By now you may have heard the A’s traded for Drew Pomeranz and Chris Jensen in exchange for often injured Brett Anderson. This is not a shock to most A’s fans as there have been rumors he’s been on the trade block since the offseason began. The question all A’s fans is: was this a good trade?
Pomeranz is the key to the deal. He is a former fifth overall pick by the Cleveland in the 2010 draft and found his way to Colorado in the Ubaldo Jimenez deal on July 2011. In his brief time in the majors he has a 5.17 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 18.9 percent strikeout rate and 12.1 percent walk rate. So needless to say he has been inconsistent. In 2013 he was limited a bicep tendinitis (in his left arm), which plagued him for most of the season, which could be the reason for his poor performance (in the majors and minors).
At this point in his development he’s a two pitch pitcher with a low to mid-90s fastball with a biting curveball; it wasn’t so good in Colorado, but it should look a lot better in Oakland. In his time in the majors what was lacking was the command of a third pitch (changeup). If he’s going to be a starter he is going to have to develop the changeup to consistently get right handed batters out. If the changeup doesn’t develop he’ll be a great setup man in the bullpen; think another Sean Doolittle, but with a better breaking ball.
From the A’s perspective they save $6 million dollars in payroll and get a former top five pick and maybe a backend rotation pitcher in Jensen. What’s not being talked about is the A’s player development staff. The A’s may not be able draft well (I’ll believe Addison Russell when I see him … side note: I have seen and spoken with him and he’s going to be really good), but they can develop pitchers. Current examples include: A.J. Griffin, Dan Straily, Sonny Gray and Jarrod Parker.
Pomeranz will most likely begin the year in Sacramento (triple-a) without a lot of pressure to perform because the A’s are not counting on him in 2014. In terms of raw stuff he’s leaps and bounds better than Griffin, Straily and Tommy Milone. If Pomeranz can make a comeback he will most likely be called up during the middle of the year which would make the rotation even more formidable. Also, he provides Scott Kazmir insurance in case he gets hurt; I know Milone is available but Milone is a fringe major leaguer.
