There are only a few truths in life, death, taxes, and Billy Beane will make an unexpected trade or signing that leaves even the best experts dumbfounded. Last season he got us all when he traded a minor league shortstop and the incumbent starter at second base for Chris Young, and then again when he sent two top prospects and one half of a highly successful first base platoon to the Astros for Jed Lowrie. This season the move could come at any moment now, but the ball seems to be in motion for Beane to make a move.
Rumors have run rampant that teams are interested in acquiring Lowrie who is heading into the final year of his contract. Normally rumors about who Beane is going to trade don’t mean much, but the recent signing of Nick Punto and with Hiroyuki Nakajima spending a full year with the Sacramento Rivercats there may be some truth to the rumor. It is no secret that the A’s are on a budget, and with rumors that the A’s are also in on free agent Nelson Cruz to be their extra right handed outfielder and designated hitter it would not be shocking that they trade Lowrie, and his 2.4 million dollar contract away to make room.
When you play for the A’s you should always be worried that you could be traded at a moments notice, and other than Lowrie one other player should be ready to pack his bags, Brett Anderson. If you asked the team if he would be on the block a year ago after he returned from injury to help the team down the stretch and put on a fantastic performance in game three of the ALDS, the answer would have been a resounding no. A 2013 season where he never really looked right and the emergence of Sonny Gray as a possible ace in the rotation has changed everyone’s mind, and getting rid of the 5.75 million dollar contract he carries with him wouldn’t hurt as well.
After winning the division in back-to-back seasons it is hard to believe that Beane would trade away two big name players like Lowrie and Anderson because they are not sellers by any means. Trading these two would clear over eight million dollars of salary and that eight million a year might be just enough to secure the services of Cruz and bring back prospects that could help the team in the near future.
As stated above, no one, not even the best of the best, knows what moves Beane will make. The writing is on the wall, though, that a move is going to be made soon, and after two seasons of falling short you can bet it will make a big splash.