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Trade Bait: Koch is Traded to the White Sox
In their second significant trade of the offseason, the Oakland Athletics traded closer Billy Koch and two minor leaguers to the Chicago White Sox for closer Keith Foulke, catcher Mark Johnson and minor league right-hander Joe Valentine and cash.
Koch was 11-4 with 44 saves and a 3.27 ERA in his lone season with Oakland. Foulke finished with 11 saves and a 2.90 ERA, he lost his closing job early in the season after some troubled outings. The A’s think that Foulke was hurt part of the year last year and that he’ll be back to form next year.
Johnson hit .209 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 263 at-bats. He gives the A’s a left handed catcher to compliment Hernandez. Valentine went 4-1 with 36 saves and a 1.96 ERA for Double-A Birmingham last season. Joe gives the A’s a good bullpen prospect. Supposedly, he’s their closer of the future. Unless he cuts down on his walks, he may only be a setup man though. Joe does look like a decent prospect though.
On Chicago’s end, they get a hard throwing closer, instead of the changeup specialist that Foulke was. Koch was also supposedly a good clubhouse presence for the A’s. The Sox also get two yet-to-be-named prospects. Yet, for their sake, they should be at least mid-level to make this trade look decent for them.
The trade does open up a spot for Miguel Olivo, one of their top prospects (acquired from Oakland before the 2001 season) to spend time behind the plate at the major league level. This stud’s stats say that he almost stole 30 bases last season. Is that true, or have I been staring at the screen too long? A catcher that stole 29 bases, that happens a lot, like Biggio….oh, they moved him to 2nd base.
This is definitely a Beane-style trade, dumping salary while upgrading the team. He even got some cash thrown in on the deal to help with payroll, or to go after a free agent. With Durham gone to the Giants, the A’s are in need of a leadoff hitter and this frees up the money for one.
Here’s an idea, sign the recently discarded Kenny Lofton. He plays centerfield well, letting Long move to left and he’s still a decent leadoff hitter with a passable on-base percentage.
