[Paulie123]

The Oakland Telegraph
16 July 2030
Beane embarks on another trademark trading frenzy as Ellis, Reetz, Salazar and Hashimoto depart, and youngsters Perez and Pelletier arrive
By Tom Bola, lucky dip correspondent

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to the Oakland A's Veteran-Trading Lucky Dip Tombola! This is the 2030 edition of what seems to be becoming a nearly annual event prior to the deadline, where general managers have the chance to trade away several established, productive players on expiring or over-expensive contracts, in exchange for taking a punt at winning the prize of a young superstar on minimum salary and under club control for a few years.

This is a glittering and prestigious occasion as you're all aware. So. Are you ready, everyone? Okay, eyes down, here goes. Our first contestant is... Drumroll please..... Ah, yes, A's GM Paulie Beane. Step right up, sir. A regular player, here, everybody. Give the tombola a big spin, Mr Beane. That's right. You've done this before, I see! Well, you've decided to trade away your starting catcher Jakson Reetz, your minor league reliever Tsurayuki Hashimoto and forgotten minor league infielder Rich Weaver. Let's see what youngster you've got in return. Reach right in there and pull out a ticket. Let's see who you've got.... It's Cincinnati Reds outfield prospect Jean-Francois Pelletier! Many congratulations, Mr Beane!

And our next contestant please! Ah, it's Mr Beane again! Fancy our chances, do we? Off you go then, sir, pull out a ticket. You're trading away your closer Roy Ellis, your failed veteran reliever Melvi Salazar, and their expiring contracts. Let's see who you're getting in return... Okay, that's enough of the drumroll, thanks... Ooh, not bad, not bad! You've won a double-header package from Kansas City! Yes, you've got rookie hot prospect starting pitcher Antonio Perez and promising minor league catcher Chun-mei Leong.

That's how Beane's approach feels like to the Telegraph. It's possibly irrational to criticise Beane's scheming given the success of his similar trading this time a year ago, which saw Luis Trujillo arrive and the A's kick on and ultimately win the World Series. But if there's one thing this newspaper is talented at, it's irrationality. So we think that Beane has essentially traded five experienced, able players for three high ceiling but totally unproven youngsters.

Miguel Rojas will take over from Reetz as starting catcher, with Miguel Mason stepping up from the minors as backup. Ellis's spot on the roster goes to mega prospect Frank Sargent, with Gonzalo Avila taking the closer role. All three new arrivals will, barring an injury crisis, spend the rest of this season on Oakland's minor league roster. The most interesting aspect of Beane's trading was that ace Lucio Vargas was not involved. Club sources say that, despite Vargas's expiring contract, Beane could not find a replacement young pitcher good enough to justify losing Vargas and his league-leading 1.99 ERA from their playoff push. Perez will almost certainly replace Vargas in the rotation next season. The 20-year-old righty was the ninth overall draft pick in 2027 and was listed as BNN's #10 prospect at the start of this season. He has struggled in 17 starts for the Royals this year, but will be in the A's rotation in 2031. Pelletier is viewed as the long-term successor to Juan Torres at centre field. The 21-year-old was also drafted in 2027 and has elite speed and excellent defense. His hitting is still developing but he is BNN's #50 prospect. Leong was the #79 BNN prospect.

Over the next couple of years we'll see if Beane has hit the jackpot with these youthful arrivals, or picked up some booby prizes.