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A’s acquire Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison from Nationals

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MLB: AUG 04 Mets at Nationals
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A’s send 3 prospects to Nats

The Oakland A’s got one more deal in before the MLB trade deadline today.

The A’s made a trade with the Washington Nationals on Friday, with Oakland acquiring catcher Yan Gomes and utilityman Josh Harrison plus cash. In exchange, the A’s sent three prospects to the Nats. The deal has been officially announced by the A’s, but it was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN and Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News.

The three prospects going to Washington are catcher Drew Millas and pitchers Seth Shuman and Richard Guasch, all of whom were playing for High-A Lansing. The A’s will also have to make corresponding moves on the 40-man roster and active 26-man roster to clear spots for their new additions, but those moves haven’t been announced yet.

Oakland gains two veteran role players who are both having strong 2021 seasons and both have All-Star berths on their past resumes. Both of them turned 34 years old this month, and they’re both two-month rentals whose contracts will expire at the end of the season.

In Gomes, the A’s get an upgrade for their backup catcher spot. He was an All-Star in 2018 for Cleveland, then won a World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019, and continued hitting well for Washington the last two years.

  • Gomes, 2021: .271/.323/.454, 105 wRC+, 9 HR, 5.5% BB, 20.0% Ks, .348 wxOBA

The MLB average for catchers is a 90 wRC+, and Oakland has only gotten a 57 wRC+ from backup Aramis Garcia. According to Statcast, Gomes’ .348 xwOBA is higher than everybody on the A’s except Olson, Lowrie, and Canha.

On the other side of the ball, Gomes has a reputation as a plus defender, with positive DRS metrics for his entire career including this summer, and a high rate of throwing out base stealers. Statcast gives him poor marks for pitch framing the last couple years, but he’s also shown aptitude for that skill in the past.

Gomes spent a couple weeks on the injured list earlier this month due to a strained oblique, but he returned to action on Thursday and appeared in both halves of a doubleheader — he started the first game and hit the go-ahead homer to win it for the Nats, and then he pinch-hit in the nightcap. Before that injury, his last trip to the IL came a half-decade ago, in 2016 for a shoulder.

Meanwhile, Harrison made his name in a long career with the Pirates, including All-Star bids in 2014 and 2017. He slumped for a couple years after that but bounced back with the Nationals the last two seasons, returning to his past form with an above-average bat, on-base skills, and the ability to play basically anywhere on the field defensively. This summer he’s suited up at five different positions, and since 2020 it’s seven positions total, everywhere except pitcher and catcher.

  • Harrison: .294/.366/.434, 117 wRC+, 6 HR, 7.0% BB, 13.9% Ks, .339 wxOBA

He’s capable of maintaining a decently high batting average, partly because he makes a ton of contact and rarely strikes out, and in Washington he’s increased his walk rate the last two years. He doesn’t bring much power but can pop one out now and then, and he’s not a burner in terms of speed but he can steal a base — five this year, in seven tries. Earlier in his career he posted double-digits in both categories.

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