Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/658783
62 PLAY BALL BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 2BBenZobrist Traded: July28,2015, to Kansas City for pitchers Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks. A ermath: Zobrist played in only 67 games for the A's before being traded.No way were the A's going to keep him when they fell out of contention because he was going to be a free agent. He signed with the Cubs. … Manaea is one of the A's best prospects, ranked No. 2 by MLB and Baseball America. … Brooks was traded to the Cubs last month for OF Chris Coghlan. Lowdown:Wouldn't be a surprise if the A's come out a winner in this swap.Zobrist was the perfect candidate to be traded because of his impending free agency,and the Royals got the perfect rental — Zobrist helped them win a World Series. But Manaea has a serious upside. 1B Brandon Moss Traded: Dec. 8, 2014, to the Indians for minor leaguer 2B Joey Wendle. A ermath:A er back-to-back seasons with at least 25 homers and 81 RBIs for the A's, Moss struggled in 2015,hitting a combined .226 with 19 homers and 58 RBIs for the Indians and St. Louis Cardinals, who picked him up in July for a minor leaguer. … Neither MLB.com nor Baseball America rates Wendle a top A's prospect. Lowdown: It all depends on how A's newcomer Yonder Alonso pans out, but Moss seemed a good fit in Oakland. 3B Josh Donaldson Traded: Nov. 28, 2014, to the Blue Jays for SS Franklin Barreto (minors), INF Brett Lawrie and pitchers Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin. A ermath:M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P! Donaldson indeed had a fantastic 2015 season for the Blue Jays. He led the league in runs scored (122) and RBIs (123), and drilled 41 homers. … Barreto is the A's No. 1 prospect, and Graveman has a shot at the back end of the rotation. But Lawrie and Nolin are already gone. Lowdown:Ever play fantasy baseball? Trades are fun. But what were the A's thinking on this one? SP Jeff Samardzija Traded: Dec. 9, 2014, to the White Sox along with a minor leaguer for SS Marcus Semien, C Josh Phegley, RHP Chris Bassitt and a minor leaguer. A ermath: Samardzija would have fit right in with the A's last year, with his 11-13 record,4.96 ERA and league- leading 29 homers allowed. … Semien had his troubles, too, but his .283 average over the final two months of the season, and only seven errors in his last 63 games,are reasons for hope. … Phegley made a nice platoon with Stephen Vogt at catcher. … Bassitt needs to stay healthy, but his 3.56 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 78 hits allowed in 86 innings means he pitched considerably better than his 1-8 record. Lowdown:Don't count on Samardzija having another bad season now that he's with the Giants. But this trade works out well for the A's if Semien and Bassitt continue to develop, and Phegley has another season like last year. YoenisCespedes,nowwith the Mets, catches a fly ball against Oakland while playing for the Tigers.