The Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros made a deal on Thanksgiving Eve. It wasn’t the biggest trade this offseason. No, this was no Aldrelton Simmons trade that leaves you speechless and not feeling alright, as if you had just inhaled your third helping of turkey and are now staring down an entirely too large piece of pumpkin pie.  On the other hand, for the most part, the season’s stoves are still being stoked and this trade is about as Athletics-y and Astros-y as it gets, so let’s break it down. 

Since coming up with the Red Sox in 2008, Lowrie has proven himself to be a solid starter. He switch hits, plays respectable defense, and slots in at second, short or third (and very occasionally, even first). After the 2011 season, Boston traded him to Houston, who traded him to Oakland after just one season. He had a couple very nice seasons in Oakland, posting a slash line of .271/.334/.405 and helping them make the playoffs over the two years before he hit free agency.

Before the 2015 season, Lowrie signed a three-year, $23 million deal with Houston and announced that he was happy to be back, hitting .300/.432./467 in his first month before missing three after a torn ligament in his thumb. Now, it’s possible that you’ve heard about a young man who was called up while Lowrie was on the DL, a certain Carlos Correa who just won the AL Rookie of the Year award. Needless to say, Lowrie was going to have to play somewhere other than short for the Astros, and with another young man you may have heard of at second, in Jose Altuve, Houston lost some of the value that Lowrie provides to his team in terms of positional flexibility once Correa broke through earlier than some were expecting. Another thing that bears pointing out is that, in trading Lowrie, Houston also opened up a spot on its previously full 40-man roster, which was full after protecting players from the Rule 5 draft and you can pretty much assume that they aren’t done wheeling and dealing.   

In exchange for bringing shortstop Jed Lowrie back into the fold, Oakland gave up relief pitching prospect Brendan McCurry. McCurry was drafted in the 22nd round by Oakland in 2014 and advanced from A to AA ball in 2015, where he struck out almost 12 per 9 on the year. While he likely projects as a middle reliever, he misses bats and the Astros are trying to sort out the bullpen situation we heard so much about during the NLDS against the Royals. 

The A’s, in Lowrie, get MLB-ready talent they can insert pretty much anywhere in the infield. With Marcus Semien, Brett Lawrie, Danny Valencia and Eric Sogard still in the fold, and Billy Beane still the man pulling the strings behind the scenes at the emerald coliseum, it would be somewhat presumptive to say the A’s infield will look like this come opening day in 2016. 

Grade for Astros: B- 

Lowrie has two years and $14 million remaining on his deal with the Astros, along with a club option in 2018 for $6 million with a $1 million buyout, so it’s not as if it was going to break the bank for Houston to hang on to him.  That being said, he spent a bunch of time on the DL last year and, when he came back, he’d been displaced by a potential franchise cornerstone. The Astros had a player they didn’t absolutely need anymore, and they’re hoping that the player they got in return can help smooth out some of the issues they’re having in their bullpen.   

One thing to note, and here seems to be as good a place as any, is that Lowrie is apparently unhappy with being traded back to Oakland after only a year and has said so publicly. Now, getting flipped from a team that took the ALDS to five games against the eventual World Series winner to a team that finished last in its division will probably make many a man a might unhappy, but the Astros may need to be a tad careful with how quickly they trade players they sign to free agent deals. The team already has a reputation for being a soulless succubus that devours players and spits out WAR, and they could feasibly hurt their future chances of signing free agents if it’s a trend that continues. Then again, free agents like to go to winning teams, so if they keep doing that, they will probably be just fine.  

Grade for Athletics: A 

All of what’s already been discussed about Lowrie’s contract and abilities applies here.  It’s a nice contract for a major league quality player and the deal didn’t really cost the A’s that much. Most teams would jump at the chance to trade a AA relief pitching prospect for a switch hitting, multiple position fielding major leaguer on a reasonable AAV, and jump the A’s did. They saw raw value on the table and snatched it up and put it in their pocket.   

This is the A’s we’re talking about and they already, like the Astros, have a glut of infielders in their pockets, and we would be foolish to expect that this is not the last we shall hear from Billy Beane this offseason. While we can hold out hope for Lawrie to Lowrie double play calls, we would probably be foolish to do so.