Moneyball II

[fromtheline]

So the Brewers didn't abstain from voting, knowing that Bud Selig is the owner?

I would love to see the Athletics going to Portland. I've long been a supporter of Portland getting a MLB team.

Keep up the awesome work!

[Hendu Style]

Originally Posted by fromtheline

So the Brewers didn't abstain from voting, knowing that Bud Selig is the owner?

Luckily, the team has been sold to Los Angeles investor Mark Attanasio and Selig has no link to the team (as long as we know!).

Originally Posted by fromtheline

I would love to see the Athletics going to Portland. I've long been a supporter of Portland getting a MLB team.

I lived in Oregon for almost ten years, so there was definitely a time I would've loved to see the A's move to Portland. I think it would be a great fit. They could stay in the AL West and build an even bigger rivalry with the Seattle Mariners. Also, how cool is it that the A's colors are green and gold? Same colors as the University of Oregon! Oregon's biggest rival, of course, is Oregon State... black & orange (ahem, San Francisco Giants). Plus, Portland A's has a nice ring to it.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what happens to the A's in this story. I'm trying to make this as believable and compelling as possible. I feel that if you ever ask your reader to make an unrealistic leap of faith, you've lost them.

Thanks for reading!

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 21
Bargain Shopping

While the Godfather is busy being introduced as baseball's new Commissioner, the Miracle Worker is doing his thing in Oakland.

Billy Beane has been assigned the unenviable task of paring the team's Opening Day payroll to less than $70 million. When you consider that the AL West's biggest spender -- Los Angeles -- has a payroll of $166 million (and counting), you begin to see just how difficult of a task this is. But through a series of savvy moves, Billy has done the impossible and made budget.

Gone are the beefy contracts of Billy Butler, Coco Crisp, and Jed Lowrie. Gone are key role players Johan Santana, Darwin Barney, and Delmon Young. In their stead are underachieving 20-somethings Matt Dominguez, Josh Rutledge, Michael Saunders, and Maikel Cleto.

You know. A's.

"This is typical Billy," Beane's most trusted aide, David Forst, says over a cup of coffee in Phoenix before the start of Spring Training. "He has taken every player that had any sort of value and turned them around for a bunch of once-promising guys with seemingly no upside."

But does it work?

"Most of the time," David admits. "Billy is always going after the kind of player he used to be himself. A guy who was so hyped up, he crumbled under the weight of the expectations. Most clubs hit a tipping point where they try to cut bait on that kind of guy, hoping they can get something of value in return."

Like Delmon Young?

"Perfect example," David says. "Delmon had a brutal year in Philly in '13 (.242, 9 homers, 38 RBI in 109 games). So Billy signs him to a multi-year deal for next to nothing ($5.4 million over the course of four years). Of course, Delmon outperforms his contract (.272, 10 homeruns, 39 RBI in 85 games) and is suddenly a bargain."

The rest is history. Billy flips Young, along with three other players (B.A. Vollmuth, Derek DeYoung, Tony Thompson) to the Mariners for Michael Saunders, Taijuan Walker, and minor leaguer Jorge Alfaro. Vollmuth tore the cover off the ball in AAA Sacramento last season (30 homers, 91 RBI in 110 games) before a late-season call-up. But Vollmuth happens to occupy first base, a position in which the A's have a glut of prospects ascending through the high minors. The same goes for Thompson, a third baseman who belted 17 homeruns in 98 minor league games in Class-A Stockton. There's a logjam of third baseman just waiting to get promoted to Oakland. Billy dealt from a position of strength to get a solid outfielder (Saunders), a can't-miss-pitcher (Walker), and a promising minor league catcher (Alfaro). Seattle also kicked in $4 million to complete the trade.

"Highway robbery," David says. "Now, will B.A. have a great Major League career? Probably. But I would argue that we have at least one first baseman (Matt Olson) in our farm system who will be even better. If that means waiting another couple of years to see production at that position, then that's a risk Billy is willing to take."

Despite these cost-cutting moves, things remain unchanged for the A's on the sale front. Phil Knight has assembled a group to make an official offer to purchase the team. It appears for the moment that it will be a one-horse race with nobody to contend with him, which could drive the Nike founder's bid below market value. It seems that Billy isn't the only one out there getting a bargain these days.

[Hendu Style]

A's 2015 Season Preview:

And so the vicious circle continues. Months after the A's reached their first World Series since 1990, Billy Beane let playoff hero Billy Butler walk despite carrying an option for another year on his contract. Butler was just the first of many to leave the A's during the offseason in a payroll purge. The salary dump has done little to spark interest in a buyer for the team, and the A's appear to have no long-term vision for the ballclub. Any hopes of Oakland being a major player in the 2016 offseason -- Clayton Kershaw, Miguel Cabrera, and Justin Upton are scheduled to be free agents -- are foolhardy at best. But all is not lost in Oakland, where the A's could very well field another playoff contender in '15.

Michael Saunders (.254, 22 HR for Seattle in 2014) is an upgrade over Coco Crisp in the outfield. Matt Dominguez (.263, 23 HR, 74 RBI with Houston and Texas in '14) is expected to take over third base, with Josh Donaldson (.290, 16 HR) shifting to a DH role. Minor league prospect Addison Russell should battle Josh Rutledge (.274, 10 HR for Colorado) for the starting shortstop job vacated by Jed Lowrie. Mark Trumbo (.253, 27 HR, 79 RBI) moves out of a platoon to become the A's fulltime first baseman.

Holdovers Yoenis Cespedes (.265, 25 HR, 86 RBI) and Josh Reddick (.252, 23 HR, 70 RBI) will anchor the outfield, while Matt Wieters (.264, 12 HR, 66 RBI) is behind the plate for a second year in Oakland and Jemile Weeks (.312, 8 HR) holds down second base.

The A's stellar pitching staff remains relatively unchanged. Dan Strailey (4-7, 2.66 ERA) and Jarrod Parker (11-3, 2.87 ERA) headline a rotation that led the AL with a 3.82 ERA. Tommy Milone (12-9, 3.49) and Zach Britton (15-11, 3.76) are locks to make the starting five, while AJ Griffin (13-11, 5.21), Maikel Cleto (6-0, 2.79 in 90.1 innings of relief for Tampa Bay), and Taijuan Walker (4-7, 4.79 ERA in a mid-season call-up for Seattle) will battle for the fifth and final spot in the rotation.

The bullpen is loaded with the usual suspects, with a healthy Carlos Marmol (2-2, 1.36 ERA, 24 saves in 46.1 IP) taking the closer's role full-time, helped by set-up men Sean Doolittle (3.42 ERA, 20 saves) and Ryan Cook (1.88 ERA, 2 saves).


2014 Record:
93-69 (won AL West, lost to Washington Nationals in World Series)

Key additions:
OF Michael Saunders (trade), P Taijuan Walker (trade), 3B Matt Dominguez (trade), P Maikel Cleto (trade), IF Josh Rutledge (trade)

Key departures:
1B Billy Butler (free agency), OF Coco Crisp (free agency), SS Jed Lowrie (trade), OF Delmon Young (trade), 1B B.A. Vollmuth (trade), P Johan Santana (trade), 2B Darwin Barney


Preaseason Projections and Lineup...

[fromtheline]

Could you post a screenshot of the salaries page? I normally don't care for this stuff, but since this is Moneyball, I thought it would be nice to see where the $70 million is tied up in and for how long.

[Hendu Style]

Originally Posted by fromtheline

Could you post a screenshot of the salaries page? I normally don't care for this stuff, but since this is Moneyball, I thought it would be nice to see where the $70 million is tied up in and for how long.

As you wish... Keep in mind, the number has ballooned now since I'm roughly 1/4 of the way through the season and have been forced to call up several guys from AAA (their minor league contracts turned into half a million dollar salaries). One question, if anyone knows the answer... you can see that the contract for Yoenis Cespedes is up after the year, but that he is supposedly eligible for arbitration for three years after that. I'm assuming he is arbitration eligible, but can also decline arbitration and become a free agent. True?

[beachbomer]

That is correct Hendu, you can offer him Arb. or release him.

[fromtheline]

Oh my, I just realized you were writing this in chapters, or book form.

Reminds me I need to get my hands on the original book one day. I've only watched the movie

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 21
No Man Is an Island

Good news has been few and far between in these parts as of late. The A's are hanging on for dear life in the AL West. Not good enough to seize a relatively weak division, but not bad enough to shed big contracts and begin yet another rebuilding project.

Four losses in five games -- scoring a grand total of three runs in those defeats -- have knocked the A's out of first place at 40-37, one game behind the resurgent Houston Astros. Oakland has benefited from its typically good pitching, led by staff ace Jarrod Parker and his 9-3 mark to go along with a 2.35 ERA. Carlos Marmol has been lights out in the closer's role, saving 19 games while posting an infinitesimal 0.53 ERA. But the batting order has been ravaged by injuries and suspensions, the culprit for a league-worst .240 batting average and 289 runs scored. Outfielders Josh Reddick and Michael Saunders have been shelved with injuries, as has third baseman Josh Donaldson, though all three are expected back within the next couple of weeks. Yoenis Cespedes did the team no favors by pulling an 11-game suspension during a recent bench-clearing brawl against the Yankees.

But good news finally comes on this Tuesday afternoon when Billy Beane comes walking through the doors, beaming ear-to-ear.

"We've got a buyer," Billy says. No surprise there. The Phil Knight/Portland rumors have been swirling around for months. "And he's not in Oregon."

Now I need to have a seat. Not Knight? Not Oregon? This has seemed like the only option on the table. Apparently that's not the case.

"You ever hear of Larry Ellison?" Billy asks.

Of course I have. As a financial journalist, I'd like to think I know who the third-wealthiest man in America is. Co-founder of Oracle, a billion dollar software company. Married and divorced four teams. Your classic workaholic entrepreneur. Ellison does nothing small. His $110 million Woodside estate, styled after feudal Japanese architechture, features a man-made 2.3-acre lake. He owns 98% of Lanai, Hawaii's sixth-largest island.

No man is an island? John Donne was wrong.

So, yeah, I know who Larry Ellison is.

"Ellison just outbid Knight and he wants to keep the team in the Bay Area," Billy says. "But..."

There's always a but...

"...he says I can't sell my stake in the team. The sale of the A's is contingent on me still being involved."

Billy lays out the plan. His minority stake in the team is to be bumped up to 20%, and he will take on the role of managing partner of the Oakland A's. Billy will be a minority owner in the team, but will make decisions at the pleasure of Ellison, who will own the other 80% of the franchise.

Billy Beane is about to own 1/5th of a franchise that's going to be sold for $509 million.

The drawback, of course, is that Billy will finally have to step down as General Manager. His days of flipping Mulder's for Haren's, and Cahill's for Parker's are over. His focus in the immediate future will be on working out yet another short-term lease at the Oakland Coliseum and finding a new permanent home for the A's.

Day-to-day front office operations will be assumed by Billy's longtime right-hand man, David Forst. Billy may be taking his hands off the wheel, but his role with the A's has never been bigger.

[fromtheline]

Damn it, was looking forward to the A's moving to Portland! But the story is good, you always keep me waiting for the next chapter.

[Hendu Style]

New Owner Vows to Keep A's in Bay Area

July 5th, 2015

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The A's certainly got their dose of fireworks on 4th of July weekend, when Major League Baseball owners overwhelmingly approved the sale of the team to Bay Area billionaire Larry Ellison for $509 million.

"This is a great day for Bay Area sports," Ellison said during a press conference at O.Co Coliseum. "I am 100% committed to keeping this team by the Bay and competing for another championship."

Commissioner Sandy Alderson praised MLB owners, who voted 29-1 in favor of Lew Wolff's sale to Ellison.

"I commend our owners for voting swiftly and justly to help find the A's a new ownership group that is resolutely devoted to keeping this proud franchise where it belongs," Alderson said, declining to answer questions about renewed talks involving San Jose or other possible Bay Area sites.

Ellison officially introduced the team's new managing partner, Billy Beane, who in turn introduced the team's new general manager, David Forst.

"We have a very important next couple of months," Beane said. "I will be focused on finding us a place to play, and David will do a great job keeping this team competitive."

The A's have lost eight games in a row and have fallen into a tie for second place with the Los Angeles Angels at 40-43 and are currently 2 games behind the first place Houston Astros in the American League West.

[Hendu Style]

Ladies and gentlemen, the new GM of the Oakland A's, David Forst...

Think David's got his work cut out for him? The A's are ranked 28th out of 30 teams in the Power Rankings and have lost 9 straight games!

By the way, Billy Beane went 224-185 (.548 winning %) in 2 1/2 seasons during this Moneyball II thread, twice going to the playoffs (once to the ALCS, once to the World Series). We'll see if his former protégé can live up to those lofty standards...

[fromtheline]

With a new owner, will Forst also be playing Moneyball? Or, will the spending levels go up, etc?

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 22
Big Shoes to Fill

If winning cures all ails, losing certainly provides some good motivation to go to the pharmacy.

The A's are 40-44, losers of a season-high nine in a row, and mired in a 3-way tie for second in the AL West, 2 games behind the front-running Houston Astros.

The new GM, David Forst, is ready to send a message to his team. And he will do it with a series of decisions that will send shockwaves through the organization, even to Billy Beane.

David may have inherited the reigning American League champs, but it's not all sunshine and lollipops in A's Land these days. Rookie shortstop Addison Russell has just gone on the disabled list for at least the next two months wit a strained triceps. Outfielders Josh Reddick and Michael Saunders are still a week away from returning from injuries. And the A's rank at the bottom of all major offensive categories.

Something has to change.

David's first move is to fire hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo. The hope was that Rudy would accept a managerial position within the A's farm system, but when he refused, David had no other choice.

"This isn't just about sending a message," David says, leaning back in the same chair at the same desk previously occupied by Billy just two weeks ago. "We're hitting like dog s*** right now, and we need a guy who can give our hitters a fresh perspective."

Firing Jaramillo will cost the A's Jaramillo's remaining salary this year and next, but it has to be done. In his place comes the A's energetic manager from the Beloit Snappers (Short Season A), Marino Santana.

It is over the course of the next 24 hours we see a glimpse of what's to come for the A's. David has carried with him a rolodex of trade possibilities, and now with no one to answer to, he is ready to make those trades. He will need only Billy's approval when money is concerned. Everything else is in his hands.

"I've been waiting ten years for this," the 38-year-old says, understandably failing to recognize that many executives wait a lifetime for a role like this.

David pops his cherry with a doozy of a trade, packaging pitcher Tommy Milone, third baseman Matt Dominguez, and pitcher Maikel Cleto to the Kansas City Royals for the AL's third-leading hitter, Mike Moustakas. The trade is a wash salary wise this season, though the A's will feel the pinch over the next three seasons as Moustakas's salary climbs from $7 million in 2015 upward to $9 million in 2018. But keeping Milone in the rotation seemed unlikely with him commanding a salary equal to Moustakas via arbitration, and Taijuan Walker waiting in the wings in AAA. Tommy sealed his fate when his agent was demanding a 5-year extension for $60 million. Getting an everyday position player in return seemed like a no-brainer.

"We just got an All-Star third baseman," David claims. And he's probably right. Moustakas is hitting at a torrid .330 clip this year, and is on pace for 27 homeruns and 104 RBI. Plus, his arm is without peer at the hot corner.

The arrival of Moustakas means the departure of Josh Donaldson. "Donnie" has hit around .290 in each of the past two seasons, averaging 18 homeruns in that span. But his defense at third base has been sorely lacking, and he's just too pricey to keep around as a designated hitter.

On the same day that Moustakas clubs a grand slam and drives in 5 runs in his Athletics debut in a 5-2 win over Texas, Donaldson is shipped off to the White Sox for Cuban outfielder Dayan Viciedo, who will help provide short-term relief for the injured Reddick and Saunders, and could be a long-term solution in the outfield. The White Sox kick in $3 million to sweeten the deal.

And just like that, the A's have added two .300 hitters to the lineup, both of which could top 30 homeruns for the season. Billy may be out of that chair, but his presence lives on in the front office.

[Hendu Style]

Originally Posted by fromtheline

With a new owner, will Forst also be playing Moneyball? Or, will the spending levels go up, etc?

Great question. It's definitely status quo for now. Without a new stadium or TV deal, the A's have a limited payroll, even if their new owner is a little more free-spending. We'll have to wait and see what kind of budget he sets for Forst in 2016.

[Hendu Style]

All-Star Swap: A's Ship Griffin to Mets for d'Arnaud

July 30, 2015

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland A's capped off a flurry of mid-season trades on Thursday, acquiring catcher Travis d'Arnaud from the New York Mets in a MLB trade deadline exchange for pitcher A.J. Griffin and second baseman Jemile Weeks. Both d'Arnaud and Griffin played in last week's All-Star Game in San Diego.

"This is a deal that keeps our best interests in mind, both short and long-term," A's general manager David Forst said in a teleconference late Thursday night. "We felt we had to address our situation at catcher, and we decided to make the move now rather than later."

Matt Wieters has been shelved with a groin injury and isn't expected to return until late August. He is slated to earn $10 million in the final year of his contract next season. The A's have a long history of trading players before the end of their contract, and it is presumed that Wieters would fall into that category, since both Wieters and d'Arnaud are regarded as excellent defensive catchers.

D'Arnaud, 26, hit .284 with 20 homeruns and 51 RBI in 90 games in his first All-Star campaign this season. FOX's Ken Rosenthal was the first to report that the Mets had approached the A's about a straight-up swap for Dan Straily, but the A's countered with a package of Griffin and Weeks instead. Griffin is actually having the better season, going 9-6 with a 2.85 ERA in 17 starts. Straily's 1-hit shutout in Oakland's first game after the All-Star break brought his record to 10-8 with a 4.08 ERA. The A's were reportedly negotiating extensions with Straily and Griffin, who are both eligible for arbitration this offseason.

Weeks hit .258 and stole 11 stolen bases in 75 games this season for Oakland. His departure leaves a hole at second base, with Josh Rutledge expected to miss another month with a sprained ankle. Utility infielder Eric Sogard is expected to fill the void in the interim.

The A's have gone 5-1 since the All-Star Break, trailing Houston by 5 games in the American League West at 50-52 on the season.

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 22
24-6

While David Forst is busy assembling a team to make a playoff push in the second half of the 2015 season, Billy Beane is making a push to move the A's to San Jose.

He has had a series of discussions with new Commissioner Sandy Alderson, hoping to convince him that a fight against the San Francisco Giants would be worth it, to place a franchise in California's third-largest city. Bud Selig backed down when the Giants threatened lawsuits and legal action, citing their perceived "territorial rights" over the South Bay.

Surprisingly, Sandy has readily accepted Billy's proposal to move the A's to San Francisco's AT&T Park for the 2016 and 2017 seasons as the team continues to search for a permanent home. Oakland's Coliseum Commission is unwilling to come back to the bargaining table to work out a new short-term lease, convinced that the A's have no real desire to stay in Oakland for the long haul.

In return for sharing their home park, the Giants will receive half of the A's local TV revenue for the duration of the agreement. San Francisco will cry bloody murder, but this compromise will pail in comparison to the one they are about to make.

It is late August, and on the A's are foundering. They are 60-65 on the season, 11 games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West with just over a month to go. But today, they get a dose of good news so big, it dwarfs last year's trip to the World Series.

Billy and A's majority owner Larry Ellison have just arrived back home after a meeting of mammoth proportions at MLB headquarters in New York. Pending a 75% vote from owners, Sandy has agreed to open the San Jose market to the A's.

In exchange for allowing the A's to move to the South Ba, the Giants will:
- acquire territorial rights to Contra Costa and Alameda counties in exchange for Santa Clara and Monterey counties.
- receive a total of $200 million from Ellison, to be paid out over the course of ten years.
- select a combination of three players from the A's 40-man roster and minor league system. Oakland will get to "protect" three players on its roster, and three more in its farm system. All players under long-term contracts are considered "protected."
- relocate their current AAA team (San Jose Giants) to the A's current AAA minor league market (Sacramento).

Upon receiving the news, the Giants ownership group immediately goes on the offensive, publicly threatening lawsuits and injunctions. "Any means necessary," claims Giants CEO Larry Baer at a press conference chastising MLB for disregarding the long-standing territorial rights to San Jose.

Within weeks, though, Baer and the Giants will stand down when they fail to garner the seven votes necessary to block the move (only the Seattle Mariners, L.A. Angels, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, and Baltimore Orioles sided with San Francisco) and are persuaded by a golden parachute of $100 million to be paid by Major League Baseball should the Giants eventually be sold.

The fight is mercifully over. The A's have won territorial rights to San Jose. Though Billy will now have to work with San Jose city leaders about building a new stadium, it appears that a move to Silicon Valley is a done deal. The A's can finally turn their attention back to baseball, where they are looking to reach the playoffs for a fourth year in a row... something they haven't done since their Moneyball days from 2000 to 2003.

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 23
The Forgotten Season

You could forgive the A's if they leaned on excuses for their subpar play in 2015. The off-the-field ownership and San Jose distractions certainly weighed on the minds of the players, coaches, and front office, though none would admit it. Injuries to third baseman Mike Moustakas (torn back muscle), outfielder Josh Reddick (torn abdominal muscle), outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (intercostal strain), shortstop Addison Russell (strained triceps), and second baseman Josh Rutledge (sprained ankle and strained abdominal) severely hampered their batting order.

Those injuries and setbacks were reflected in the A's offensive season totals, finishing last in the AL in runs scored (684), batting average (.249), and on-base percentage (.304). Despite all of that, Oakland did what it's always done, and trudged on.

A ten-game win streak in late August into early September helped put a dent into Houston's seemingly insurmountable 10-game lead in the West. By the time October rolled around, the A's were tied with the Astros for first place. By change, the two were scheduled for a four-game series in Oakland to end the regular season.

Any hopes of taking the AL West title were quickly erased in the opener, when A's starter Zach Britton failed to get out of the first inning in a 14-3 defeat at the hands of the Astros. Houston would go on to win the series, and the West, as the A's would finish the regular season a respectable, yet disappointing, 85-77 on the season... good enough for the second AL Wild Card.

Alas, there would be no miraculous playoff run for the A's this time, going out with a whimper in the Wild Card round, in a oh-too-typical 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Taijuan Walker, making his playoff debut, was brilliant in an eight-inning gem, surrendering just one run on three hits, while striking out seven. A Wild Card team, though, would go on to win the World Series, with the St. Louis Cardinals (88-74, 2nd in the NL Central) topping the Boston Red Sox (94-68, 1st in the AL East) in 6 games to claim their twelfth World Championship, and their third in the last ten years.

Despite the dramatic change in the front office, the A's still kept to the script as far as roster philosophy is concerned. Oakland was once again tops in the league in ERA and defensive efficiency. There's no ignoring the fact that injuries played a key role in the A's demise. Their lack of depth was ruthlessly exposed; a typical problem for small market clubs that can only afford to spend so much.

The 2015 season was in many ways an afterthought. The team was still basking in the glow of a World Series run from the year prior, and focusing on the future in the South Bay. Owners Billy Beane and Larry Ellison earned another small victory in the battle to go to San Jose, when voters approved "Measure A," which would help finance a new 38,000 seat downtown stadium. That means the A's must prepare for one more battle... one with the Giants, as San Francisco gets ready to raid Oakland's roster as part of its agreement to cede South Bay territorial rights to the A's.

It will be the last chance for the Giants to exact some revenge on their cross-bay rivals... and it's going to hurt.

[Hendu Style]

Chapter 24
Pissing Match

By the time November rolls around on the calendar, most baseball executives are making a wish list for the offseason. Hopefully they look at their roster, find a couple of weaknesses, and can shop for replacements either via trade or free agency. The A's do not have the luxury of doing this right now.

Instead, David Forst is fretting over which players the San Francisco Giants will pluck from his roster as part of its agreement with Major League Baseball. The Giants will receive, among other things, three players from the A's organization. Forst gets to select three players from the team's active Major League roster, and three more from his farm system, and "protect" them from being picked by the Giants. Also, players who are under guaranteed contracts, such as pitcher Jarrod Parker and third baseman Mike Moustakas, are considered protected from this compensation draft.

David's protected Major League players, after much deliberation, are shortstop Addison Russell, and pitchers Taijuan Walker and Dan Straily. In the minors, David protects outfielders Sancho Fajardo and David Dahl, along with first baseman Matt Olson.

"It's kind of a game of cat and mouse," David says, explaining his reasoning for picking certain players. "I chose not to protect Travis d'Arnaud (a catcher in his prime coming off a career year) because I know the Giants already have Buster Posey at catcher. I'm counting on them going after positions of need, not want."

It's a sound strategy, though there isn't anything stopping the Giants from selecting d'Arnaud, for example, and flipping him to another team for a similar caliber player.

"That's the risk, I guess," David sighs.

The "Draft" is held by conference call, with only the A's, Giants, and Commissioner's Office privy to the conversation. It is not open to the public or the media. Commissioner Sandy Alderson's biggest concern is that he hasn't thought everything through... that there's some sort of loophole that either the Giants or A's will exploit. The last thing he needs is a PR nightmare in his first year on the job.

The Giants' first selection, not surprisingly, is left fielder Dayan Viciedo. The Cuban outfielder hit a combined .302 with 25 homeruns and 84 RBI with the A's and White Sox during the past season. At age 26, he is just entering the prime of his career and will be a big asset for the Giants for the next few years. Like all other players that will go in this draft, Viciedo will be controlled by the Giants, meaning he is not eligible for free agency for quite some time. He will bring tremendous value to San Francisco.

The Giants have two more selections, and David is sure they'll go after Yoenis Cespedes.

"Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world," David says, half believing what he's saying.

Cespedes has a unique contract with the A's, in that his original deal signed as a free agent out of Cuba is now expired, but now he has three years of arbitration ahead of him. Given the A's current financial situation, they have no hope of inking Cespedes to a long-term deal, which means they will be at the mercy of an arbiter for the next three years. Depending on which way the arbiter rules from year to year, Cespedes could command a salary anywhere between $12 and $18 million. That's the kind of money that the A's simply don't have.

The second pick comes over the conference call...

"B.J. Boyd, centerfielder..."

This is not unexpected. Boyd, a 4th round pick of the A's in 2012, is the top unprotected player in the A's farm system, belting 27 homeruns in 67 games in AAA Sacramento last season, before earning a late-season call-up. The A's are fortunate that also have another young centerfielder, David Dahl, coming through the minor league system to offset the loss of Boyd.

That leaves one final choice. David is hoping and praying the Giants don't select their catcher. He's second guessing himself for leaving such a valued player on the table. The Giants would be wise to take d'Arnaud. Posey may be a career .304 hitter and the team's franchise player, but players like d'Arnaud don't fall into your lap. But in this case, he has.

Luckily for the A's, the Giants aren't that bright.

"Josh Rutledge, second baseman."

David lets out a sigh of relief, though he's just lost his starting second baseman, a guy who hit .302 with 30 doubles in 100 games for the A's this past season.

After the third and final pick, both teams are warned not to discuss the results of the draft until after the Commissioner's Office releases an official statement. After Sandy hangs up on the line, there is no idle chit-chat between the A's and Giants. If they were cool to each other before, now relations are downright frigid. Before David can hang up, Giants CEO Larry Baer gets in one final shot.

"Hopefully these guys don't clog up our toilets," Baer says.

It's a sucker punch. Several years ago, the A's had an embarrassing incident during a game where the Coliseum's sewage system backed up, unable to handle the load from the A's and Mariners during a particularly hot summer day game. It was a bizarre chapter in the increasingly strange and infamous history of the Coliseum.

But David can't resist firing back before he leaves the line.

"Just make sure you leave the toilet seat up for us," David says as he hangs up.

"F***er."

It's a zinger that Baer probably won't get for another minute or two. The A's and Giants are going to have to share AT&T Park for the next two years while the A's new ballpark is constructed in San Jose. And it appears the two sides are off to a very rocky start.

[Hendu Style]

Fire Sale? A's Trade Yo, Wieters for Prospect

November 6, 2015

OAKLAND, Calif. -- In a span of 24 hours, the Oakland A's have lost almost half of their lineup, trading outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and catcher Matt Wieters to the Tampa Bay Rays for prospect James Ramsay on Sunday. This comes on the heels of the team losing outfielder Dayan Viciedo, second baseman Josh Rutledge, and minor leaguer BJ Boyd to the San Francisco Giants in a compensation package for the team's impending move to San Jose.

"Short term, there's no denying that this is a tough move for us to make," A's general manager David Forst said at a press conference at O.co Coliseum. "But there is a long term picture in San Jose, and I did not envision either Yo or Matt in that picture. We wish the best to both of them in Tampa."

Cespedes, 30, hit a career-low .257 with 13 homeruns in an injury-plagued 2015 campaign for the A's. Wieters also had career worsts in batting average (.214), homeruns (10), and RBI (41) this past season.

Ramsay, a 23 year old centerfielder, hit .318 with 11 homeruns for Tampa's AAA affiliate in Durham in 2015. He is regarded as the Rays' top position player prospect and was recently ranked as the #41 overall prospect in minor league baseball.

"This trade was about money, plain and simple," said one AL executive, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. "It's really a sad day in baseball when a playoff team can't even afford to pay its own players, and has to ship off to of its best players for one prospect."

Cespedes has been trying to work out a long-term extension with the team for north of $20 million per season, and figures to make at least $15 million this upcoming season through arbitration. Wieters is set to make $10 million in the final year of a 3-year extension originally signed with Baltimore. The A's also received cash considerations totaling $6 million in the swap.

"This trade certainly frees up some money for us to be a little more flexible this offseason," Forst acknowledged. "We would likely have been well over budget after arbitration with several of our key players, and now we can work out some extensions and hopefully make a signing or two in free agency. That's something we were unable to do last winter."

The A's are already reportedly negotiating extensions with catcher Travis d'Arnaud and pitcher Dan Strailey. Though the A's don't figure to be major players in free agency, there are several marquee players expecting to hit the market later this month. Chief among them are Braves leftfielder Justin Upton and Red Sox pitcher Trevor Cahill, formerly of the A's.