Cahill and Breslow traded to Arizona

posted 12/10/11 5:23 PM PST
by Jason Martinez

The Diamondbacks are one of the few teams with enough good starting pitching depth to go out and acquire an impact player. In this case, they traded their top pitching prospect of the past few years, Jarrod Parker, along with outfielder Collin Cowgill and reliever Ryan Cook, to the A's for 23 year-old starter Trevor Cahill, who was an All-Star in 2010, and lefty reliever Craig Breslow. Here's a breakdown of how each roster is affected by the trade.

Arizona Diamondbacks
Adding Cahill to a rotation that already has two very good top-of-the-rotation starters, Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson, and two others, Trevor Bauer and Tyler Skaggs, on the fast track to the big leagues, puts the Diamondbacks in position to take another step forward. The top three starters of the defending NL West Champs probably aren't on par with the Giants' rotation trio of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner, but it's hard to argue that there is a better all-around team in the division than the Diamondbacks.

While Cahill's effectiveness declined in 2011 (4.16 ERA, 1.425 WHIP), the sinker baller appears to be a good fit for Chase Field, a ballpark that can be very unfriendly to fly ball pitchers. Back in 2010, he allowed a league best BABIP (batting average on balls in play) of .237 on the way to an 18-win season with an impressive 2.97 ERA in 30 starts. In 2011, his ERA jumped to 4.16 while his BABIP was .306, closer to the league average. It could be a case of more hard hit balls finding holes. In any case, we know he's capable of pitching deep into ballgames and keeping his team in games. The right-hander had 21 quality starts (at least 6 IP, 3 ER or less) in each of the past two seasons. Given the late-inning talent waiting in the bullpen (J.J. Putz, David Hernandez, Breslow, Bryan Shaw, Joe Paterson) and a talented lineup that's capable of scoring 4-5 runs per game, Cahill's quality starts should result in many wins.

Oakland Athletics
Losing Cahill may very well result in a less effective starting rotation in Oakland, but there's no question that the pitcher they received in return has top-of-the-rotation potential. The 23 year-old Parker spent much of the season in Double-A as he made his way back from 2010 Tommy John surgery. After an inconsistent first half, Parker found his groove late in the season and earned a September call-up. After one impressive start (5.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, BB, K), he was added to the NLDS playoff roster. Parker has a good shot at a major league roster spot out of Spring Training.

Cowgill joins the mix of candidates who will be competing for three open starting outfield jobs. Assistant GM David Forst said that the team views the 25 year-old as a center fielder. The right-handed hitter enjoyed a huge season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2011 (.354 BA, 13 HR, 24 2B, 51 BB, 30 K in 98 games) but it's uncertain how that success will translate to the big leagues. Barring any additional acquisitions, it appears he has a decent shot to crack the lineup. Ryan Sweeney, Jai Miller, and Jermaine Mitchell are his main competition in center. Grant Green, a converted shortstop, could also get a look. The former 1st Round pick played 47 games at the position with Double-A Midland in 2011. Michael Taylor, Chris Carter, Brandon Moss, and Adrian Cardenas are corner outfield candidates.

Although the Oakland bullpen was already deep, which allowed them to trade Breslow, the acquisition of Cook gives them more insurance in case they trade closer Andrew Bailey. The 24 year-old right-hander was terrific in his first year as a reliever, posting a 2.21 ERA, 6.0 H/9, and 9.1 K/9 in 48 games between Triple-A and Double-A. He struggled in 14 big league appearances but he has the stuff to succeed in the late innings. Whether that happens in 2012 probably doesn't matter since it appears the A's are in full re-building mode. But you can add him to the list of pitchers who throw in the mid-90's that could close for the A's in 2013 and beyond.