AA may be the first person to leave a GM position willingly to go take a lower position elsewhere.
Maybe he followed the money.
Completely emptied our farm system, and followed the money afterwards.
But damnit, at least he had the balls to make the big moves that needed to be done. Maybe it was because he knew he was leaving.
Or he figured that he had nothing to lose, that his job might be in jeopardy if the Jays didn't make tangible gains in their on-field results. It's easy to "have balls" if you figure that you you're in a no-lose situation (the moves work and the team succeeds and you look like a genius. Or the moves fail, you get canned, and the next guy has to be the one to deal with the fallout of dealing away so many significant prospects for high-priced veterans or rentals)
Good job Atkins diet.... you acquired a pitcher that was designated for assignment from the A's out of all people. The place that makes garbage pitchers into something!!!
Way to go....what a GM. LMAO
These sorts of moves happen all the time. In the last few weeks half the league has claimed players on waivers. Pittsburgh, the Dodgers, also traded futures/cash for a DFA'd player. Cleveland traded futures for a non-DFA'd player too. Hell, the Cubs' waiver claim last week was a guy that Baltimore had claimed not 2 weeks prior (from the Cubs, no less).
A move like this speaks nothing of the A's turning nothing into something, nor does it mean anything in the grand scheme of things for the Blue Jays. Moves like this happen on an almost daily basis around the league, you just never notice because they don't involve the Blue Jays. Or you might not notice even when they
do involve the Blue Jays. Last year alone the Jays sent Matt West to the Dodgers, Jayson Acquino to the Pirates, Ronald Torreyes to the Dodgers, and Andy Wilkins to the Dodgers all for futures/cash. Where was all the love for the Jays turning "garbage into something"?
Not every deal a team makes is going to be a big one. And just because a team makes small moves like this doesn't preclude anything else. These are just the sort of depth/housekeeping moves that happen and wouldn't have been noticed before twitter breaking news every time someone in an MLB org sneezes became a thing. And even still they're the kind of thing you never notice if you're not plugged deeply into a team.
In 2015 alone the Royals made 3 deals for futures/cash, dumping Joe Blanton and Francisco Pena and acquiring Johnny Gomes. I guess they weren't trying to win either given that they were wasting time making nickel & dime moves like that? The Mets made a pair of moves like that too (Eric Young for cash, Eric O'Flaherty
and cash for a PTBNL).
