Is Sheets For Keeps?

The baseball offseason is filled with rumors, big name free agents linked to large payroll teams, and of course unpredictable moves.

When players are traded it is up to the General Managers discretion, unless they are a 10-5 guy (10 years of MLB experience and 5 years with the same team, a player can veto any trade). Unlike a player that gets traded, a free agent has many decisions and options to factor in, such as geography, family, and a team’s willingness to win. It is not always as easy as the Athletics made it look Tuesday when they signed four time All-Star Ben Sheets to a one year contract.

Last year the Oakland Athletics made a big off-season trade landing Matt Holliday in the green and gold. Heading into the 2009 season the A’s were comfortable with their offense and the pickups of Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra, and Orlando Cabrera. While many fans became discouraged by Holliday’s 11 homeruns and .286 batting average in Oakland, it was not necessarily a terrible situation for the Athletics. Holliday was eventually traded to St. Louis for the MLB ready slugger Brett Wallace, along with a top prospect starter by the name of Clayton Mortenson. Brett Wallace was quickly welcomed in Sacramento (Oakland’s AAA affiliate) displaying proven power, bashing 9 homeruns in 44 games to finish the 2009 season. Although Wallace was traded this past offseason to the Blue Jays, the A’s received a just as prominent MLB ready hitter in outfielder Michael Taylor. Regarding the Holliday trade to St. Louis, Mr. Beane won by getting talent in return for a player who was inevitably going to sign elsewhere following the 2009 season.

Was the Ben Sheets signing a pitcher's version of the Matt Holliday situation or are the Athletics ready to compete? It looks like Justin Duchscherer will follow Sheets in the rotation, with the next two rotation spots likely to be filled by sophomores Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill, both who pitched beyond expectations in their rookie season. The fifth spot is up for grabs between Dallas Braden, Gio Gonzalez, Vin Mazzaro, Clayton Mortensen, and Josh Outman. My point being worst case scenario, the Athletics fall out of contention before the All Star break and trade Sheets to a contender. By doing so, as Mr. Beane has proven in the past, he will not be losing 10 millions, but he will be receiving 2 or 3 great prospects for 10 million. 

As always, Billy Beane knows exactly what he is doing and has a backup plan for either scenario that will take place with Ben Sheets this upcoming season. A) Ben Sheets leads the young pitching staff to a pennant race, or B) Oakland falls out of contention and Sheets is traded for talent that will be in Oakland’s possession for years to come.

The real question is........What will Sheets offer Ryan Sweeney for number 15?