“It is a business and that’s the way it goes”. But I would love to see this team stay together, especially since we’ve been doing collectively a better job. “We have a young group, and it’s a lot easier to keep a young group together than it is when you have a bunch of veteran guys”.
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While the A’s are giving up their best all-around player and their winningest starter, they are getting Cotton, who pitched last month in the All-Stars Futures game. This season, Reddick is producing a.301/.373/.456 line, and his.373 on-base percent leads all Oakland Athletics hitters. His two best pitches are said to be the fastball and his breaker. “I like playing with Josh Reddick”. The question with Hill is durability, as the groin and blister problems this year suggest. In a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Hill threw just five pitches, before leaving with a blister in his hand.
If Hill becomes the left-handed ace for division-rival Texas and Reddick takes over at right field for another club, expect the Oakland Athletics to receive ample compensation. Montas in particular has been known to hit triple-digits with his fastball, but MLB Pipeline’s scouting report describes him as more of a thrower than a pitcher at this point, and wonders if he will wind up in the bullpen somewhere down the road. Trade rumors have been swirling around the struggling outfielder all season, but the Dodgers have remained ardent that they would need an outfield replacement for him if they were to send him away.
The Dodgers have gotten two solid players, even if they do end up as just rentals for the rest of the year, as they are both free agents at the end of the season. It is expected that the Dodgers will be sending more prospects in this deal, but it isn’t confirmed yet. Either way, Oakland would be satisfied.
Hill, 36, has had a solid season, pitching to a 2.25 ERA and 2.53 FIP over 76.0 innings with the Athletics.
The Dodgers had been linked to Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Chris Archer or left-hander Matt Moore most frequently, but Chris Sale of the White Sox and Oakland’s Hill were other names that frequently came up.
Hill is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA and has 90 strikeouts and 28 walks this season.
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The A’s have talked privately about making Hill a qualifying offer at season’s end.
