Here's the thing folks: Donaldson was traded. Bummer. Let's congratulate him on his MVP trophy and move on.

What the Oakland A's received in return was a mixed package of prospects and MLB-ready players. We all know the names of these players and have been tracking them since they arrived in Oakland in order to see if it was actually worth it to trade our beloved JD. Now, let's get to the point.

With the Jed Lowrie trade (a trade I actually really like), the A's have an infield surplus. The main point of discussion has been surrounding Third Base.

Option 1: Lawrie - the guy we got to replace Donaldson.

Option 2: Danny Valencia - the guy we claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays because they have Donaldson.

Option 3: Jed Lowrie - an old familiar face

Option 4: Something we haven't even begun thinking about yet but the front office probably has.

I need to get a few things off my chest before getting into talking about all of this.

I don't believe Lawrie was acquired to be our new 3B guy for the foreseeable future. It is my personal opinion that the Jays were offering the A's 3 really solid players but no one who could fill JD's shoes immediately. Then, they said "Here ya go, have Brett." Never was the conversation centered around Donaldson for Lawrie plus some random guys the Jays just tossed in for kicks. The trade was ALWAYS centered upon these young, good prospects that the A's could utilize to rebuild their farm system and add depth to their MLB team. Beane pulled the trigger once the Jays acquiesced to giving the A's a 3B-er to fill in for JD.

This is the reason the A's are potentially going to trade Lawrie now. The A's now have options there where there were none other than JD.

Now, back to the 3B options. I'm going to rank my picks for 3B:

1) Jed Lowrie

Reason: The guy has been known to play a good third base and Lawrie had too many errors for my taste.

2) Lawrie

Reason: He still played a good 3B throughout the season until Valencia came along. He hustles and can get better with more actual playing time,

3) Anyone but Valencia

Reason: The A's need to get rid of Valencia. Danny is solid, yes. He plays good ball. But I don't think he is going to put up the same numbers as we saw last August/September. Furthermore, rumors are swirling about him being a bad clubhouse presence - something the A's definitely don't need especially right now. Besides the rumors though, Oakland has to sell him now while he still has some value. Hand him off to the White Sox or Indians or anyone!

... I will make one argument for Danny though: he looks like a classic A's player though. Remember how the A's just randomly found Brandon Moss, a guy who hadn't hit more than 8 homers in a season, and he ripped it up? The dude homered 21 times, 30 times, and 25 times while playing for Oakland. Granted, he was younger than Valencia is. But Danny could be ready for a huge break out like that. All you have to do is give a guy a chance ...

Put Jed at 3B and move Lawrie to 2B. Jed adds a veteran know-how to the team and I think he'll play a better third than Brett. Brett hustles and adds a competitiveness to the team that forces everyone else to hustle and be competitive too. I love Lawrie and I think he could be a rockstar second baseman. But beyond this, both of these guys have enough versatility to play either position - something Valencia does not have. And the A's love players with versatility.

Ultimately, we won't ever really predict what Beane, Forst and the rest of them are going to do. Yeah, they could trade Lawrie and receive some solid prospects in return, play Valencia at 3 and Lowrie at 2. That wouldn't be terrible. They could trade Valencia and get probably one or two guys back. They could do something completely random. But here's to hoping that Lawrie actually becomes a bona fide Oakland A's guy like we all secretly want him to be.