Marcus McBeth is one of the players named later in the trade with Cincinnati for the injured Chris Denorfia. McBeth is a converted outfielder with a rocket arm, who has shot up through the system quickly since his conversion to the mound. He reportedly has a killer changeup to go with his hard heat. So Billy Beane is now trading young players with upside for injured minor leaguers who are about to start the decline phase of their careers? Even straight up, I don't get this one. And there's still one more player to be named.

If I have to make up an explanation, it would go like this:

• The A's are organizationally thin in center field. Bradley and Kotsay are injury-prone. Bradley will be a free agent next year, Kotsay the year after that. The A's first attempt to fill this hole, Charles Thomas, was a big flop. The A's best CF prospects, Javier Herrera and Jermaine Mitchell, are currently still in single-A.
   
• The A's are not confident about re-signing Bradley, nor about Kotsay's ability to return from his back surgery.
   
• Denorfia has some awesome numbers in the A's super-duper-secret defensive measuring system.
   
• The A's have depth with minor league relievers, so they could spare one.

That's reasonable, I suppose, but I still don't like it.