Angels
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availability | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Taylor | 22 | Minors | OF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 10.1 | ||
| Jamie Arnold | 22 | Minors | SP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.8 | 15 | 18.8 | 22.6 | ||
| Zack Gelof | 26 | Majors | 2B | 3.4 | 40.7 | 24.1 | 16.6 | 13.3 | 16.6 | 19.9 |
Total Value:
43.80
Athletics
| Name | Age | Level | P1 | P2 | Availability | Years | AFV | Salary | Surplus | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Soriano | 27 | Majors | SP | 2.4 | 56.2 | 12.7 | 43.6 | 34.9 | 43.6 | 52.3 |
Total Value:
43.6
Well, as another fan who follows them closely, I don't know how they start that process without taking a multivalent approach – trades, free agency, drafting, etc. There's only a single prospect arm going back in this exchange. Sacramento is going to continue churning and delay their contention window if they're overly retentive on every arm in their system, or expect to get mid-rotation arms on the cheap. This season has shown how brittle an offense-only approach is to winning.
Shopping at the high-end isn't the best use of their trade assets. Jared Jones values at 75% of Soriano and has an extra year of control. Sticking with the Pirates, Mitch Keller as a buy-low. What are the Cardinals doing with Pallante (and all their catchers) during the offseason? The Brewers are always willing to cycle arms. Will the Guardians look to move on from Bibee? I think the A's could get 3 arms for the price you're paying to acquire Soriano.
The Pirates are in the thick of the wild card hunt and have no incentive to trade Jones, and Keller is costly and moves no needles in terms of A's competitiveness – roster filler at best. The Brewers are way too smart to deal from the top of their system at peak competitiveness, and their farm is beyond deep, in no need of middling prospects. (They're the ones shopping at the high-end.) I think you're fishing here in ponds that are not eager to feed the A's. Elsewhere, you're trading Wilson to the Sox for Arias, their two best SP prospects and more – which may be the single wildest trade proposal I've seen this cycle – so I think we have differing views on what constitutes too much "trade capital". :) There are probably 5-10 better packages I can come up with for Soriano, but this one seems to fit the A's needs in '27-28, and I think the sim math is rational here, supporting the exchange.
Look at older posts, there are several far more wild than my Wilson pitch. Sometimes you gotta have fun, you know? My counter-suggestions were meant for the offseason; my apologies for not being clearer. I wasn't suggesting the math didn't support your Soriano deal... just that it was too pricey considering the limited trade chips the A's have right now.