General Manager, Billy Beane, had a very busy Tuesday making some moves to improve the A’s in 2014. Beane was named Executive of the Year Tuesday afternoon, and proved that he deserves such an honor, making some valuable trades and signing a key free agent.
Starting pitcher Scott Kazmir signed a two year deal with the green and gold worth $22 million; somewhat surprising to those who know about the money issues revolving the Oakland A’s and their moneyball ways.
Kazmir will take the place of Bartolo Colon in the rotation and will join Jarrod Parker, Sonny Gray, A.J. Griffin, and Daniel Straily barring any further trades. There will be a vast amount of competition yet again this spring training as Tommy Milone and Brett Anderson are also possible starters to make the rotation. That being said, there are several rumors that Anderson may be moved soon, and with the signing of Kazmir that looks likely.
Last season with the Cleveland Indians, Kazmir went 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA with 162 strikeouts. Kazmir has had an up and down career in MLB, but looks to stay on track and get back to his pitching performances from his days with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The A’s also acquired closer Jim Johnson from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for second baseman Jemile Weeks, thus ending Grant Balfour’s stay in Oakland.
Johnson is an important upgrade from Balfour considering he has been considered one of the most successful closers and has shown consistency, something every good bullpen needs. He’s had much success as the Orioles closer collecting 101 saves over the past two seasons (51 in 2012 and 50 in 2013). Last year, Johnson went 3-8 with a 2.94 ERA to go along with his 50 saves, in comparison to Balfour who went 1-3 with a 2.59 ERA and 38 saves.
Beane wasn’t quite done adding to the A’s bullpen. Oakland sent Seth Smith to the San Diego Padres in exchange for set up man Luke Gregerson. Gregerson has some closing experience as well as he has a few saves with the Padres. Last year the reliever went 6-8 with four saves while posting a 2.71 ERA while holding batters to a .203 average.
With the addition of Johnson and Gregerson, the A’s bullpen appears to be one of if not the best in the league with Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook, Jerry Blevins and Dan Otero. These guys are all versatile and provide much depth in a bullpen that struggled at times last season.
The A’s also made a trade with the Texas Rangers Tuesday afternoon, sending one of their top prospects in Michael Choice to Texas for outfielder Craig Gentry and reliever Josh Lindblom.
Gentry is a solid outfielder with stellar defense to go along with his exceptional speed. The 30-year-old hit .280 with two homeruns, 22 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 106 games with the Rangers. Gentry adds some options in the outfield and provides many platoon situations for next season. If there’s one thing manager Bob Melvin is good at, it’s getting his players playing time. Gentry will see action with the A’s in 2014.
This also puts some pressure on Josh Reddick who had a down 2013 season, partially due to a wrist injury that resulted in offseason surgery.
Anderson continues to be a valuable trade piece and the A’s front office has reportedly received a lot of interest from teams around the league.
Winter meetings haven’t even began, yet the A’s and fellow AL West teams have made some big moves to make 2014 a season of exciting competition.