Oakland Athletics: Healy to Mariners, Khris Davis now unavailable
The Oakland Athletics can keep Khris Davis or they can trade him away, he’s not going to hit free agency until 2020.
Wednesday they made a move that means Davis is very likely in Oakland for – well, maybe not the long-haul – but a longer amount of time than most who play for the A’s.
The Oakland Athletics sent DH and first baseman Ryon Healy to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan and infield prospect Alexander Campos.
Khris Davis would’ve been great trade bait after becoming the only member of the Oakland Athletics to have back-to-back 40-plus home run seasons and the first to reach the 40-mark since Jason Giambi hit 43 long balls in 2000.
Davis is also just the second player in the history of the Athletics franchise to do so since Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx had back-to-back-to-back 40-plus homer seasons from 1933 to 1935 for the Philadelphia Athletics
Khris, the real-deal Davis
Now, a good as Davis can be, which is pretty darn good especially given that he is hitting a very pitcher-friendly ballpark where the marine layer sets in an keep balls inside the yard, the likelihood of him ever winning three MVP Awards or The Triple crown like Foxx, is extremely slim.
However, there is no reason why he can’t complete 2018 by tying Foxx’s three-straight season record.
And you can’t forget that he has become the face of the team, despite, having only been with Oakland for two seasons.
He really made his mark with the fans when he openly talked about loving the City of Oakland (and it definitely doesn’t hurt that he’s added 40-plus homers and 100-plus RBI to the A’s stats in each of the past two years).
But don’t the Oakland Athletics need the 25-year-old slugger Healy? He hit 25 homers in 2017 and can play multiple positions including first base, third base, and act as the team’s designated hitter. He seems like a guy a team would want to keep.
However, the A’s have superstars in the making in Matt Chapman at third and Matt Olson at first base.
Davis doesn’t play the best defense or have the strongest arm in left field. This move makes room for Davis to be the primary DH and will give players like Boog Powell, Chad Pinder and a number of other promising prospects a chance to make their mark in center and left, with Matt Joyce rooted in right field for at least another year.
So, what exactly did the A’s get from the Mariners in return?
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The A’s got the 26-year-old right-hander Pagan who will be starting his sophomore season. He pitched well in his rookie year.
Pagan posted a 3.22 ERA and a 0.934 WHIP while averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and has a walk rate of 1.4 bats on balls per nine innings.
The A’s don’t necessarily need another right-hander in a bullpen that sorely needs another lefty.
Still, if Pagan pitches as well as he did in 2017, this spring, he’ll have a good chance getting a role in the bullpen.
The team also received 17-year-old infield prospect Alexander Campos who hails from Venezuela.
The kid has only played 59 games in the Dominican Summer League but he hit .290 with an incredible .413 on-base-percentage.
Should that success continue he could be part of the Oakland Athletics future or a potentially great trade piece for vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane and general manager David Forst.
Overall, the trade seems to be a fairly good one for both sides. The Mariners are getting Healy, who appears will be a strong presence at first base with both Yonder Alonso and Danny Valencia hitting the free agent market.
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The Oakland Athletics on the other side gets a solid young pitcher and a prospect who will likely be helpful in the future. Yet, most importantly the A’s get to keep the main face of their team in Davis and watch him hit another 40 homers next season.