Oakland A's Acquire Pitcher Burch Smith in Rare Trade With Giants
The San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's are not exactly cordial in trade talks out in the Bay Area -- but that changed as of mid-day Saturday
We have ourselves a minor deal in place that will send right-handed Giants reliever Burch Smith across the Bay to the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations.
A’s and Giants make trade, A’s get Burch Smith RHP. Finally a trade between the two!
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) February 15, 2020
This is a rare kind of move, as the NorCal neighbors have not had a trade between them involving an actual player in nearly three decades.
Seriously, look it up.
Is the Bay rivalry officially over? Probably not, but this move could open up more communication between the two organizations.
Burch Smith. That’s your answer to the question of who was the first player acquired in a trade between the A’s and Giants since Ernie Riles for Darren Lewis in 1990.
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) February 15, 2020
Smith split the 2019 season between the Milwaukee and San Francisco. He only made 17 total appearances, all in relief, and finished with an unimpressive 5.48 ERA.
Smith gets a fresh start in Alameda County, but in the bigger picture, seeing the Giants and A's opening up lines of communication for the first time in a long time is an encouraging development for baseball.