After weeks of speculation, Wednesday afternoon the Washington Nationals acquired a much coveted left-handed reliever in Oakland pitcher Jerry Blevins in exchange for Double-A outfielder Billy Burns. General manager Mike Rizzo clearly prioritized acquiring an accomplished, left-handed reliever this winter to bolster his heavily right-handed bullpen, but in order to acquire Blevins, the Nationals were forced to part with their minor league Organizational Player of the Year in Burns.
Jerry Blevins, 30-years-old, spent last season pitching for Oakland with a 5-0 record with a 3.15 ERA, a 1.067 WHIP, 52 strikeouts against 17 walks in 60 innings pitcher. Blevins has spent his entire 7-year career with the Athletics and has a 3.30 ERA, 1.213 WHIP, and 239 strikeouts in 267 innings pitched. In particular, Blevins has shown success against left-handed hitters, holding them to a career .224/.278/.358 batting line, although he is more than a lefty specialist, as his career .240/.326/.385 numbers against righties indicates. Blevins features a four-pitch arsenal consisting of a sinker, a cutter, a curveball and a changeup, though he primarily throws his sinker and cut-fastball. Under salary control for two more seasons before reaching free agency in 2016, Blevins is expected to make approximately $1.5 million in 2014.
Billy Burns, 24-years-old, spent 2013 in High-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg, playing primarily left field, along with some center field, and hit .315/.425/.383 across both levels. A switch-hitter with outstanding speed, Burns is an intriguing offensive player due to his career .421 on-base percentage and 125 steals in 142 attempts. However, due to his lack of power and fringy throwing arm, scouts are skeptical if Burns is an everyday player and often label him a reserve outfielder. That said, with strong on-base skills and dynamic speed, Burns has a good chance of reaching the major leagues and could carve out a career as a valuable reserve. Having only 134 at-bats above A-ball, Burns should start 2014 at the Double-A level for the Athletics.
This trade, the seventh in the past two years by these two teams, adds additional depth to the Nationals bullpen, and gives Washington a quality lefty to combat the many talented left-handed hitters in the NL East. Unfortunately losing Burns further depletes an organizational weakness, specifically the lack of outfielders possessing both the aptitude to get on-base and hit left-handed. Furthermore, as evidenced by the recent multiyear contracts for reserve outfielders such as Rajai Davis and Nate McLouth, quality backups are valuable commodities in this market.
My main critique with this trade revolves around the fact that so many left-handed relievers remain available in free agency, that the choice to pay a similar pitcher without hurting the farm system would seem a more prudent decision. Nevertheless Blevins immediately makes the Nationals bullpen better and gives them a dimension they sorely lacked in 2013, a weapon against lefties who also can retire right-handed batters. While the economist in me would prefer to attempt to take advantage of the saturated left-handed reliever market and wait to sign a remaining free agent in a few weeks, the Nationals did well to resolve their largest current weakness without parting with a significant piece of the future. In a vacuum, the Nationals made a solid trade to fill a pressing void on the big league roster.
NatsGM Overall Grade -> B-