In a minor move in comparison to the Jon Lester blockbuster pulled off by the Oakland Athletics this morning, Billy Beane continued trading, sending starting pitcher Tommy Milone to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Sam Fuld, as reported by Ken Rosenthal.
Milone had requested a trade after being sent down to AAA recently, even though he posted a 6-3 record and a 3.55 ERA with the A’s. Milone is not a strikeout pitcher, striking out just 6.5 batters per nine innings in his career, but is a reliable back-end option for the Twins. Milone, ironically, will report to the Twins’ AAA affiliate, but should be up in the major leagues shortly.
Fuld is a defensive wizard with a solid career .988 fielding percentage in the outfield, but also has excellent plate discipline, sporting a career OBP that is .083 higher than his batting average. His batting average sits at only .240 for his career but a markedly better .263 in 2014 between the A’s (he played 7 games with Oakland at the beginning of the season) and Twins. Fuld also has 13 steals in 16 attempts and also has hit 3 home runs. Beane has said that Fuld will be the starting center fielder for the A’s while Coco Crisp continues to recuperate from a neck injury, although Crisp is not on the disabled list.
The Twins outfield depth does take another hit with this trade, as the team now sports a highly underwhelming outfield of Josh Willingham (who could find himself traded today as well), Danny Santana and Oswaldo Arcia. Minnesota is clearly looking to the future with this move, as Milone is controlled through 2017 and should provide reliability, whereas the team can rebuild from within to replenish the outfield.
Beane is hoping that Crisp will not be out much longer, as he already traded Yoenis Cespedes this morning in the Lester trade, but if Crisp’s injury is complicated, he at least has someone more than capable of playing center field in Fuld.
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