When the Oakland Athletics posted the highest fee to acquire the negotiating rights with Hisashi Iwukama, we mentioned that there was another shoe out there ready to drop in the form of a trade involving starting pitching. Well, one such shoe has dropped in the form of a trade with the Kansas City Royals.
AOL’s Jeff Fletcher tweeted that the Oakland A’s have dealt starting pitcher Vin Mazzaro and class-A pitcher Justin Marks to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder David DeJesus. In 91 games with the Royals last season, DeJesus hit .318 with 5 home runs, 37 RBIs and 23 doubles. He posted an OPS of .827 thanks in large part to a sizable .384 on base percentage.
While Vin Mazzaro didn’t exactly blow up in his second season with the A’s, he showed considerable improvement and was a very solid fifth option for the team. The addition of Iwukama, as well as some potential arms at the AAA level made Mazzaro expendable. While DeJesus does not bring home run power to the team, his doubles power could prove quite valuable. Home runs are great, but a gap hitter can be just as valuable in the spacious confines of Oakland Coliseum.