Billy Ball is alive and well in Oakland. Billy Beane continued the overhaul of the Oakland As Saturday by acquiring one of the bigger names still on the market. MLB.com broke that Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar are now Oakland As. The Rays, in exchange, received catcher John Jaso, infielder Daniel Robertson and outfielder Boog Powell.
The trade fills two gaping holes left up the middle for Oakland. Short stop Jed Lowrie went back to the Houston Astros earlier in the offseason and budding prospect Addison Russell, his heir apparent, was shipped off to the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Escobar is an immediate upgrade at short stop.
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Second base was manned by Eric Sogard and Alberto Callaspo in 2014. Callaspo is now in Atlanta with the Braves and Sogard didn’t get it done with the bat last year. Zobrist will make an immediate impact in the lineup. He was once a perennial 20-20 threat, but with age those days may be behind him. He still reached double digits in both home runs and stolen bases and is a solid defender in both the infield and the outfield.
The Rays could wind up being the real winners in the trade. Robertson is the third big time prospect the Rays have picked up in the last month, joining former Nationals’ MiLB Player of the Year Steven Souza and former Mets slugger Allan Dykstra. Robertson, the 20-year old short stop, was the Oakland A’s No. 1 rated prospect. The 2012 first round draft pick, selected 34th overall by the As, had an outstanding season in his first taste of High-A ball. He slashed .310/.402/.471 while belting 15 home runs and driving in 60. He then had a big Autumn, tearing it up for the Mesa Solar Sox. While in the Arizona Fall League, Robertson earned an AFL Player of the Week award, was named an AFL Rising Star and was one of just 22 elite prospects named to the 2014 AFL All-Prospect Team.
Boog Powell doesn’t have the same power as his namesake, but he still can hit. Powell was the A’s No. 11 prospect. Drafted in the 20th round of the 2012 draft, the left-handed outfielder was having a sensational season, even grabbing the Midwest League All Star Game MVP Award right before he got popped for a 50-game suspension due to PEDs. He recovered nicely and had a solid performance in the Arizona Fall League. Despite being the 36th MiLB player suspended last season, the 21-year old has shown enormous potential. The 21-year old has a career .317 batting average and a .412 on-base percentage.
John Jaso returns to the team that drafted him in the 12th round of the 2003 draft. Jason has proven to be a serviceable catcher, hitting .264 with nine home runs last season, however has struggled staying on the field to concussions. He will most likely split time with current Rays catcher Rene Rivera.
While Beane keeps rebuilding with major league ready stars, the Rays are stock piling top prospects. The moves have the As set to contend in 2015 but may leave the Rays a year away, although with their stout pitching in a weak AL East, they could be the feel good story of the season. Beane must have something up his sleeve, trading away two of the best short stop prospects in baseball in less than a calendar year, but to question his motives usually proves futile. There is only one person that truly understands Billy Ball, afterall.