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Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!
I was somewhat surprised but hardly shocked that the A’s traded Cole Irvin to the Orioles yesterday for Baltimore’s 16th ranked prospect, Darrell Hernaiz. Irvin was the A’s best pitcher in 2022, and he isn’t even arbitration eligible until 2024.
Baseball Trade Values certainly doesn’t like this trade: Irvin plus minor league righty Kyle Virbitsky, who was also sent to the Orioles as a side piece in the trade, combine for an estimated value of $16.2 million versus a comparatively meager valuation of $2.7 million for Hernaiz.
Today the #Orioles reportedly acquired LHP Cole Irvin ($15.0M median trade value) and RHP Kyle Virbitsky ($1.2M) from the #Athletics in exchange for SS Darell Hernaiz ($2.7M).
— Baseball Trade Values (@BaseballValues) January 26, 2023
The deal is rejected by our model as an overpay by Oakland.
Melissa Lockard at The Athletic seems underwhelmed by the Irvin deal:
Was out for a bit and just catching up but that's a pretty uninspiring trade for the A's, to say the least. Certainly looks like a salary dump to clear space for Aguilar, which is really grim given how low their payroll is. But also, why throw in a quality arm like Vribitsky too?
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) January 26, 2023
Trading a starter made sense given the depth they've built there, but Irvin was also the only truly reliable arm both from consistency and health the past two seasons. Seemed like a good anchor for a young rotation. Oh well.
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) January 26, 2023
The A’s are indeed stacked with starters. Irvin is a reliable workhorse, but his stuff is back-of-rotation caliber. He could well be crowded out by up-and-coming prospects like Ken Waldichuk and new acquisitions like Shintaro Fujinami. Per Martin Gallegos at MLB.com, A’s general manager David Forst expressed confidence in the A’s starter depth, stating, “We feel like we do have a deep rotation. What we lack in experience, we have in talent we believe coming up.”
It also seems that the A’s front office is high on position players who possess great athleticism, and Hernaiz fits that profile. Back in October, Orioles director of player development Matt Blood said that Hernaiz is “just a very toolsy young player who can sometimes get overlooked. But if you look at his numbers this year, he, at his age, really, really performed. He’s a guy to keep an eye on.”
Let’s hope that Hernaiz is indeed the hidden gem that Blood suggested. Have a wonderful weekend, AN!
A’s Coverage:
- Willis: Athletics trade Cole Irvin to Baltimore
- Willis: Tyler Soderstrom, Ken Waldichuk on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list
- Willis: Oakland A’s 2023 Community Prospect List No. 1: Who is the top prospect in the organization
- Willis: Athletics Nation is looking for new writers
- Gallegos: A’s acquire Baltimore’s No. 16 prospect for Irvin
MLB News & Interest:
- Bowden: What were MLB’s most impactful offseason trades? Bowden ranks and grades the top 10 ($)
- The Athletic: Gammons, Stark and Rosenthal on the Hall of Fame results, and why Scott Rolen’s election mattered ($)
- Fegan: Why the White Sox are not likely to release Mike Clevinger before MLB investigation completed
- Slusser: Buster Posey heads glitzy Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame class ($)
- Adams: Astros Name Dana Brown General Manager
- Today in Baseball History
Best of Twitter:
Rotation hopefuls.
A's starting rotation options following Cole Irvin trade: Paul Blackburn, Ken Waldichuk, Drew Rucinski, Shintaro Fujinami, Kyle Muller, A.J. Puk, JP Sears, James Kaprielian, Adrián Martínez, Adam Oller
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) January 26, 2023
Roster moves.
A'S MOVES: LHP Cole Irvin & RHP Kyle Virbitsky traded to BALT for SS Darell Hernaiz, Hernaiz assigned to MID, minor league pitchers Joe DeMers, Daniel Martinez, Clark Cota, Robin Vazquez, Luis Florentino. Alexis Cedano, Gimy Rojas & Javier Reina released…https://t.co/joKXkyU300
— Athletics Farm (@AthleticsFarm) January 27, 2023
Hal bids Cole farewell.
.@Swirvin_irvin19 humored me and seemed genuinely excited when I offered him a card, and then requested that I start "swirvin irvin" chants when he was pitching. Good luck on a contender, brother!!! pic.twitter.com/fjp0FSviiT
— Hal the Hot Dog Guy, PhD (@AsHotDog) January 26, 2023
A’s new “Batting Practice Experience” promotion for Spirit Week.
Experience batting practice like you never have before ⚾️
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) January 26, 2023
Get a chance to watch pregame BP on the field to select games in April and May! ️ https://t.co/zUxkdzPvR3 pic.twitter.com/KuraZgZzRt
Please don’t (and I’m not worried he will). But nice jersey, Mr. Tweet!
Please buy the A’s https://t.co/y9O5qsZ7vE
— Amazin’ A’s Craze (@AmazinAsCraze) January 26, 2023
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