Oakland A's Trade Kurt Suzuki to the Nationals
The trade deadline may have come and gone but A's general manager Billy Beane is always looking to make a deal. On Friday, the A's traded catcher Kurt Suzuki to the Nationals for minor leaguer David Freitas. A move involving Suzuki seemed eminent after the A's acquired George Kottaras from the Brewers last week.
One of the few constants for the Oakland A's over the past five years has been Kurt Suzuki behind the dish. Suzuki was called up in 2007 and quickly overtook Jason Kendall as the A's #1 catcher. He put together his best offensive season in 2009 with a .274 batting average, 15 home runs, and 88 RBI. Since that season, Suzuki's offensive numbers have regressed each year, and he is currently hitting
.218 with only 1 homer.
Suzuki's value comes from playing solid defense and managing a pitching staff. This season, Suzuki leads all American League catchers in fielding percentage (.996) and is also tops in the league with a 38.3% caught-stealing percentage.
In return, the A's received Single-A catcher David Freitas from the Nationals. Freitas was hitting .271 with an OBP of .374 for Potomac. He is now listed as the #15 prospect in the A's system, ahead of fellow catcher Max Stassi (#19).
As a fan, it is hard to see a classy, team-first guy like Kurt Suzuki be traded away. His at-bats have been incredibly frustrating to watch this season, but he didn't let it effect his main job of managing the starting pitchers. Due to the constant turnover of players in Oakland, Suzuki has had to work with several new starting pitchers every year, and he has done so masterfully.
From a business point of view, this seems to be a good move for the Oakland A's. Suzuki is one of the higher payed players on the A's and is slated to make $6.45 million in 2013. The A's already have their catcher of the future, Derek Norris, waiting in the wings and George Kottaras is a veteran catcher that can fill the gap until Norris is ready.
Perhaps, with Suzuki's contract off the books, the A's can look to upgrade at some of their weaker positions. The most glaring hole in Oakland is the shortstop position and the extra money may allow the A's to pursue a permanent replacement for Cliff Pennington.
Suzuki should take over as the #1 catcher in Washington and I think I speak for all A's fans when I say, Good Luck Zuk!
Via Yahoo News
