The uncanny ability of the Oakland A’s to be so successful while spending so little money has been nothing short of amazing. Books have been written about his unconventional style. Execs from around the league have modeled their strategies after Beane’s brilliance in Oakland. Even as the eyes of baseball watch their every move and play copycat, Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s manage to stay ahead of the curve, and spend less money than almost everyone, without compromising the organization’s success.
In 15 years when we look back at the Billy Beane era in Oakland, it’s entirely possible that we won’t be looking at the 2002 “Moneyball draft” as the defining moment of Beane’s tenure, but rather the year 2008—a season where Oakland won’t even make the playoffs. With just a few trades, Beane has completely retooled the farm system, revamped the pitching staff, and positioned the organization for success in the forthcoming years—and somehow he did it without completely mortgaging the 2008 season. Amazingly, despite trading away most of their star-power, and essentially deciding they won’t go after it in 2008, they are still in second place in the AL West, and will finish ahead of the Seattle Mariners, a team that spent lots of money in the off-season with intentions of contending.
Sure, they traded away one of the most talented young pitchers in the game, Rich Harden. But how far will that set them back? Despite his immense talent, when considering Harden’s rap sheet of injuries and his trade value at an all time high, it was time for Oakland to cash in their chips. You get the feeling that Billy Beane and company have been waiting for this—the season where Harden is healthy just long enough to have significant trade value. The fact that they could get a future ace like Sean Gallagher in return, made the trade just that much more of a no-brainer for Oakland.
Peter Gammons recently said, “I’d be shocked if Gallagher doesn’t win more games than Harden in the next five years.”
Along with Gallagher came a 2003 first round supplemental pick by the Red Sox in Matt Murton, whose ceiling is probably higher than his career numbers would indicate. The A’s also received 25 year-old Triple-A outfielder, Eric Patterson, and 22 year-old catcher, Josh Donaldson. Both have seen a noticeable spike in their numbers since joining the A’s farm system. Perhaps this means that Oakland scouts saw something that the Cubs coaches missed when developing these players. When Billy Beane is involved, it’s very possible that the Cubs were trading away something they didn’t know they really had.
This year, Oakland has brought in 3-4 players who could potentially become top of the rotation arms—led by Sean Gallagher, followed by Fautino de los Santos, who was ranked the best prospect in the White Sox organization last fall, and left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez who was ranked number two—both acquired in the Nick Swisher trade. Gonzalez, 22, led all minor league pitchers with 185 strikeouts in 2007, and he will likely fill the void left behind by Joe Blanton. He may even be an upgrade. The fourth potential ace is Brett Anderson, one of the six prospects on the return end of the Dan Haren deal. Still only 20 years-old, Anderson holds a 1.50 ERA with a K:BB ratio of 21:6 in four starts since being promoted to Double-A Midland. The young lefty was one of the most heralded American pitchers in this year’s Futures Game during the All-Star break, where he pitched a scoreless inning.
Southpaws Dana Eveland and Greg Smith, also acquired in the Dan Haren deal from the Diamondbacks, were considered lesser pieces in the transaction. Both have been instrumental for the big club this year, occupying the back end in Oakland’s starting rotation. Combining for 13 of the A’s 51 wins and sporting very respectable ERAs of 3.49 and 3.79, these 24 year-olds have been a huge reason for Oakland’s surprising 2nd place spot in the current AL West standings. The lefty duo appear to have bright futures as Major Leaguers.
In the Joe Blanton trade with the Phillies, the A’s received another highly touted prospect in Josh Outman. Outman is yet another left-handed pitcher to add to their growing pile of young lefty arms. Outman has cruised through every level in the minors, and his claim to fame is a 37 inning scoreless streak that he amassed in 2006. One issue that may haunt him as he climbs the ranks is his unfavorably high walk rates, but so far his stuff has been good enough to offset any control issues.
Not only did Oakland swing six solid, young pitchers during their 2008 swap meet, they grabbed an abundance of one of the hottest commodities in baseball—five left-handed pitchers.
According to the old adage, pitching and defense wins championships, and the pitching talent acquired by the A’s in ’08 is pretty impressive, but they offensive acquisitions should not go unnoticed. Their new crop of young bats should be a nice compliment to Daric Barton and the rest of the up-and-comers in Oakland’s system.
Outfielder, Carlos Gonzalez and corner infielder Chris Carter were two more major trade chip in the Dan Haren deal, and both are looking like stars-to-be. Baseball America ranked Gonzalez the 22nd best prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2008 season and the 22 year old has been with the Major League club since the end of May. Carter is still playing A-ball, where he is absolutely tearing the cover off the ball. He’s swatted 27 homers through 95 games with the Stockton Ports.
Adrian Cardenas, the 20 year old second baseman acquired in the Blanton deal also figures to play a significant role in A’s future. He was also featured on Baseball America’s list of top 100 prospects in professional baseball. Along with being an absolute speed demon, Cardenas boasts a high on-base percentage and walk totals, which the A’s organization values so highly.
These new additions bolster an already talented A’s ball club that will certainly contend for the top spot on the AL West for years to come, just as they previously had for the better part of this century. But unlike previous years, by auctioning off their coveted commodities in 2008, they have put themselves in the position to not only make the playoffs every year, but contend for a World Series. All while avoiding handing out big paychecks to veterans.
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