4:08pm: The A's are sending $2MM to the Rockies, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
3:44pm: The A's are sending some cash to the Rockies in the trade as well, tweets MLB.com's Jane Lee.
3:32pm: The Rockies have acquired left-hander Brett Anderson from the A's in exchange for left-hander Drew Pomeranz and right-hander Chris Jensen, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Anderson has been around for five years already, but he's still just 25 years old (he'll turn 26 in February) and is under control at $8MM in 2014 with a $12MM club option for 2015. Those final two seasons were both option years on a four-year, $12.5MM extension he signed with the A's in April 2010, coming off a season in which he posted a 4.06 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 50.9 percent ground-ball rate.
Anderson was even better in 2010, posting a 2.80 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 54.6 percent ground-ball rate, but injury problems set in that season. A pair of left elbow issues limited Anderson to 112 1/3 innings that season, and he went on to undergo Tommy John surgery in 2011. He missed most of 2012 recovering from that surgery but was brilliant in his return. In 2013, he missed most of the season with a stress fracture in his foot and pitched to a 6.04 ERA (3.85 FIP, 3.26 xFIP) in the 44 2/3 innings he was healthy.
The A's exercised his $8MM option anyway, believing him to be capable of exceeding that value in 2014, whether in Oakland or with aother team. Though he's totaled just 163 innings over the past three seasons combined, Anderson's talent and youth make him a solid buy-low for the Rockies to slot in behind Jorge De La Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin and Tyler Chatwood.
Pomeranz, 25, was the fifth overall selection in the 2010 draft by the Indians but found himself traded to the Rockies in the Ubaldo Jimenez blockbuster a couple seasons ago. Despite his upside, Pomeranz has yet to pan out, posting a 5.20 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and a 45.5 percent ground-ball rate. He does own a 2.97 career ERA in the minors, including a 3.60 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 132 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level.
Jensen, 23, registered a 4.55 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 152 1/3 innings at Class-A Advanced Modesto in 2013. The University of San Diego product did not crack MLB.com's list of Top 20 Rockies prospects or Baseball America's list of Top 30 Rockies prospects.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Agreed.
I don’t think this had anything to do with saving money, or needing another cost-controlled pitcher. Kazmir was signed to replace Colon, not to replace Anderson. This trade isn’t a direct result of that signing. It only made it more of a possibility. It sounds like they just wanted to trade him while he still had value, and looked for the best package of young players/prospects they could find. And Pomeranz is a far better return than anyone like Tim Wheeler or Tom Murphy would have been.
Actually, yes. And, my comment holds. They waited 3 years to do anything, shed about $80 million of payroll and then went and signed Granderson for $15M per year. The Mets are a team in NYC and will have a payroll in the bottom third or so.
Since when is Phil Hughes… an innings eater?
Since he started 29 or more games in 3 of 4 seasons
145.2 IP, especially over 29 games started, is not a mark of an innings eater. It’s a mark of a durable, below-average starting pitcher.
Yea, wondering how Beane will explain this one. Perhaps his computer nerds were on vacation or the sabermetric machine blew a fuse. Sending cash WITH Brett Andersen?
I wouldn’t call a -0.8 WAR working out fine, ever.
That’s why WAR isn’t a perfect statistic. Wells joined the team late in Spring Training when the Yankees desperately needed OF help and helped them win games early in the season. He eventually regressed back to typical Wells numbers, but he played a part in their not terrible finish. Could the yankees have gotten the same production from a farm hand? Maybe, but then they’d have to deal with the grueling media. Wells’ value to the 2013 cannot be strictly measured by WAR.
Horrible defense in the corner outfield, .282 obp, played a part in their terrible stretch where nobody who swung right handed could hit the ball, not useful at all in any month other than April. They could have at least tried out somebody young and interesting, which could also help in the future. Other statistics other than WAR point to Wells being horrible.
He was originallyoing to be a stop gap until Grandy came back in May, if that had happened then Wells .300/.366/.544line in April would have been perfect. all the injuries meant he ended up playing way too much
That’s why WAR isn’t a perfect statistic. Wells joined the team late in Spring Training when the Yankees desperately needed OF help and helped them win games early in the season. He eventually regressed back to typical Wells numbers, but he played a part in their not terrible finish. Could the yankees have gotten the same production from a farm hand? Maybe, but then they’d have to deal with the grueling media. Wells’ value to the 2013 cannot be strictly measured by WAR.
Good deal for both sides. Pomeranz should succeed with the a’s in that big ballpark. Anderson could have longball issues in Denver.
Pomeranz’ problem wasn’t the long ball, it was finding the plate. The plate is the same size in Oakland as in Denver.
True, but he’s probably just minor league depth at best unless the injury bug hits as bad as September 2012 again
Getting a guy who can hit Verlander? That is a joke, ask the National League and they will tell you who can hit Verlander.
which is why you’re sitting in an armchair and mr.beane is spinning around in his
Nelson Cruz is still available. I’m guessing if Beane could have gotten a dude like Billy Butler or Dominic Brown for Anderson, he would have, but Anderson wasn’t valued that highly by other teams. A’s fans remember Anderson at his best (which was great), other teams saw him as a DL regular (which he is).
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Beane scrape Cruz off the PED scrap heap to be the DH next year. A’s could use a little more RH pop in their lineup.
Ha I wish! I would love to have Nelson Cruz, do you have any idea how expensive he’ll be!? We can’t afford him with all the money we’ve thrown around already
$6M. The A’s gave the Rocks $2M.
Yup. We gave Anderson a $31M contract when he was lights out and LITERALLY the next DAY he went on the DL for the first time.
where else would his tweets be?
This place that supposedly buries pitchers has worked out pretty well for Jorge de la Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, and Tyler Chatwood. But if you want to continue believing that then more power to you.
Holy small sample size Batman. Free agent SP must be waiting in lines to sign a contact with COL. Ultimately, Anderson will find a way to get injured so it doesn’t matter all that much.
DeLaRosa is decent maybe mid rotation guy, still very hittable, in Coors that isn’t good, somewhat brittle and doesn’t K enough. I’d look for that 3.49 to go up next year w/o adjustments. Chatwood is way too small of sample size to say he pitches well in Coors. Pitchers don’t like pitching there thats why you don’t see all the FA pitchers knocking down the doors to get there. Maybe the legalization of marijuana could entice Chris Perez though to come aboard and close..
JDLR was 10-1 with a 2.76 ERA at Coors. According to some of the people on this site, that should qualify him for the Hall of Fame. I’m not going that far, but he is at the very least a strong #2 starter.
The free agent pitchers don’t come to Coors because Rockies ownership refuses to sign any more FA pitchers after the Hampton/Neagle debacles. BTW, Hampton and Neagle had no problem signing in Coors and that was pre-humidor when 11-10 games were the norm. If the money is ever offered again, it will be taken without a doubt.
DeLaRosa is decent maybe mid rotation guy, still very hittable, in Coors that isn’t good, somewhat brittle and doesn’t K enough. I’d look for that 3.49 to go up next year w/o adjustments. Chatwood is way too small of sample size to say he pitches well in Coors. Pitchers don’t like pitching there thats why you don’t see all the FA pitchers knocking down the doors to get there. Maybe the legalization of marijuana could entice Chris Perez though to come aboard and close..
I was a fan of you guys giving away Choice!