Oakland Athletics: How they won the Healy trade
Oakland Athletics rumblings about designated hitter Ryon Healy being traded finally came to fruition today, as he was shipped off to the division rival Mariners.
As an Oakland Athletics fan, it saddens me to see Ryon Healy traded to a division rival. Healy was a positive influence within the clubhouse and created a cohesive environment among players. Regardless, the A’s traded him away for two prospects.
This continues the front office’s trend of rebuilding for the future, specifically for the opening of a new stadium. Although some fans may be disappointed about his departure, the future looks bright for the Oakland Athletics.
Trade Dynamics
Before divulging into the finer details of the transaction, we must look at the broader scope of the players exchanged. The players traded for Healy are rookie Emilio Pagan and prospect Alexander Campos.
Campos is likely to be the main target by the Athletics, as MLB Pipeline rated him the 15th best prospect in the Mariners organization. With a projected arrival in the major leagues in 2021, the 17-year old is likely to become a part of the A’s future plans.
Despite Pagan not being the main piece of the trade, the A’s still gained a significant bullpen piece. Pagan is able to occupy a Blake Treinen-like role for the Athletics by replacing the production of Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle.
Pagan recorded a solid 2-3 record with a 3.22 ERA in 34 games last season. Oakland could use another quality season, like the one Pagan had in 2017, to bolster their team this season.
The Winning Reason
The A’s did wind up acquiring decent prospects in this trade. That’s how the dynamics of nearly every trade ends up working out. Yet the A’s succeeded in another task: clearing roster space.
Oakland can benefit from this roster space in a pair of critical ways, both of which will be examined. The first benefit to the trade lies in the fact that Healy had no room in Oakland. With the emergence of Matt Chapman and his defensive prowess, Healy lost time at third base.
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Subsequently, he moved across the diamond to first after Yonder Alonso was traded mid-season. Unfortunately for Healy, another budding star took his place at first- Matt Olson. With Olson, who finished third in the rookie of the year voting, taking over first, Healy moved to DH.
Healy succeeds in keeping his DH spot for the remainder of the season. Hitting .271 with 25 home runs certainly helped his case for staying in the lineup. Those same statistics justified the price the Mariners had to pay for Healy.
Going into 2018, however, the Athletics faced a dilemma at the DH position. Khris Davis and Healy were both atrocious on defense and stellar offensively. Only one player could play DH, relieving the negative effects of their poor defense. In the end, Davis won.
The second reason is based on the Rule 5 draft that is rapidly approaching. The A’s have to add two more prospects to their 40-man roster to keep them save: RHPs Heath Fillmyer and Casey Meisner. They are the 19th and 25th best prospects in the A’s organization, respectively, according to MLB pipeline. The trade of Healy opens up a roster spot for one of those players to be added, keeping them in the green and gold.
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Now that Healy is gone, the A’s have a plethora of options to explore this season. More playing time for both Jake Smolinski and Boog Powell seems likely. Dustin Fowler should have his first major league at-bat after his horrific injury at Yankee Stadium. With an added bullpen piece, the A’s could be a sneaky choice for a wild card slot in 2018.