I'll take Piscotty over Ozuna

Of course I'd rather have Ozuna in 2018. He's clearly better than Piscotty. But these aren't just players, they're players with contracts. And I'll take the player/contract combo that Piscotty has over that of Ozuna, and the prospect prize wasn't even close.

Our prize, Piscotty, is owed 32 million over the next five years (including the buyout). He's projected to be worth about 1.9 WAR/162. So by my math, that's 9.57 WAR over 5 years, or $3.34M/WAR if he just keeps up that pace. He also has the $14M option for the sixth year (I've already calculated the buyout into the previous numbers). I love this part because the upside for the A's is there for all six years with little downside.

The guy the Cardinals got, Marcell Ozuna, is going to make $10.9M this year, with probably another $17M in 2018. He's projected for 4.1 WAR/162 this year, and I'd figure about the same for next year. so that's 8.2 WAR for $28M, or $3.41M/WAR.

The numbers look like they come out in Ozuna's favor, but he doesn't have the option year that Piscotty does. Plus, the A's aren't probably going to be really good in 2018, but 2019-2022 could be really good, which is why I'd take Piscotty. And we got him for far less than the 4 prospect package that the Cards gave up. I'd say Beane strikes again!