A's trade Madsen and Doolittle to Nats

[LouisEly]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/242442972/nationals-acquire-doolittle-madson-from-as/

 

A's get two A-ball prospects and 29-year-old Blake Treinen. Not sure what the comps are; according to MLB Pipeline, Neuse has a 50 grade and Luzardo a 45 grade so it might be someone like Erceg/Nottingham/Cordell (Neuse - 50 grade) and Medeiros (45 grade) with Oliver Drake as a throw-in.

 

For one of Nottingham/Cordell plus Medeiros, I would have made the deal. For Erceg plus Medeiros, I would not have made the deal.

 

The market is starting to be set.

[jerichoholicninja]

Treinen is much better than Drake. Blake has had a couple good years, just down this year for whatever reason.

[Eye Black]

If I was a Nationals fan I would be very happy with the swap. Some much needed relief help seemingly without a significant hit to the top talent in the farm system.

[Greenleaf1]

I like this trade for the Brewers for two reasons:

 

1. Maybe getting some bullpen help (for multiple seasons) won't cost the Brewers an arm and a leg if they're willing to take relievers with some money on their contracts.

 

2. Proves the A's are willing to make big trades without getting a big name in return. Could mean that we could load up a deal for Gray with mid-level prospects and then highlight the package with Corey Ray instead of giving up Brinson or one of the big 4 pitchers. I know Gray is a much bigger target than either of these guys, but this return for 2 good relief pitchers seems low to me. I know Thornburg/Smith are a bit cheaper and a bit more controllable and a bit better, but I'm not sure the difference between the two pairs is as big as the difference in prospects that we got vs. what the A's got (Shaw/Bickford/Dubon/Susac/Pennington/Coca).

 

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of smart people on this thread about to tell me why my opinions listed in #2 are wrong, but I will say I was surprised by the return.