A'S ADD DREW FOR STRETCH RUN
The Oakland Athletics acquired shortstop Stephen Drew from the Arizona Diamondbacks for infielder Sean Jamieson.
What does it give the Oakland Athletics
Oakland is still firmly in the AL Wild Card picture, so bringing in a talented player such as Drew is a solid move--especially with usual shortstop {P Cliff Pennington} posting an awful 2012 campaign at the plate. It won't be surprising if Drew takes over for him right away, every day. Meanwhile A's skipper Bob Melvin was Drew's manager in Arizona and the two have a history of success together, so if Drew can get his offensive mojo back for the A's, it won't be surprising if they re-sign him.
What does it give the Arizona Diamondbacks
Above all the D'backs save money here by moving Drew. He was set to make roughly $2 million for the rest of this season and would cost another $1.35 million to buy out for next season, so Arizona moves on here and saves some cash. Drew has struggled mightily to stay healthy the past two seasons and when on the field hasn't performed up to his usual standards, so getting something here for an underachieving pending free agent makes sense for Arizona. Canadian prospect Jamieson isn't very close to the majors yet but has shown a nice mix of speed and power in low-A ball this season.
Fantasy impact
Drew has proven in the past he can be an above-average early-in-the-order batter (and Melvin knows what he can do from their days in Arizona together) so it won't be surprising if Drew bats in one of Oakland's top three spots soon (and replaces Pennington as the everyday shortstop). This move gives Drew a fantasy boost and clearly erases any fantasy value Pennington had left. As for the D'backs, {P Willie Bloomquist} will be a little more valuable than usual when he gets back from a nagging back injury, while in the shorter term, veteran defensive wiz {P John McDonald} likely fills in at short (if a sore elbow lets him), but also keep an eye on speedy and recently-starting {P Jake Elmore} at that position.
