Cincinnati Reds Trade Tanner Roark to Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics acquire rental starter Tanner Roark from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for interesting CF prospect, Jameson Hannah.
The Cincinnati Reds continue to reshape their roster with an eye on 2020 by trading pending free agent Tanner Roark to the Oakland Athletics. The A’s are on their second year of starting mediocre then charging towards a postseason berth. Adding Roark will reinforce a pitching staff that has weathered constant injuries (AJ Puk, Jesus Luzardo, Sean Manaea, Marco Estrada) and the suspension of breakout ace Frankie Montas.
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Roark’s first season as a Red, after being traded from the Washington Nationals, has been quite successful despite being in a park known for being hitter-friendly. Roark is in the midst of another solid season with a 4.24 ERA right in line with his FIP of 4.20. He has racked up 1.8 fWAR over 110.1 innings pitched.
There are a number of encouraging things Oakland can look forward to as Roark heads West. This season, he is striking out batters at a career-high 22% rate. From a batted ball perspective, Roark has held hitters to merely an average exit velocity that is right in line with his career numbers. This will surely benefit him at the Oakland Colosseum which is a much more pitcher-friendly park than Cincinnati. Lastly, Oakland may be able to squeeze more value out of Roark and his high spin curveball by convincing him to throw it more (currently thrown 13.7%).
Going back to Cincinnati is 21-year-old CF prospect Jameson Hannah, who is Oakland’s 6th best prospect according to FanGraphs. A left-handed hitter, Hannah was drafted in the second round out of Dallas Baptist, has plus speed and a very good feel for hitting. The primary knock on Hannah is he doesn’t have a ton of game power so he will need to stay in CF or find a way to tap into some of his raw power. He is currently hitting .283/.341/.381 (103 wRC+) in High-A. This is an excellent get for the Reds, who turned half a season of Tanner Roark into a real prospect that could help them down the road or spun for a piece next deadline if they are competitive.
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The Cincinnati Reds picked up an interesting prospect that was just a second-rounder in the 2018 draft. The Oakland Athletics got an arm to help with another a postseason push. If Hannah turns into a regular this might sting some for Oakland, but Hannah is years away from helping where Roark can step into a rotation that needs innings immediately.