The Oakland A’s spent most of this offseason trying to add a left-handed reliever. They couldn’t find the deal they wanted in free agency, so instead they got creative with a trade. On Monday, they acquired their man in Ryan Buchter, and in exchange it cost them three things — they sent over pitchers Jesse Hahn and Heath Fillmyer, and they took back most of the contract of Brandon Moss.
Last week, Athletics Nation member “invisibleinkwell” wrote a FanPost about how the A’s should take on a dead-money contract. Even with Oakland’s meager payroll, they had money left to spend but saw few worthwhile targets available.