gerrit Cole, and the soon-to-return Alex Cobb as the main options. Gibson and newly signed free agent Randy Wolf are also depth options, along with Roberto Hernandez.

Before the summer gets too deep, it is anticipated that both Alex Wood, now shifting to the bullpen on a temporary basis, and rehabbing top prospect Dylan Bundy will also factor into the pitching rotation mix.

Reddick will step right into the outfield as the starter in left field, at least until Harper returns in July. Newly signed free agent Cameron Maybin is now starting in right field, the two split between starter Mike Trout. Both Reddick and Maybin are no locks, but will be given opportunities to win the jobs on a temporarly basis.

In the infield, manager Buck Showalter already shook things up, replacing retiring veteran Derek Jeter with talented rookie Chris Owings. It appears that Owings will now get a long look, as long as he performs at any acceptable level.

Slumps have hit the A's: stars Freddie Freeman, Manny Machado, and Trout have all battled heavily for this past month. The only way that the team will really reverse things will be for those guys in particular to snap out of it and begin producing to their talent and history levels.

The bullpen is now united for the first time all year, with the electric trio of Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen, and Aroldis Chapman. All appear healthy, and while generally dominant, they have all had hiccups in the early going. They need to become the automatic shutdown pitchers that the club envisioned when this bullpen was fashioned back at the Winter Meetings.

Time will tell if these shakeups do the trick. There is still plenty of that time in the 2014 season. But the A's don't want to fall too far behind, or suffer any more injuries, or this once promising campaign could turn into a lost season all too quickly.