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Why Detroit's trade was better than Oakland's...

While part of me can understand both Oakland and Detroit's moves prior to the trade deadline, it appears as if Oakland may have sacrificed much more than Detroit, and due to that, I feel the Tigers made the better deal.

Just before the trade deadline on Thursday afternoon, Oakland traded outfield slugger Yoenis Cespedes to Boston for stud pitcher Jon Lester and depth-provider Jonny Gomes. Perhaps in response to the Athletics' move, Detroit then got involved in a three-team trade, where they sent outfielder Austin Jackson to Seattle, starting pitcher (their 5th man) Drew Smyly to Tampa Bay, and in return, received stud pitcher David Price.

While it's highly debatable who the better pitcher is between Lester and Price, there is no debate on the quality of talent the two teams gave up in return for those pitchers. Drew Smyly, while a competent 5th man in the rotation, is currently 6-9, with a 3.93 ERA, and a 1.35 WHIP. Austin Jackson has played better of late, but even so, is still hitting .273, with 25 doubles, and 9 stolen bases. Yoneis Cespedes, meanwhile, is hitting .256, with 17 home runs, 26 doubles, and 67 RBIs. So, the question is, what do the teams look like now?

As I alluded to earlier, while I can understand the move made by Oakland, one reason why I don't understand it is the fact they had one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball prior to the trade. They weren't really in need of another quality starter. While quality starting pitching is critical in the post-season, as the Atlanta Braves can attest, it takes more than just great pitching to win the World Series. A few runs need to be scored along the way as well. So, even though the Athletics' starting rotation may have gone from excellent to scary, their offensive potential took a serious hit. Yoenis Cespedes was second on Oakland in doubles, 3rd in home runs, and 3rd in RBIs. Sure, those rankings are solid, but they don't tell the whole story. Cespedes was one behind the team leader in doubles, but nine up on the next guy. He was six behind the co-leaders in home runs, but eight up on the next guy. Lastly, he was five and nine RBIs behind the team leaders, but a full 27 up on the next guy. While the A's had three great run-producers in their lineup, there was a very large gap between numbers three and four. Their outfield will now likely be Brandon Moss (one of the before-mentioned great run-producers), Coca Crisp, and Josh Reddick. Crisp has always been a solid player. This year has been no different, as he's currently hitting .274, with 7 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases. Josh Reddick is another story, however. He's currently hitting just .243, with 6 home runs, and 28 RBIs. So, the Athletics went from an excellent to a scary rotation, and also from Moss, Crisp, and Cespedes to Moss, Crisp, and Reddick. Perhaps Lester will dominate in the playoffs, but for as many low-scoring games as there are, it's hard to see the team not missing a big bat like Yoenis Cespedes late in the game, tied or down one, with one runner on base.

On the other hand, I can completely understand the move made by the Detroit Tigers. While Drew Smyly has been a formidable starter, the rotation needed a bit of a lift with Justin Verlander having an off-year. The rotation now has the potential, like with Oakland's, to be scary. The rotation now features: Cy Young Award winner David Price, Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, last year's A.L. ERA leader Anibal Sanchez, and up-and-comer Rick Porcello. If former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander gets back on track, this could very well be the best five-man rotation in baseball. For the time being, though, they're still in the top 5, I'd say. Also, while Austin Jackson had been playing better of late, he became expendable when J.D. Martinez started playing well. With the signing of Rajai Davis in the off-season, he can now play center field, with Torii Hunter and J.D. Martinez playing alongside him. Davis is actually having a better year at the plate than Jackson anyways. He's hitting .294, with a team high 25 stolen bases. The ageless Torii Hunter is hitting .281, with 15 home runs, and 62 RBIs. The surprise of the year for the team, J.D. Martinez, is hitting .325, with 14 home runs, and 47 RBIs (in just 67 games).

Oakland and Detroit, along with Los Angeles of Anaheim (or whatever in the heck they're called anymore), are two of the three best teams in the American League. Any one of these three teams could represent the American League in the World Series. However, with the moves that were just made, I think I'd give Detroit a slight edge over Oakland. Like Oakland, they bolstered their rotation, but unlike Oakland, they won't be losing much offensively.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/11290302/jon-lester-traded-oakland-athletics-yoenis-cespedes-boston-red-sox

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11292158/david-price-traded-detroit-tigers-deal-tampa-bay-rays

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