Oakland Athletics Wiretap

Rockies Send Prospect To A's For Ellis

The Rockies bolstered their infield by acquiring veteran second baseman Mark Ellis from the Athletics on Thursday.

The Rockies sent minor league right-hander Bruce Billings and a player to be named to Oakland for the 34-year-old Ellis and cash.

Via AP

Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Official Trade

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RealGM's MLB Team Rankings Through 6/23/11

The Opsera is a statistic RealGM's Chris Reina created in order to objectively rank teams by how well they hit (OPS) and pitch (ERA).

In order to determine a team's Opsera, we take their OPS, multiply that number by 10 to move the decimal point over one place to the right and then subtract the team's ERA from that number.

Below are the final rankings through Wednesday, June 22nd’s games: Last week’s ranking is in parenthesizes

1. (1) New York Yankees – 4.31

The Yankees have lost eight of nine to the Red Sox this season, but they were briefly in first place (by percentage points) on Wednesday afternoon following Boston’s loss and prior to their loss in Cincinnati.

T2. (2) Philadelphia Phillies – 4.03

The Phillies are still in the middle of the pack in most offensive categories, but they have the third-best run differential in baseball. Thank you, pitching.

-- (3) Boston Red Sox – 4.03

Boston is 8-1 against New York, but just 36-29 against the rest of baseball. Can they schedule the Yankees more often in 2012?

4. (4) Atlanta Braves – 3.90

5. (8) Texas Rangers – 3.59

The Rangers have lost six of their last 10 games. It’s a good thing that the Mariners, Angels and Athletics haven’t been consistent this season.

T6. (6) St. Louis Cardinals – 3.51

-- (7) Arizona Diamondbacks – 3.51

How much of a shock would it be if the Diamondbacks edged the Giants and Rockies in the National League West?

8. (5) Milwaukee Brewers – 3.50

The Brewers need Shaun Marcum’s hip to be a non-issue and it’s just not cooperating.

9. (9) Los Angeles Angels – 3.46

10. (13) Tampa Bay Rays – 3.37

11. (T10) Colorado Rockies – 3.36

T12. (T10) San Francisco Giants – 3.30 -- (12) Detroit Tigers – 3.30

14. (19) Oakland Athletics – 3.29

T15. (T15) Washington Nationals – 3.25

-- (22) Cleveland Indians – 3.25

17. (14) Cincinnati Reds – 3.24

Chris Heisley hit three home runs against the Yankees on Wednesday night. He entered the game with 11 homers in his previous 161 major league games.

18. (18) Chicago White Sox – 3.19

19. (T15) Toronto Blue Jays – 3.13

20. (20) New York Mets – 3.11

Am I the only one that doesn’t buy the belief that the Mets can contend for the Wild Card? They entered Thursday’s action six games back of the Braves with a number of better teams in-between.

21. (24) Seattle Mariners – 3.10

22. (T15) Pittsburgh Pirates – 3.07

23. (21) San Diego Padres – 3.03

24. (23) Florida Marlins – 2.99

It’s almost July and Hanley Ramirez is still playing like a below-average shortstop. It’s just about to the point that it’s no longer just a slump.

25. (25) Baltimore Orioles – 2.88

26. (26) Los Angeles Dodgers – 2.84

What could Mark Cuban do for this franchise? At the very least he’d be able to pay the bills without help.

27. (27) Kansas City Royals – 2.62

28. (29) Houston Astros – 2.45

29. (30) Minnesota Twins – 2.44

A recent tear has the Twins out of the last spot in our rankings for the first time this season. Next week? Jumping ahead of the Astros is a very real possibility.

30. (28) Chicago Cubs – 2.38

Via Andrew Perna/RealGM.com

Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Misc Rumor, Team Achievement

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Could Mark Ellis Become A Giant?

Mark Ellis is now serving as a backup infielder for the Athletics and the belief around baseball is that he could soon land with the Giants.

Ellis, one of the best defensive second baseman in the league, has been usurped by rookie Jemile Weeks in Oakland.

"I think there's a very good chance," one industry insider said Wednesday of Ellis landing in San Francisco.

Via San Francisco Chronicle

Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Trade Rumor

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A's Anderson To Rehab Elbow For 6 Weeks

A's left-hander Brett Anderson will undergo six weeks of rehabilitation on his injured pitching elbow, according to an ESPN.com report.

Anderson met with noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Monday in Florida. Andrews recommended that Anderson receive a platelet rich plasma injection in his elbow and start rehabilitation instead of having surgery.

Via ESPN.com

Oakland Athletics

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RealGM's MLB Team Rankings Through 6/10/2011

By Andrew Perna

The Opsera is a statistic RealGM's Chris Reina created in order to objectively rank teams by how well they hit (OPS) and pitch (ERA).

In order to determine a team's Opsera, we take their OPS, multiply that number by 10 to move the decimal point over one place to the right and then subtract the team's ERA from that number.

Below are the final rankings through Thursday, June 9th's games: Last week's ranking is in parenthesizes

1. (2) St. Louis Cardinals - 4.08

The Cardinals won five of six to surpass the Yankees and retake the top spot in our rankings. They outscored opponents by a score of 31-17 with their lone loss coming against the Astros.

2. (1) New York Yankees - 4.06

Yet another three-game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium dropped New York from first. Upcoming series against the Indians and Rangers are rather vital to the Bombers.

3. (4) Texas Rangers - 3.93

4. (3) Atlanta Braves - 3.90

5. (5) Philadelphia Phillies - 3.70

6. (6) Milwaukee Brewers - 3.68

7. (T11) Boston Red Sox - 3.66

Winners of six-straight, including those three against the rival Yankees, have the Red Sox higher than ever in our rankings. The poor start they endured officially seems like ancient news.

8. (9) Toronto Blue Jays - 3.59

9. (7) Los Angeles Angels - 3.58

10. (13) Arizona Diamondbacks - 3.51

11. (15) San Francisco Giants - 3.48

12. (8) Cleveland Indians - 3.42

Losers of six of seven, the Indians are playing like the team we thought they'd be heading into the 2011 season. They can stick their foot back in the American League door if they can defeat the Yankees in New York this weekend.

T13. (T11) Florida Marlins - 3.34

-- (14) Tampa Bay Rays - 3.34

15. (16) Colorado Rockies - 3.28

16. (17) Pittsburgh Pirates - 3.24

17. (23) Detroit Tigers - 3.20

The Tigers are surging thanks in large part of the bat of Miguel Cabrera. The first baseman is hitting .317/.435/.573 with 13 home runs and 45 RBI. The slugger is hitting .355/.459/.677 with three home runs and eight RBI this month.

T18. (10) Oakland Athletics - 3.18

Injuries to the starting rotation have lowered Oakland's pitching numbers. The once elite ERA (3.33) has dropped to fifth and opposing pitchers are hitting .251, which ranks 16th. That's not hard to believe with Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy, Tyson Ross and Dallas Braden hurting.

-- (T20) Chicago White Sox - 3.18

20. (22) San Diego Padres - 3.14

21. (19) Cincinnati Reds - 3.10

22. (18) Seattle Mariners - 2.98

23. (T20) Washington Nationals - 2.93

24. (25) New York Mets - 2.92

25. (24) Los Angeles Dodgers - 2.85

26. (27) Baltimore Orioles - 2.71

27. (26) Kansas City Royals - 2.48

The Royals have recalled their top-two hitting prospects in Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, but their issue has been pitching. They rank next-to-last in ERA, quality starts and WHIP and last in batting average against.

28. (28) Chicago Cubs - 2.42

29. (29) Houston Astros - 2.41

30. (30) Minnesota Twins - 2.06

Via Andrew Perna/RealGM.com

Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Misc Rumor, Team Achievement

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