11:45 am: The two teams announced the exchange.
11h02: Athletics and Dodgers agree on a trade that will send southpaws Adam Kolarek and outside defender of the minor league Cody Thomas from LA to Oakland in exchange for the indoor player Sheldon Neuse and right minor league Gus Varland, ESPN Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter)
Kolarek, 32, will be an immediate boost for an Oakland bullpen who lost Liam Hendriks and Joakim Soria this winter and can still lose Yusmeiro Petit (still a free agent) as well. Kolarek has emerged as a solo ball expert capable of overcoming left-handed hitters in recent years, launching for a combination of 3.07 ERA and 3.61 SIERA with a strikeout rate below the average of 17.4%, but a strong walk (5.7) and ball on the ground (63.3) percentages. He is controllable for four seasons and will not be eligible for refereeing until next winter, so he is an economical addition to an A’s team that aggressively cut the payroll this winter while avoiding any real expenses.
The short-term piece returning to LA is 26-year-old Neuse, who made his MLB debut with Oakland in 2019, but did not appear on the Majors last season. Neuse saw moderate action in his brief debut, making 61 trips to the plate and hitting 0.250 / 0.295 / 0.304 with a 31 percent elimination rate. It wasn’t a particularly encouraging debut, but Neuse posted big numbers in his last season of Triple-A ball, hitting .317 / .389 / .550 with 27 big flies – good for a 126 wRC +.
Neuse has spent some time on second base, but his best position is probably third base, which left him blocked by Matt Chapman in Oakland. Their presence gives Dodgers an alternative option in the event of Justin Turner in the end he decides to sign elsewhere, but the Neuse acquisition is unlikely to close the door on a reunion with Turner. Neuse has a couple of secondary league options left, making it the kind of depth that Dodgers tend to stock up on: a previously high draft choice that is a bit old to be a prospect now, but has some defensive versatility and a solid veteran record. the plate.
Moving on to the secondary league pieces in the exchange, A’s will acquire Thomas, a 26-year-old outside corner defender with plenty of power, but some swing-and-miss trends that limit his overall edge on the board. The choice for the 13th round reached 0.236 / 0.308 / 0.443 (108 wRC +) in a Double-A environment that proved to be a hitter wasteland in 2019 and hit 0.285 / 0.355 / 0.477 a year earlier in the -A Advanced class.
Thomas was not selected in this year’s Rule 5 draft, illustrating that he is far from a premium candidate, but he is a bat close to the MLB with a career of .219 ISO (hitting less than average) in the minors. It is conceivable that it could emerge as a major league option in 2021-22.
Varland, 24, was chosen for the fourth round of Athletics in 2018 and still has only 64 1/3 professional entries on his resume. He did not rank prominently among Oakland’s top contenders, although Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs gives him the potential for an above average heater and slider – albeit with work to do in terms of controlling and improving a third pitch. Varland threw just 26 1/3 innings at the Class-A Advanced level in 2019, working for an ERA of 2.39 and 4.00 FIP with a K / BB ratio of 27 to 8 and a 37% ground ball rate.