A's Do Something

The A’s made a move today, reaching agreement with the Padres on a deal that would send outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Scott Hairston to the Padres in exchange for 3Bman Kevin Kouzmanoff and minor league 2Bman Erik Sogard.  Doesn’t look like a move that will make a pennant contender out of either team.

The A’s were looking for someone to play third, since the odds of Eric Chavez ever getting it together again look pretty slim.  Kouzmanoff isn’t terrible, but I note that he is not the kind of player the Money Ball A’s usually look to.  Kouzmanoff plays good defense at the hot corner and has power, but he doesn’t walk much at all.  Of some concern also is the fact that his OPS has dropped the last two seasons, from .786 in 2007 to .732 in 2008 and down to .722.

However, the last number isn’t terrible for a 3Bman playing in San Diego, which is now likely the NL’s best pitchers’ park.  He’ll be moving into another pitchers’ park in Oakland, but at least the A’s will have some idea what to expect.  Also, Kouzmanoff is only 28 in 2010, although he turns 29 in late July.

The minor leaguer the A’s got, Eric Sogard, is definitely a Money Ball player.  He’s a middle infielder with a career minor league on-base percentage of .375.  Last year, at age 23, he had a .370 OBP in his first year of AA ball.  Money Ball teams always keep an eye out for middle infielders with on-base percentages like that.

As for the players the Padres got in return, I’m not particularly excited about either one.  At age 30 in 2010, Scott Hairston is a good bench player and not much more than that.  However, he did hit particularly well for the Padres in his previous time there from 2007 through 2009.  If that wasn’t just an aberration based on a limited number of at-bats and Hairston really does have a special ability to hit at Petco Park, he will help the Padres at least a little bit.

The best thing to say about Aaron Cunningham is that he will be only 24 in 2010.  He has a career minor league OPS of .875, which is pretty good, but certainly not great; and so far in his professional career, he hasn’t hit with enough power for a corner outfielder.  His body type (he’s currently listed as 5′11″ and about 200 lbs) suggests he could still add power as he matures as a hitter.  He’ll need to and fairly soon if he’s ever going to amount to anything more than a back-up player at the major league level.

On balance, I like the deal better for the A’s because they fill a more pressing need with Kouzmanoff and get a better sleeper candidate in Eric Sogard.  Again, however, I don’t see this move doing much for either team’s chances in 2010.