FanPost

No, the Twins did not rob the A’s in the Tommy Milone Sam Fuld trade

Moments after the shocking trade that sent Oakland A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox for left-handed pitcher Jon Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes, the A’s finished off their busy July last season by trading another left-handed pitcher, Tommy Milone, to the Twins for outfielder Sam Fuld, who the A’s had just placed on waivers only three months ago.

Milone was just about average with the Oakland A’s. In a little over two seasons with the team, Milone had a 3.84 ERA with 324 strikeouts in 442.2 IP (WAR was 4.7, ERA+ was 100, K/BB rate was 3.21). Before he was sent down to Triple-A, Milone was pitching a little better than his career average as he had a 3.55 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 96.1 IP (WAR was 0.6, ERA+ was 105, K/BB was 2.35), yet Milone couldn’t be a part of the Oakland rotation as their other starters were throwing very well at the time.

Now, the A’s had DFA’d Sam Fuld earlier in the year because of an outfield log jam. Craig Gentry was about to return from the DL and while Fuld had been performing reasonably well (WAR of 0.3, wRC+ of 99 in 33 plate appearances and a 1.4 in Def), he was the one who had to go. Shortly after, the Twins picked him up and Fuld continued to perform better than he had in his career with a WAR of 1.6, wRC+ of 109 in 195 plate appearances and scored a 4.8 in Def.

The trade at the time was a win-win for both teams. From Jeff Sullivan’s piece on FanGraphs, "Everything works out, then. Milone wanted a change of scenery, and he landed with the organization that most values his kind of skillset. The Twins got a potential longer-term starter in exchange for an aging outfielder they picked up for nothing. The A’s addressed a need with a versatile player who complements the rest of the roster."

The important thing to note about this trade is that the A’s and the Twins both made it for entirely different reasons. The A’s grabbed a top-tier defensive outfielder in the middle of a decently productive season at the plate to help their playoff run by mortgaging their future just a little bit. While the A’s were trading away important players and prospects, most of them were hitters, not pitchers. The rotation would be fine; Milone would have trouble finding a spot.

For the Twins, Fuld was an unnecessary piece for a team that would finish with 92 plus losses for the fourth straight season. If the Twins’ goal was to rebuild, an outfielder in his thirties wasn’t going to be a part of the plan. Terry Ryan picked up Sam Fuld for nothing, traded him at a profit for a guy who might be a part of the Twin’s rotation for years to come.

But by the end of the season, the A’s had itched ahead in the trade. Sam Fuld compiled a 1.0 WAR in his second stint with the A’s and helped fill the Cespedes void for a team in the middle of a playoff run. Milone, on the other hand, compiled a 7.06 ERA in just 21.2 innings and was worth -0.3 WAR.

This current season has brought questions on whether or not the A’s were continuing to win the trade as Milone has put together a decent season for himself. He has a 2.84 ERA in 66.2 IP with 45 strikeouts and a strikeout to walk rate of 2.05 and Sam Fuld is batting .212, only getting on base 29.4 percent of the time and is now being used as primarily a late-inning defensive replacement in the outfield with the emergence of Billy Burns.

However, what most people fail to notice or remember about Fuld is that his most valuable skills are not his ability to create runs, but rather his ability to save runs. Fuld is sitting at number thirteen in defensive runs saved among AL outfielders with five, despite playing the third lowest amount of innings in that group.

Teams trade with each other to fill needs, and right now, and for the near future, the A’s do not need Tommy Milone. Their rotation currently holds a 3.03 ERA, the second lowest in all of Major League Baseball. Every pitcher currently holds an ERA under 3.50 or is at a cheaper price/more years of team control. And while Milone now holds a flashy ERA (which his FIP suggests isn’t here to stay), his WAR still sits at 0.6, which would be the among the lowest in the A's starting rotation.

So the A’s don’t need Tommy Milone right now, but what about the Twins? Could they use Sam Fuld right now?

The short answer is yes. Despite not being a consistent starter, Fuld has a 0.6 WAR this season where he has played most of his innings in center field. The Twins have accumulated a 0.1 WAR from their center fielders this season, a wRC+ of 63 and a Def of 3.4, as they have struggled to find someone with consistency on offense and defense. Sam Fuld has a 0.6 WAR, a wRC+ of 75 and a Def of 3.9.

Neither team has robbed each other in this trade. At the time, both teams made a trade that a filled a need at the time and didn’t expect to be where they are in the standings right now. Perhaps if the Twins knew of their inevitable success, they would've held on to Fuld and traded another player for a starting pitcher.Then again, with Ricky Nolasco's injury and just the overall woes of the rotation, maybe the Twins still make the trade. Who knows? But, if a winner of the trade must be chosen, the A’s are probably ahead for the time being.