On Saturday the Oakland Athletics acquired second baseman Ben Zobrist and shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Tampa Bay Rays. On Wednesday they already sent Escobar packing and he's headed back to the East Coast.
The A's traded Escobar to the Washington Nationals in exchange for right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Shortly after Heyman reported the deal, MLB.com's Bill Ladson confirmed it. Before Oakland acquired Zobrist and Escobar from the Rays, the Nats were in discussions with Tampa Bay about a three-team trade that would have sent the two middle infielders to Washington, but the New York Mets' unwillingness to give up two prospects to the Rays made the deal fall through.
Washington has some issues with their middle infield and don't particularly have a definitive option at second base, while shortstop Ian Desmond is entering the final year of his contract and declined a lucrative extension last offseason. It's been said the two sides have yet to enter serious negotiations this offseason, leading many to believe Desmond will be gone after 2015 or even as early as the July 31 trade deadline, since they've already tried to deal him twice. As of right now, it looks like Desmond will remain at short and Escobar will take over at second base, but nothing is set in stone at this point.
The 32-year-old Escobar is under contract for the next two seasons and has a team option for 2017. He batted .258/.324/.340 with 33 runs scored, seven home runs and 39 RBIs in 137 games with the Rays in 2014. With his defense becoming a question mark at the shortstop position (.989 fielding percentage in 2013 to .965 in 2014), he could be a better option at second base.
On the other hand, the A's received a setup man in Clippard. The 29-year-old is in his third year of arbitration eligibility and should get a raise up from his $5.875 million salary in 2014 after posting a 7-4 record with a 2.18 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 70 1/3 innings. He also had a great campaign in 2013, compiling a 6-3 record with a 2.41 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 71 innings. He'll now join a bullpen that consists of Sean Doolittle, Eric O'Flaherty, Ryan Cook and others.
With Escobar out of the picture for Oakland, it looks like they're still going to have a lot of flexibility in their infield. Zobrist can play second base or shortstop; Brett Lawrie can play second base or third base; and Marcus Semien can play second, short or third. Right now on the team's depth chart they have Zobrist at second, Semien at short and Lawrie at third.
The trade was beneficial for both sides, which has seemingly been the extent of the relationship between the A's and Nats. Here's their full trade history provided by Baseball Reference.
