It’s that time of the year. As the trade deadline approaches, some teams are setting themselves up for a potential postseason run, while other teams are looking to sell off any assets for prospects. Last night, the Boston Red Sox dealt two prospects to the Baltimore Orioles for Andrew Cashner, and earlier today, the Oakland Athletics agreed to a deal with the Kansas City Royals for Homer Bailey according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Starter Homer Bailey has been traded to Oakland from Kansas City, sources tell ESPN. He's making the minimum, so the A's will pay him only $250,000 or so for the remainder of the season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 14, 2019
Homer Bailey spent 12 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds before signing a one-year veteran minimum deal with Kansas City this offseason. Bailey has been a league average pitcher with a 97 ERA+, and he will provide depth to an Oakland staff that has been surprisingly good this season.
#Royals have scratched Homer Bailey from today’s start. Source says trade imminent. Bailey 3.49 ERA last seven starts.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 14, 2019
Bailey was slated to take the rubber for Kansas City against the Detroit Tigers today, but he was scratched from the lineup less than an hour before the game got underway. Instead, Brian Flynn got the start for the Royals.
The Royals love players who can run, and the one they got in return for Homer Bailey, infielder Kevin Merrell, certainly qualifies. He's one of the fastest players in the minor leagues. Scouts question his hit and power tools. He's currently slashing .246/.292/.339 at Double-A.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 14, 2019
In return, Kansas City received infielder Kevin Merrell from Oakland. Merrell was taken 33rd overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, and he spent this year in Double-A as a member of the Midland RockHounds. He has struggled to hit in the hitter-friendly Texas League, but his top end speed makes him an intriguing prospect.
The A's have been sneaky excellent again this season. While they're six back of Houston, their run differentials are practically identical — A's are +80 — and Oakland currently holds second wild-card spot and is just a game and a half back of Tampa Bay for the top wild card.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 14, 2019
As for Oakland, the Athletics are planting their flags as contenders. They are currently 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the race for the second wild card spot in the American League, and Oakland hopes this move will help keep them in front of Boston over the second half of the season.
This probably isn’t the last move that Oakland will make either. The Athletics have a pretty good farm system, and they may move another piece or two considering how tight the race figures to be in the AL.
H/T ESPN
