Playing Fact or Fiction with the Latest Oakland A's Rumors

The acquisition of Nick Punto sparked a few rumors surrounding other members of the Oakland A's infield. Add to it plenty of talk regarding the starting rotation, and it can be tricky determining which will come into fruition and which is just plain false.

Is Alberto Callaspo on his way out now with a crowded infield? Is Jed Lowrie the missing piece for the St. Louis Cardinals? Will the A's sign a power bat? Or will they spend the money on a veteran starting pitcher?

There are five major rumors floating around the Web. Here's a look into each of them with a final verdict of fact or fiction.

Trade Alberto Callaspo?

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Callaspo just arrived late in 2013.

Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com wonders whether the acquisition of infielder Nick Punto means the team will trade Alberto Callaspo. Per Stiglich:

"

Forst added that the A’s liked what they got from the platoon of Eric Sogard and Alberto Callaspo at second base last season. But like Punto, Callaspo is a switch hitter who can play multiple positions, and he’s due to make roughly $4.9 million next season. It would seem redundant to keep both players unless Callaspo gets a lion’s share of the playing time at second.

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There's another rumored infield move (it's on the next slide), and if it happened, then I don't see the A's trading Callaspo. However, the chances of that yet-to-be discussed trade scenario is low at this point, so the fact remains that the infield is a bit crowded. Besides Callaspo, Punto, and Eric Sogard, the team still has Jemile Weeks and Hiroyuki Nakajima.

If price were no issue, I'd suspect Sogard would be the odd man out. His value may be as high as it will ever be.

However, to platoon Sogard and Punto, it would cost Oakland around $4 million. To platoon Callaspo and Punto, that figure jumps nearly double. If all three possess similar talent, the cheaper option makes the most sense.

Verdict: Fact

Jed Lowrie to the St. Louis Cardinals?

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Lowrie just had himself a career year.

With the arrival of yet another infielder, there have been recent ties between Jed Lowrie and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Peter Gammons was one of the first to make the claim on his website GammonsDaily.com:

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While the Cardinals are shopping for a shortstop—Troy Tulowitzki, Jurickson Profar, Elvis Andrus, Erick Aybar, et al—they are also interested in Oakland’s Jed Lowrie, who can give them length in their batting order. The Athletics could trade Lowrie and send Addison Russell to the majors this season.

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This trade actually fits A's GM Billy Beane's MO perfectly.

Lowrie just had a career year at 29 years old. Whether he can put up numbers as strong now that he'll be 30 at the start of next season is yet to be seen. But because of his age and pre-2013 production, Lowrie's value may never be this high again. That, and he's in his final year with the A's, so they might as well get something in return.

Without Lowrie, Callaspo takes over second with Punto at shortstop and Sogard the utility backup.

There are cons to this move though.

First, the Cardinals' farm system produces talent left and right, and if they have plenty to offer, they'd likely be more inclined to go after one of the younger options Gammons lists.

Second, while Gammons states the A's have Russell waiting in the wings, I'd argue he's not ready for the big leagues. He finished Single-A and is ripping up the Arizona Fall League, but if the plan originally was to start him in Double-A or Triple-A in 2014, skipping both won't benefit the soon-to-be 20-year-old.

Lastly, the A's won 96 games in 2013, and that was with Lowrie having a career year. Even if he falters a bit, it doesn't make much sense to take the chance, hand the reigns to Russell and hope for a third-consecutive playoff berth. To advance, the A's must keep the roster intact while upgrading weaknesses.

Lowrie isn't a weakness. Russell may not be an upgrade yet.

And if you take assistant GM David Forst's word for it, the deal won't happen anyway. Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Forst says the Punto trade is no indication of a future trade involving Lowrie.

Verdict: Fiction

Brett Anderson to the Toronto Blue Jays?

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It could finally be time to give up on Brett Anderson.

Brett Anderson's name has been linked to the Toronto Blue Jays for more than a month now, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com claims a move becomes even more likely should the A's re-sign Bartolo Colon.

The move makes a ton of sense.

With Oakland, Anderson hasn't been able to remain healthy. Because he appears to be so highly-coveted, the team might as well trade him now while there's still value. If he rebounds, well, at least the A's received a prospect or two in return.

Value aside, he's expendable because of all the rotational pieces. The A's have five young starters already (Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, Dan Straily, A.J. Griffin, Sonny Gray) and adding Colon creates an even-more-crowded rotation.

Get rid of a logjam, and get value in return for an injury-prone pitcher. It's a smart play.

Verdict: Fact

A's to Sign Nelson Cruz?

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Nelson Cruz would add tons of power to an already powerful lineup.

Jon Heyman (CBS Sports) also writes that the A's are a "darkhorse" to land outfielder Nelson Cruz.

It would be very difficult for the A's to land Cruz. With his power, he should be coveted by many teams (Heyman lists the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies). Cruz owns a quality bat, so his price tag will be high already. With multiple teams in pursuit, the cost will be driven even higher.

Beane doesn't pony up huge contracts often.

He did it with Eric Chavez, a homegrown talent, and Yoenis Cespedes, a highly-unknown wild card with potential. He also tried to sign Adrian Beltre and Lance Berkman once upon a time (or twice upon a time) and both men spurned Oakland.

It doesn't help that there is a notion floating around that free agents don't want to sign with Oakland because of the stadium.

Between the money needed and the idea that O.Co is not a place people want to be, it's going to be very challenging to sign Cruz.

Verdict: Fiction

Re-Sign Dan Haren?

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Haren played for the A's from 2005-07.

Joe Stiglich also analyzes the idea of Oakland re-signing Dan Haren.

If the A's nab Colon for another season, then there's no real need for Haren. So this deal hinges on that domino falling first.

As Stiglich points out, Haren's numbers have been declining lately. Still, he could command a deal similar to Colon's and because he's eight years younger, there could be a decently competitive market.

Here's my take: the A's sign Colon and Haren signs elsewhere. Even if Oakland doesn't land Colon for one more year, I think they allow their young pitching staff to take a stab at taking the team to the playoffs for the third year in a row.

Verdict: Fiction