Oakland Athletics Still Dealing, Acquire OF Craig Gentry, P Josh Lindblom From Texas Rangers
By Phil Watson
Sep 3, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder Craig Gentry (23) rounds third to score on a double by shortstop Jurickson Profar (not pictured) against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland Athletics continued to shuffle their decks this week, trading a pair of prospects to the Texas Rangers in exchange for outfielder Craig Gentry and right-hander Josh Lindblom.
Yahoo Sports reported the trade this morning. Outfielder Michael Choice and second baseman Chris Bostick are headed to Texas.
The 30-year-old Gentry brings speed and outfielder versatility to Oakland. He is primarily a center fielder, but made 20 starts in left field for Texas last year, as well.
As Texas’ fourth outfielder, Gentry hit .280/.373/.386 in 106 games and 287 plate appearances, with 12 doubles, four triples, two homers, 39 runs, 22 RBI and 24 steals last year.
He is a lifetime .280/.355/.366 hitter in 763 plate appearances. He was a 10th round pick by Texas in 2006 out of the University of Arkansas and made his big-league debut in September 2009. He is arbitration eligible this year.
Lindblom, 26, broke into the bigs as a reliever, but made five starts for Texas last year and according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, via Twitter, the plan in Oakland is for him to continue as a starter:
Oakland plans on keeping Josh Lindblom as a starter. For those speculating, they are not turning Jim Johnson into a SP. He will be closer.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 3, 2013
Last season, he was 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA and 1.468 WHIP in eight appearances, five of them starts, covering 31.1 innings. He had 21 strikeouts. He also made 18 starts and two relief appearances at Triple-A Round Rock, where he was 8-4 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.083 WHIP in 108 innings with 79 strikeouts.
He split 2012 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, making 74 relief appearances with a 3.55 ERA and 1.352 WHIP in 71 innings with 70 strikeouts, but he did allow 13 homers. He was dealt to Philadelphia in the deal that sent Shane Victorino to the Dodgers and then went to Texas as part of the trade that brought Michael Young to the Phillies.
He was the Dodgers’ second-round pick out of Purdue University in 2008 and debuted in the majors in June 2011.
Choice, 24, was Oakland’s first-round pick, 10th overall, in 2010 out of the University of Texas at Arlington. He made his big-league debut last September and was 5-for-18 with a double in nine games. At Triple-A Sacramento, Choice hit .302/.390/.445 in 132 games and 600 plate appearances with 29 doubles, 14 homers, 90 runs and 89 RBI. He first splashed on the scene with a 30-homer season at High-A Stockton in 2011, but has hit 24 homers the last two years combined.
Bostick, 20, was taken by the A’s in the 44th round out of Aquinas Institute in Rochester, N.Y., in 2011. He played last season at Class-A Beloit, where he hit .282/.354/.452 in 129 games and 555 plate appearances with 25 doubles, eight triples, 14 homers, 89 RBI, 75 runs and 25 stolen bases. He also had 122 strikeouts and made 22 errors in 596 chances at second base.
Some might be frustrated by the choice to include Choice in the deal, but Gentry will give the A’s a lot of flexibility with speed and outfield defense, while being much less expensive than Chris Young—with more production. Double bonus there.