Oakland A’s receive disappointing return for Sean Manaea
By David Hill
Everyone knew a trade was coming. It was just a matter of time before Sean Manaea was sent packing as the Oakland A’s continued to tear down their roster. The A’s had even admitted that their focus was on finding the right package for Manaea, with the expectation being that the sooner a trade happens, the better.
That trade finally occurred on Sunday morning. Manaea and minor league reliever Aaron Holiday will be heading to the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor leaguers Euribiel Angeles and Adrian Martinez.
Sean Manaea brings back somewhat disappointing return
It is a relatively disappointing return for Manaea. He had established himself as a solid middle of the rotation arm, something that continued in 2021 as he posted a 3.92 ERA and a 1.227 WHiP over his 179.1 innings, striking out 194 batters with 41 walks. His presence will make an already strong Padres’ rotation that much better.
Meanwhile, the Padres did not give up anyone that would be considered a top prospect. Angeles had been considered the Padres’ 12th best prospect by MLB.com at the time of the trade, an intriguing utility infielder type with a strong ability to make contact and above average speed. He posted a .330/.392/.445 batting line in his 491 plate appearances between Low-A and High-A, hitting 26 doubles and stealing 19 bases.
Martinez is already 25 years old and had just reached Triple-A for the first time in 2021. His fastball sits in the mid 90s and has solid movement, but his best offering is a plus changeup with impressive sink. He also has a slider, although the pitch still needs a great deal of development in order to be a workable third option. At this point, he projects as either a bullpen arm or a back of the rotation starter.
Expectations were that Manaea would bring back an impact prospect that the A’s could point to as one of the jewels of their rebuild. The Padres certainly have plenty of pieces that would count as the type of top prospect one would have expected the A’s to receive for Manaea’s services. Instead, they received someone who is essentially a non-prospect and an intriguing, yet flawed, utility prospect.
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The Oakland A’s have sent Sean Manaea to the San Diego Padres. While the trade was expected, the return has to be considered disappointing.