Back on November 28th the A’s traded Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie, and three prospects. When this trade first came out it took the whole baseball world by surprise. The first reaction was why in the hell would they trade Donaldson who has developed into one of the best third baseman’s in the game with his powerful arm and bat? Then the next question was; well if Billy planned on trading him then how come he did not get enough back for Josh? But what was most confusing was what are the A’s trying to do? Rebuild? But they were not far from being contenders in October considering they were the best team in the league by the numbers for 5 months.
To answer the first question is hard to do. It was no surprise that the A’s planned on moving some pieces this offseason considering that the Lester trade did not work out as planned, which was to win it all. But Donaldson was apparently never part of that plan. He was grown in the A’s minor league system to eventually become a powerhouse, which he did, and now he gets betrayed? Maybe Billy Beane thought that they could get the most back for Donaldson.
What they got back was a descent up and coming 24 year old in Brett Lawrie. They also received three prospect pitchers who Billy Beane is reportedly very high on. Yes it seems like the A’s got less than what they should have for their all-star 3rd baseman, but according to Billy this package was hard to decline. Beane must really believe that these 3 prospects will be a huge part of the near future for the A’s since the WS seems to be the goal for them last couple years.
Ever since the A’s lost the wild card thriller this past year, Billy Beane plans to put his team on a different path to the WS since the current path is not going in the right direction. The A’s have always had the mind set to use Sabermetrics to get them to the ultimate goal. For years before the 2012 season the A’s had been building their farm system to produce a home grown team to compete for years to come once the product was finished. Now that the finished product has not captured the goal after winning 2/3 division titles, Billy Beane looks to possibly refurbish with new prospects that were added with the sacrifice of the older prospects like Donaldson. Now the question is; can Billy finally build a prospect team that Bob Melvin can lead to the promise land?
Overall grade of trade for the A’s: C+. Dumping a star player who is only making 500K for a group of prospects that could or could not pay off. If they do pay off and the A’s still find a way to compete and eventually win, then this trade was an A, but for now a C+.
