The trade deadline has come early for the teams in the American League West as the top two teams have struck early to try to improve their teams for the long summer run towards the playoffs. The Los Angeles Angels were the first to make a move when the swapped struggling closer Ernesto Frieri with the Pittsburgh Pirates own struggling closer Jason Grilli, but that was a small trade compared to what Billy Beane would later do. The Angels also made another move to improve their bullpen after Beane’s big move by acquiring Joe Thatcher and adding a speedy outfielder in Tony Campana (Campana is not on the big league roster for now).
The big move, about two weeks earlier than anyone expected, caused early fireworks on the fourth of July for Oakland Athletics fans when they traded two former first round picks and Dan Straily for all-star pitcher Jeff Samardzija and all-star caliber pitcher Jason Hammel. There is a lot of talk that this move was so big that it changed the landscape of the American League West. The question is, though, did it really change it, and if so, by how much?
The Athletics already had the best starting pitching ERA in the American League before the trade, so it is only a small upgrade, but the way it really affects the division is because of how deep it makes their starting rotation. Coming in to spring training they had eight possible starting pitchers, arguably the best depth in the league, but two key injuries and a need for a long man caused them to dig into that depth early. Now with this trade they will have that depth again, this time with seven possible starters when Drew Pomeranz is available to come off of the disabled list and Tommy Milone ready to go at AAA Sacramento.
The Angels tried to create a bit of depth this offseason, but they have had to dig into that with the injury to Tyler Skaggs and with the injury to Jered Weaver# they could be in real trouble. The Mariners have depth too, but their depth is young and unproven for the most part. This is where this trade really puts the Athletics ahead of rest of the pack in this division. The A’s can withstand and injury, possibly two, to their starting rotation while an injury to one of the top pitchers of the two teams could derail them.
Depth isn’t the only affect this trade has on the division, though. It also sends a message to the two teams below the A’s that they are going to do everything they can to win this division, and if they want to keep up they are going to have to do the same. There has been plenty of talk about the Mariners chasing David Price in the past, and now that the A’s have made their deal for a top line starter, they may be forced to make the deal. While the Angels haven’t been rumored with any of the big names, if Weaver’s injury proves to be a nagging one, could be forced to make a move to add a big time arm to their rotation as well.
In the end everyone will talk about how much better this trade makes the Athletics, but they were already good. What this trade does is adds depth and forces the hand of the teams chasing them. What it really does, though, is guarantees that the American League West will be fun to watch the rest of the season.