One Month Review: The Andrew Bailey/Ryan Sweeney Trade

Each month, Swingin’ A’s will revisit three of the biggest trades that the A’s made this past offseason. We’ll start by revisiting the Andrew Bailey–Ryan Sweeney trade that went down last winter. In the deal, the Athletics sent their All-Star closer Bailey and high-average hitter Sweeney to the Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick, pitcher Raul Alcantara, and infielder Miles Head. 

The A’s entered the offseason with one goal in mind: continue the rebuild in an effort to prepare for the future. General manager Billy Beane set out to accomplish this goal by trading some of his better talent to teams willing enough to send him talented prospects in return. The trade that went down between the A’s and the Boston Red Sox is just one way Beane set out to accomplish the goal of rebuilding.

Oakland sent their All-Star closer Andrew Bailey as well as outfielder Ryan Sweeney to the Red Sox in exchange for a handful of prospects. The A’s did give up a lot in Bailey and Sweeney and at first glance, the trade looked lopsided in Boston’s favor. The A’s really got an outfielder and two bonus pieces in Alcantara and Head, but looking at the deal today, the A’s may have gotten the best of the trade.

Boston has lost Bailey for an extended period of time due to injury, while the A’s continue to benefit from having Reddick in their everyday lineup. He went deep during Monday’s game in Boston, blasting a three-run homer in the 7th inning against starter Clay Buchholz. Oakland has seen Reddick hit .277/.299/.479 with 4 HR and 9 RBI in 23 games this season. He’s exceeded my projections so far and I must say I’m definitely taking a liking to the guy.

Sweeney, though, hasn’t been a pushover for Boston. In 19 games this year, Sweeney has hit .373/.394/.567 with 8 RBI. He’s off to a fast start and while he’s not hitting for power, the Red Sox have a high-average hitter at their disposal. He’s also considered a plus-defender as well in the outfield. I was saddened to see him go in the trade last winter, but the A’s have made things easier on me with their acquisition of Reddick.

So, one month into the season and the A’s have seemingly won this trade. There’s still a lot of baseball left this year, though, that could lead Sweeney and the Red Sox to victory in regards to this trade.

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