Rich Hill, Josh Reddick to Dodgers: Latest Trade Details, Comments and Reaction

The Oakland Athletics have dealt starting pitcher Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to Monday's trade deadline, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal andYahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.Final deal: Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to Dodgers with Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton to A's. Physicals good. Deal is done. Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 1, 2016According toSusanSlusserof theSan Francisco Chronicleon July 10, theKansas City Royalswere "closely" followingReddick, while theSan Francisco Giants,Toronto Blue Jays,Washington Nationalsand Chicago Cubs, along with the Dodgers,were also believed to be keeping an eye on him.The A's smartly played Hill's market to their favor after signing him last November. He looked surprisingly strong at the end of 2015 with the Boston Red Sox, posting a 1.55 ERA with 36 strikeouts and five walks in 29 innings pitched.Because of Hill's limited track record, which included just 20 total Major League Baseball appearances in 2014-15, he didn't find robust offers as a free agent last winter. The rebuilding A's inked him to a one-year, $6 million deal that has turned out to be one of the best bargains of the offseason.Hill did suffer a mild groin strain in May and was later placed on the disabled list after tweaking the injury during a bullpen session. He has also been dealing with a blister since July 17 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday, retroactive to July 20.Rosenthalnoted in May that Oakland could keep him and extend a qualifying offer that would at least net it a compensation draft pick if he signed with another team next winter (via Connor Byrne of MLB Trade Rumors). However, that strategy would seemingly fly in the face of how Athletics general manager Billy Beane operates. He understands the best move for the franchise is to deal players heading into free agency to acquire assets already in professional baseball.ESPN The Magazine'sBuster Olney did note some MLB executives felt the Athletics might try to shoehorn Billy Butler in any deal involving Hill to get out from under the lumbering designated hitter's contract.Teams are always seeking starting pitching help, so Beane needed to keep all of his options open to give Oakland all the financial flexibility it can get.Hill figured to be one of the most sought-after players available at the deadline by virtue of being one of the only valuable assets playing in a walk year. This winter's free-agent class was dreadful to begin with and only got worse when Stephen Strasburg signed his extension with the Washington Nationals this spring.PerSteve AdamsandTim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, the list of starting pitchers who will become free agents after 2016 includes Hill, Clay Buchholz, Bartolo Colon, Scott Kazmir and Andrew Cashner.Since teams don't figure to be moving a lot of starters under team control this summer, Hill's production and salary immediately made him one of the best players available. He has been able to stay healthy since the end of 2015, which is an encouraging sign.At 36, Hill is at an age in which he's more susceptible to injuries than a typical pitcher, to say nothing of his long track record of ailments, but starters with his kind of swing-and-miss stuff are hard to come by.
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