Breaking News! The Blue Jays have acquired Ted Lilly from Oakland for Bobby Kielty. See below for an extended discussion.
The Padres and Athletics swung a medium-sized deal today, with Oakland shipping Terrence Long and Ramon Hernandez to San Diego in return for Mark Kotsay. This seems to be a reasonably good trade for both teams: Kotsay is a superior defender who had an off-year in 2003 caused by a back injury, while Hernandez is one of the best offensive catchers outside the Piazza-Rodriguez-Posada neighbourhood. Long is one of Billy Beane's biggest mistakes, signing an extra outfielder to an expensive multi-year deal, and getting rid of Long alone probably makes the deal worthwhile for him. For the A's, Adam Melhuse can hold down the catcher's position till Jeremy Brown is ready; for the Pads, Long should really be an expensive bench bat and nothing more, which means San Diego still needs a true centerfielder. The Padres took on more total salary, but only through 2005; Kotsay is signed through '06. Close enough to break-even as makes no difference, maybe a small advantage to the A's.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20031118024645999