Worst Teams in Baseball actually making good Trades??

On Friday and Saturday two of the worst teams in the MLB made 3 trades that seem decent?? The A’s made a trade with their bay rivals the Giants sending prospect Jonah Cox for an actual MLB talent Ross Stripling. The White Sox came in and made two trades, one with the always trading Mariners sending reliever Gregory Santos for prospects Prelander Berroa and Zach DeLoach as well as the 69th pick in the draft. They also made a trade with the National league pennant winning Diamondbacks for their outfielder Dominic Fletcher for pitching prospects Christian Mena. Both teams surprisingly might have come out on top here, let’s take a closer look.

The A’s trade:

The one thing the A’s need is innings. Is Ross Stripling going to turn this rotation into a top 25 rotation in baseball absolutely not but it does get them another arm that actually would start on other teams. Currently their rotation is looking like JP Sears, Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood, Stripling, and then one of their young guys. Without Stripling they were likely going to start Joe Boyle as their 5th starter who even with the stuff to do it doesn’t have the command to pitch real big league innings yet. What they have with Stripling is the exact opposite of a guy who hits his sports and doesn't walk many guys. His only problem is he gave up way too much loud contact last season mainly from his changeup which he left over the middle too much. He does get his wish, a chance to start which he asked for after picking up his $12.5 million player option earlier in the offseason.

The Giants get a sneaky toolsy prospect from the A’s in Jonah Cox. A 6th round pick out of Oral Roberts in last year's draft shot up draft boards after his big season hitting .412 and leading the NCAA in hits. He has speed and athleticism to stick in center with a contact oriented bat. He’s a great personality with a crazy beard mullet combo that could make him a fan favorite prospect in San Francisco but has a long way to go till the Show. Along with the prospect you have to think of moves coming for San Fran whether it be Snell or Montgomery. I don’t think the Giants are planning to go into next season with Keaton Winn or Tristan Beck in the rotation.

The Mariner trade:

This one between the Mariners and the White Sox is a weird one. After being traded last offseason from the Giants, Gregory Santos turned into one of the best rookie bullpen options in the league for the White Sox. A 2.65 FIP is nothing but perfect for a back end of the bullpen pitcher. Now he heads to Seattle to join Andres Munoz and Matt Brash as one of the best 1-2-3 options in baseball. Santos stopped throwing his fastball in 2023 and settled into a sinker slider pitcher which is exactly what he needed. His sinker did get hit a decent amount leading to a .343 average off of it but that’s what he’s trying to do: pitch to contact and weak contact. Santos has the lowest barrel rate in the league at 1.5% due to his sinker inducing ground balls and his slider having a 37.5% whiff rate being unhittable. Moving to Seattle now and being a 7th or 8th inning option who can come in during high leverage situations and get outs makes him an elite reliever. Now with still 5 years of control at only 24 years old the Mariners bullpen will be at the top for a long time.

The Mariners gave up some good prospects for Santos starting with Prelander Berroa who made his debut last season making 2 appearances. After being a starter for the majority of his career Berroa moved to the bullpen last season and excelled with a 2.88 FIP in AA. He has a high 90s fastball and a slider that misses bats. His only problem is he can’t hit the zone or be anywhere close. He’s had an above 11% walk rate since 2019 in low A ball. With the White Sox bullpen being one of the worst in the Majors Berroa is going to get a chance to pitch in high leverage situations and hopefully even start some games. He’ll likely still struggle with control but his arm is a really intriguing get for the Sox.

They also acquired outfielder Zach DeLoach. After being a second round pick to the Mariners in the 2020 draft DeLoach struggled to live up to expectations in his first two minor league seasons. In 2023 he broke out in AAA with a 111 wRC+ but it’s a little inflated from the high offensive environment of the AAA PCL. He struggles to make contact and strikes out at a high rate. He can play every position in the outfield at an average to below average rate and will be a solid option in AAA for the White Sox next season.

They lastly acquired the 69th pick in the draft where they’ll be able to add a prospect who’ll likely come in around their 10-15th best in their system.

DBacks Trade:

To go along with the addition of DeLoach to their outfield competitions just ten minutes after they also added Dominic Fletcher. There’s a lot to be intrigued about Fletcher, he makes good contact and plays every position but chases way too much leading to a low walk rate. For only being 5 '6’’ he’s slow for his position with an above average arm that pushes him to right field likely full time. With how stacked the Diamondbacks were next season and into the future in the outfield Fletcher needed to be traded to see any sort of playing time and the White Sox can definitely give him that. He’ll likely be pretty league average next season for them and will take over for Gavin Sheets as the primary right fielder against righties with Kevin Pillar being the platoon with Fletcher.

They traded away Christian Mena for Fletcher which is a little puzzling. Mena made it to AAA last season after just turning 21 but nowhere except low A has his minor league numbers been good. His fastball has been his worst pitch being very flat and easy to see. His other pitches being a slider, changeup, and especially his curveball get great whiff rates propelling his strikeout numbers. His command has also been questionable but looks easier to fix. He needs to change his fastball likely to a cutter to be able to become a good backend of the rotation starter which will take a few seasons but is being projected as making the jump this season and starting some games in Arizona. A decent trade for both teams as the Sox get a much needed young outfielder and the DBacks get a project arm.