Oakland Athletics Acquire RHP Trey Cochran-Gill From Seattle Mariners

Even though the Oakland Athletics are looking to rebuild their bullpen this offseason, it seems as though they have lost an MLB relief pitcher before gaining a new one. After much speculation throughout the day, the A’s and Seattle Mariners have made a trade. As first reported by Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, the Mariners have acquired reliever Evan Scribner and given the A’s Trey Cochran-Gill – a minor league right handed pitcher.

The Oakland Athletics had just tendered Scribner’s contract before the Winter Meetings began. Even though he had a rough second half of the year, he showed promise during the first few month of the season when he assumed the setup man role. Scribner is out of options and needs to make the 25-man roster in 2016 or else he will be placed on waivers. However, the upside is that he is still under club control until 2019 and could become a staple in the Mariner’s pen if he performs well.

In return for Scribner, the A’s acquired Cochran-Gill. Cochran-Gill is a relief pitcher who has quickly made his way through the minor league levels since being drafted in 2014. Even though he was drafted in the 17th round, he has made himself known since joining the MiLB and rose high all the way to Triple-A by the end of the 2015 season. Before being traded, he was ranked as Seattle’s No. 17 prospect.

Cochran-Gill has two above-average pitches – his fastball and his slider. His fastball can get up to 94 MPH and his slider fools many batters into swinging. While in Double-A this year, he allowed no homers and struck out 30 in 53 innings pitched. Despite having some solid pitching skills, it is expected that he will be just a middle reliever once he is called up to the big leagues. If he continues to climb the farm system ladder quickly, the A’s could see him in their bullpen sometime during the 2016 season.

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For the Athletics to get a prospect like Cochran-Gill for Scribner, who gave up the the most home runs this season out of any Major League reliever, it seems like a pretty good deal for the A’s right now. Additionally, by adding Cochran-Gill, it shows that Oakland is not only rebuilding its bullpen for 2016, but also stocking up for the future with younger relief arms. Cochran-Gill will be one to watch this upcoming season as he continues his journey to the big leagues.