A’s trade another All-Star, sending catcher Derek Norris to Padres
Billy Beane’s rebuilding plan collided with A.J. Preller’s rebuilding plan Thursday, as the Oakland Athletics traded another of their 2014 All-Stars while the San Diego Padres added another guy capable of hitting baseballs pretty far.
The A’s traded catcher Derek Norris to the Padres, getting two young pitchers — Jesse Hahn and R.J. Alvarez — in return. Norris, 25, enjoyed a breakout season in 2014, particularly in the first half when he had an OPS of .879 with eight homers and 37 RBIs. It was enough to get Norris on the AL All-Star team. His second half wasn’t as good, but he was hit in the head by backswings a couple times, which certainly didn’t help things.
As Beane, the always-bold A’s general manager, remakes his roster, Norris is just the latest All-Star on the move. Oakland had seven All-Stars last July. Only two remain. Norris, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Donaldson, Brandon Moss and Jeff Samardzija have all been traded. Sean Doolittle and Scott Kazmir, the other two All-Stars, may not want to get an A’s tattoo or anything.
Preller, the new and ambitious Padres GM, has added another piece to the league-worst offense he’s trying to turn around. In the matter of a week, he swung trades to add Norris, Matt Kemp and Wil Myers. Each comes with injury concern — Kemp’s hips, Myers’ wrist and Norris’ concussion worries.
The Padres are assuming risk, sure, but Preller isn’t cleaning up a mansion. He’s trying to flip a foreclosed home.
Norris fills the gap created when the Padres dealt their catcher, Yasmani Grandal, to the Dodgers in the Kemp trade. San Diego also acquired Ryan Hanigan, 34, in the Myers trade, but Norris figures to be their main catcher, thanks mostly to his superior bat. The Padres are also getting right-handed pitcher Seth Streich, who earned praise in the Oakland prospect ranks after a strong 2014. He’ll likely start 2015 in Double-A.
For the A’s, this trade makes more sense than some of the others. They’re selling high on Norris (maybe he’s never an All-Star again, who knows, his second half wasn’t nearly as good as his first) and they’re getting two pitchers in return who project well.
Hahn, 25, was a rookie in 2014, going 7-4 with a 3.07 ERA in 12 starts. Alvarez, 23, came to the Padres when they traded Huston Street to the Angels. He was dominant in the minors and made 10 relief appearances for the Padres last season, striking out nine batters in eight innings and allowing one run. He’s a back-end bullpen guy, who throws hard and could be groomed as a closer.
There’s some thought out there that the A’s are gearing up for another big trade, moving some of their young arms for a bigger bat. Troy Tulowitzki’s name has been thrown around. We don’t know if that’ll happen, but we do that Beane’s always swinging deals.
And, apparently, so is Preller.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
