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Elephant Rumblings: Reactions to the Chris Bassitt trade

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MLB: Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners
Sep 28, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) departs the mound during a fourth inning pitching change against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!

Just like that, baseball has shifted from stuck in the mud to high gear. The Oakland A’s front office went straight to work after the MLB lockout ended last Thursday. A flurry of moves transpired over the weekend, none more notable than the trade on Saturday that will send Chris Bassitt to the Mets.

Obviously, we’re all sad to see the departure of one of Oakland’s top starters and team leaders. Bassitt himself posted this bittersweet farewell tweet yesterday:

We will miss CBass, and we will likely be missing more of our favorite stars all too soon. But in terms of facilitating a team rebuild, how good is this trade for the A’s on a purely transactional level? Do the Mets pitching prospects netted in return measure up? It’s always nearly impossible to say for sure with prospects, but on balance the deal is seen as a fair one by our own Alex Hall and Nico, as well as many others outside our community.

David Schoenfield at ESPN likes the deal better for the Mets, grading the trade a B+ for them and giving the A’s a C on the transaction. However, this take seems to be coming from more of a win-now perspective. Shoenfield remarks that the trade is “mostly a downer for A’s fans, the first sign that 2022 may be a long season.” Hard to argue there.

But as Steve Berman at The Athletic points out, the A’s could be getting a bit of “now and later” out of the deal. Righty J.T. Ginn was ranked the Mets’ seventh best prospect by Keith Law, and even higher according to some other sources. Ginn is the bigger get for the A’s in this trade, but Adam Oller is nearer to MLB-ready, having pitched well in AAA last year. With more of the A’s rotation potentially on the trade block, Oller could fortify a thinning staff sooner than later.

Probably the biggest takeaway of the deal is that the A’s are indeed committed to a rebuild rather than looking for a quick retool. So tighten your belts for now and dream of a new era of A’s baseball at Howard Terminal.

Bassitt Reactions:

The Bassitt trade elicited reactions from all over A’s media, showing just how beloved he was to his teammates, fans, and media alike.

The Hound had an incredible journey here.

His emotional press conferences endeared him to A’s fans every bit as much as his pitching.

Us too, Frankie.

Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.

A’s Coverage:

MLB News & Interest:

Best of Twitter:

It must be difficult for the Matts to not hit the ball 400 feet.

I would not ignore a Matt Chapman text.

Will Chappy’s bat be back in 2022? Literally?

How about the other Matt?

If Libby can get Howard Terminal done, it will be a glorious Schaaf-ter in Bay Area sports history.

I mean, the Mets are frankly looking like a fun team to watch this year.