A’s Offseason Transactions Recap

MLB beat writers, announcers, anonymous executives, and the like all agree the A’s had one of the best offseasons of any MLB team. They made a flurry of big moves over a couple of days and some quiet ones to go along with the big ones. With all these moves I even had to write a road map for A’s fans at one point. With that being said we are officially less then a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training and the offseason, though not officially over, is coming to an end. Here is a recap of all the departures, acquisitions, and signings.

Sep 6, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians starting pitcher

(26) delivers in the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Departures:

C Kurt Suzuki
2B Scott Sizemore
OF Chris Young
LHP Pedro Figueroa
RHP Grant Balfour
RHP Bartolo Colon
RHP Pat Neshek

Acquisitions:

RHP Fernando Abad from the Washington Nationals for Minor League OF John Wooten.
RHP Luke Gregerson from the San Diego Padres for OF Seth Smith
OF Craig Gentry and RHP Josh Lindblom from the Texas Rangers for OF Michael Choice and Minor League 2B Chris Bostick
RHP Jim Johnson from the Baltimore Orioles for 2B Jemile Weeks and Minor League C David Freitas
LHP Drew Pomeranz and RHP Chris Jensen from the Colorado Rockies for LHP Brett Anderson
OF Billy Burns from the Washington Nationals for LHP Jerry Blevins
OF Corey Brown from Washington Nationals for cash
Cash from Miami Marlins for SS Hiram Martinez

Free Agent Signings:

SS Nick Punto
LHP Scott Kazmir
LHP Eric O’Flaherty

Minor League Signings:

C Luke Montz
RHP Jose Flores
2B Jose Martinez
RHP Deryk Hooker
RHP Fernando Nieve
RHP Matt Buschmann
RHP Jeremy McBryde
3B Alden Carrithers
RHP Manny Corea
C Dusty Brown
RHP Phillip Humber

Claims:

C Chris Gimenez from Tampa Bay Rays

And there you have it. One of the busiest offseasons in A’s history has come to an end. There were the more notable transactions (Kazmir, Gentry, Johnson, Gregerson) and the more quiet transactions (Punto, Abad). Fan favorites left (Balfour, Colon, Anderson, Blevins) and future ones arrived (Burns).

Which one of these transactions will pay the biggest dividends? Will it be the biggest Free Agent signing (Kazmir) or one of the small minor league transactions (Nieve)? We can only guess at this point, but one thing is certain about 2014. This is the first season in nearly a decade where the A’s went “all in”. They are coming off back-to-back AL West titles with nearly the same team. The only difference is they improved.