That become a reality in the hours leading up to the deadline with Oakland sending the 36-year-old Hill as well as outfielder Josh Reddick to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Oakland traded right fielder Josh Reddick and lefty starter Rich Hill to the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday, getting back three young right-handed pitchers who were reputedly among the best prospects in the Dodgeers’ organization.
Reddick is hitting.296/.368/.449 this season with eight home runs and 11 doubles in 68 games for the A’s, including.341/.408/.547 against right-handed pitching. Cotton is 8-5 with a 4.90 ERA this season with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was 6-11 with a 5.07 ERA over 17 starts a year ago in his return from Tommy John surgery.
After a four-game losing streak dropped the Yankees to 52-52, NY general manager Brian Cashman made the moves with management’s go-ahead just ahead of the non-waiver trade deadline. In parts of four major league seasons, all with the Astros, he is 9-10 with nine saves and a 4.53 ERA in 164 games. Holmes can struggle with his command at times, but he has improved his strike-percentage significantly this year as compared to last – a good sign that he is on a positive development track. Despite hitting.308 since June 21st, the Dodgers could not find a trade partner for Puig, who will likely be demoted in favor of Reddick. He went 8-6 with a 4.91 ERA and was moved to the bullpen earlier this month.
On the other hand, I was familiar with all three pitchers and had favorable views of all three, so from a “best talent available” standpoint Oakland seemed to come out pretty well to get three highly regarded pitchers, two of whom could easily be factors in 2017. You can hang on to him in dynasty leagues since he is only 25 years old. Especially when you consider virtually any team could have had Hill in free agency during the offseason before he ended up signing with Oakland on a one-year, $6 million flier. The Athletics will surely want good prospects in return, and the Bucs’ recent trade of Mark Melancon to the Nationals suggests that they’re prioritizing the future at least as much as they’re prioritizing the 2016 season.
Josh Reddick missed time this season with a fractured thumb. After hitting 32 home runs in 2012, Reddick has been somewhat of a disappointment offensively.
23 yeard old Frankie Montas owns a 2.25 ERA in four minor league starts this year and 22 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched.
The A’s have talked privately about making Hill a qualifying offer at season’s end. His stint with Oakland now stands as the eighth team he’s played for in his career.
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The Dodgers are apparently serious about upgrading at this trade deadline, and have the first real surprise move of Monday. There are rumors that Puig could be heading to the Chicago White Sox, so this is clearly a hole that would need to be filled.
