Elephant Rumblings: Reactions to the Sean Manaea trade

Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!

And happy trails to Sean Manaea. However he feels about being traded to the Padres yesterday, it has to be of some comfort to move in tandem with Bob Melvin, who has mentored Sean through his entire six-year big league career so far. Reactions to the trade poured in on Sunday from coaches new and old along with baseball’s intelligentsia.

The Padres’ new skipper was enthusiastic about Manaea joining him in San Diego:

“He’s a terrific teammate. I’ve always called him the world’s best teammate. He’ll fit in really well here.

Meanwhile, the A’s new skipper Mark Kotsay acknowledged that it was a tough day to lose “the heart and soul of the staff the last few years,” but also declared, “Our mentality is ‘next man up.’”

Three-time World Series champion Dave Stewart voiced many an A’s fan’s hopes in his farewell to the Manaealator:

So, how was the deal graded in terms of how it benefits the A’s? Melissa Lockard seemed pretty lukewarm in her appraisal of the swap, which appeared in The Athletic. She described Euribiel Angeles as “a solid prospect,” but continued, “you’d expect him to be more of a secondary piece rather than a headliner in a return for a top-of-the-rotation starter.” She sees value in Adrian Martinez as a potential contributor on the back end of the A’s rotation or in the bullpen, but “again, he isn’t the kind of prospect you’d expect to be a key in a return for a pitcher of Manaea’s caliber, especially when the A’s also gave up a decent prospect alongside Manaea in [Aaron] Holiday.”

In his analysis for Athletics Nation, Alex Hall voiced sentiments that were not entirely dissimilar to Lockard’s: the returned prospects have definite value and potential but the haul seems a bit light for Manaea. Perhaps the A’s brass simply felt it was imperative to get Manaea’s salary off the payroll and the Padres’ offer was the best one on the table with Opening Day just days away.

What do you think, AN? Would Oakland have been better off holding out and hoping for a better deal at the trade deadline? Sound off in the comments below!

A’s Coverage:

• Hall: A’s trade Sean Manaea to Padres for two prospects
• Hall: Sean Manaea pitched against A’s four hours after being traded away by them
• Hall: Frankie Montas named Opening Day starter by A’s
• Hall: Zach Jackson, Dany Jimenez, Jacob Lemoine make A’s Opening Day bullpen
• Hall: A’s entire payroll now only slightly more than Max Scherzer’s salary alone
• Ashford: Spring Training Game #16: A’s hit 3 home runs, beat Padres
• Hall: Spring Game #15: A’s score six in 9th inning to force tie
• Kawahara and Ostler: Kotsay names Frankie Montas as A’s Opening Day starter ($)
• Wirth: Why Murphy could be breakout player for A’s in 2022 season

MLB News & Interest:

• McDonald: Trevor Rosenthal Drawing Interest
• Drellich: ‘No one stopped it’: Carlos Beltrán addresses Astros’ sign-stealing scandal ($)
• Polishuk: Lance Lynn To Undergo Knee Surgery, Will Be Shut Down For Four Weeks
• Polishuk: Mets Notes: Scherzer, deGrom, Nimmo
• Rosenthal: Mets’ Jacob deGrom still likely to opt out; José Ramírez, Aaron Judge not close to extensions ($)
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

This image stings. I found out about the trade on a hike when I got an alert on my watch saying the A’s had won against the Padres but listing Manaea as the losing pitcher.

I couldn’t concur more. Sean may have been streaky on the mound but he was A++ every day as a leader and fan favorite.

This was a magical day. Remember how stacked that Red Sox lineup was?

Still quite a nadir in terms of talent investment.

Another dramatic image on this crazy day.

Rosenthal with some bits on the Manaea trade negotiations.

A trio of young bullpen arms got the nod.

One last goodbye, and good luck, Sean.