Hey! We have some trade news today. The Royals traded David DeJesus to the Oakland A's for Vin Mazzaro and Justin Marks. The Royals desperately needed pitching and their offense was fine while DeJesus was injured last year. The A's needed an outfielder that can handle the bat, run the bases and run down line drives. This seems like a good deal for both clubs.
DeJesus fits the Billy Beane strategy really well as DeJesus is severely undervalued with his paycheck. Between his stellar defense and consistent offense (108 OPS+ for his career, 117 in his last three years), he's at least a $10 million player who will make $6 million in 2011. He did have thumb surgery, but Beane said that they checked that out and everything seems fine. DeJesus will be 31 in 2011 and his contract expires at the end of that season. So if DeJesus doesn't pan out due to lingering effects from the thumb, the A's are only on the hook for a year.
Mazzaro is only 24 and his big league service hasn't yet matched his success in the minors. He wasn't the A's best arm, but the Royals finished dead last in earned runs allowed in 2010. Mazzaro needs to cut down on his walks and battle in the strike zone and he should be a darn sight better than the Kyle Davies and Brian Bannisters of the world. Mazzaro is from Hackensack, New Jersey, home of the best crumb cake in all the world. That's a plus in this Fan's book.
Justin Marks is 22 and has a good arm. His strikeout totals in the minors have been impressive, but again he walks too many batters and he's been hit a bit by the long ball bug. But he was just drafted (third round) in 2009, so he has plenty of room for growth. He's just one more solid prospect the Royals are building in a highly talented farm system.
This deal seems to make a lot of sense for both teams. The Royals seemed to have plenty of offense and needed pitching help. The A's had a pitching surplus and needed offensive and defensive help. Marks helps even out the fact that DeJesus is more valuable a commodity than Mazzaro (at the moment). The Fan doesn't see any negatives to this deal as long as DeJesus comes back healthy.
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