The Oakland A’s have acquired 27-year old righty swinging 1B/3B/OF Jake Fox, 33-year old 2B/SS/3B Aaron Miles and $1 million bucks for 28-year old righty reliever Jeff Gray, 21-year old righty starter Ronny Morla and 23-year old lefty swinging OF Matt Spencer. This deal is all about Fox who will likely be a starting player for the A’s whether it’s at 3B, 1B or DH. Fox played in 82 games for the Cubs last season and he was 56 for 216 (.259 avg, .779 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 11 homers and 44 RBIs. Fox has now played in 89 games in his two years in the majors and he is 58 for 230 (.252 avg, .761 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 11 homers and 45 RBIs. The A’s are banking on Fox being a legit power hitter and he certainly has that upside. Aaron Miles had the worst season of his major league career in 2009 for the Cubs. He played in 74 games for the Cubs last season and he was 29 for 157 (.185 avg, .466 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The A’s are banking on 2009 just being a bad season from which Miles can rebound. He has played in 717 games in his 7-year major league career and he is 629 for 2,234 (.282 avg, .678 OPS) with 284 runs scored, 16 homers, 175 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. Look for Miles to surprise some people and get back to his better days in 2010 with the A’s.

28-year old righty reliever Jeff Gray was the centerpiece of this deal for the Cubs. He pitched in 24 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-1 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. In his two years with the A’s, Gray pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in which he was 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. The A’s love his arm but they had more than enough depth to deal him from in the pen. Ronny Morla pitched in 17 games (12 starts) in Rookie-ball last season and he was 1-7 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Matt Spencer played in 123 games in A+AA ball last season and he was 141 for 488 (.289 avg, .833 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 19 homers, 91 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Spencer has a better upside than Morla does but the A’s didn’t really think that highly of either of them. This was a likely a good trade for both teams as Fox should be able to help the A’s and Gray will help the Cubs.