Recent Trades

Jed Lowrie to the Oakland Athletics

Billy Bean decided he wanted Jed Lowrie back on the team, and traded for him earlier this week. Jed Lowrie was traded from the Astros to the Athletics, for Brendan McCurry. I think it was a move that had to be made by the Astros. Jed Lowrie is a solid short-stop, that doesn't cost a lot, and brings a good locker room presence. This is someone the Astros wish they could have kept, but couldn't with AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa. The Astros also have the 21st overall prospect in baseball, Alex Bregman, who is in the minors, and plays short-stop. Needless to say, the Astros had to make room. Jed Lowrie had is best career year in Oakland, back in 2013. The Athletics needed to improve their short-stop position, and I believe they did.
 Brendan McCurry went to Oklahoma State and was drafted in the 22nd round by Oakland. McCurry is a 23 year old right handed pitcher. He has the making of a relief pitcher, or possibly a closer. McCurry started in +A ball last season, and made it to AA by the end of the year. He still has a couple years in the minors, but could be a good relief pitcher down the road.

Jesse Chavez to the Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have made another move to try and bulk up with starting rotation, for next season. The Blue Jays traded Liam Hendriks to the Oakland Athletics for Jesse Chavez. This wasn't a huge trade by any means, but both teams get something they need. Oakland needs to improve the bullpen, and the Blue Jays need to improve the starting rotation. Jesse Chavez is 32 years old, and has played in 8 major league seasons. He hasn't been a star in his career, and started as a relief pitcher. He became a starting pitcher for Oakland in 2014, because of all the injuries in Oakland's starting rotation. He was solid in 21 starts in 2014, but that was a small sample size. This past season we got to see Chavez start 26 games, and he wasn't bad. He finished last season with a 7-15 record, 4.18 ERA, 157 innings pitched, and 136 strike-outs. The thing with Chavez is the fact he gives up a lot of solid contact, and people get a lot of hits off him. Chavez could be a solid 5 man in the starting rotation, and could give you some work out of the bullpen.
Liam Hendriks is a 26 year old right handed pitcher from Australia, who has played 5 seasons in the major leagues. Hendriks has been used as a starter, but is mainly a relief pitcher. Hendriks had a career year last season finishing with a 5-0 record, 2.92 ERA, 64.2 innings pitched, and 71 strike outs. Hendriks did that all out of the bullpen last season, and will be looking to continue that success out of the bullpen for the Oakland Athletics.

Rex Brothers to the Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs traded Wander Cabrera to the Colorado Rockies for Rex Brothers. Great trade for the Chicago Cubs, who are trying to improve a weak bullpen. Rex Brothers is a 27 year old left handed relief pitcher, who has pitched in 5 major league seasons. Brothers has a power arm, and can pitch to both sides of the plate, but is mainly used as lefty specialist. He has been in a Rockies uniform his whole career, and has put up great numbers. He is coming off an injury last season that limited him to 10.1 innings pitched. Brothers has had plenty of time to recover, and should be a solid relief pitcher for the Cubs next season.
Wander Cabrera is 18 years old, and is a left handed starting pitcher. There isn't much to say about Cabrera, who hasn't played in the minor leagues yet. I still think it was a good trade for the Rockies, because they could get more out of Cabrera in the long run. The Rockies know what they were getting out of Rex Brothers. The main thing is no pitcher wants to pitch in Colorado, and the only way for the Rockies to build a starting rotation is get a surplus of young talent. The Rockies have to develop them, but at the very least they have trade bait.