Billy Beane didn’t have any time on Black Friday to shop or eat leftovers. The Oakland Athletics general manager feverishly worked the phones until he pulled off one of the biggest surprises in the MLB offseason so far.
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that the A’s dealt Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and prospects:
Oakland later confirmed the deal:
One of the more intriguing pieces of the deal is 18-year-old shortstop Franklin Barreto. MLB.com listed Barreto as the eighth-best prospect in the Blue Jays’ organization in its 2014 rankings, while Baseball Prospectus ranked him seventh. Baseball America placed Barreto fifth ahead of the 2015 season.
While Barreto’s somewhat highly regarded, he’s unlikely to play a role in the majors for some time. ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick spoke to a scout who said that Barreto flashes potential but remains “a ways away”:
Barreto spent 2014 with the Blue Jays’ short-season Single-A affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians. In 328 plate appearances, he had a slash line of .311/.384/.481 with six home runs and 61 runs batted in. The teenager also stole 29 bases.
In August, BP’s Jeff Moore (Baseball Prospectus subscription required) praised Barreto’s offense but questioned whether he projects as a shortstop in the long term.
“Barreto has flashy tools, especially at the plate, and decent power, especially for a guy who’s 5-foot-9,” Moore wrote. “He may not stick at shortstop, but there’s no reason he can’t stay somewhere in the middle of the field. Regardless of where he ends up, he should hit.”
That echoed the brief summary about Barreto on MLB.com. His defense was also called into question, but he still possesses a “compact swing and quick hands allow him to barrel up balls well.” Barreto had an overall grade of 50, which would be in line with an average, possibly slightly above-average major league player.
Baseball America‘s Ben Badler also complimented Barreto’s offensive acumen and added that he’s long been considered a talented prospect:
Since he’s only 18, Barreto has a lot of time to iron out his flaws and maybe prove that he can be a shortstop.
The earliest he’ll see the majors is almost certainly 2017. Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported that Barreto will spend 2015 in a full-season league, so this next year will be big for his development:
Lawrie is the name that catches the attention of most fans from this trade, but FanGraphs’ Dave Cameron argued that Barreto ultimately prove to be one of the determinants for the deal’s success for the A’s:
Beane’s never been a GM who’s scared to take a massive gamble occasionally, as evidenced by the Jon Lester-Yoenis Cespedes deal as Oakland pushed for an American League title.
By getting rid of a star player like Donaldson, Oakland looks to be entering some form of a rebuild.
As Cameron pointed out, that means the minor league stars like Barreto will need to live up to the hype in order for the A’s to seriously contend for the pennant again.
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