A couple days ago, I stumbled on what seemed, at first glance, to be a bizarre story.
On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Brewers traded former Valley Leaguer Brad Mills (Harrisonburg 2005) to the Oakland A’s for…. one dollar.
The A’s subsequently announced that they were going to call Brad up to join their major league rotation, since Drew Pomeranz punched a chair and broke his hand. Brad started last night against the Red Sox, throwing four innings and allowing 4 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He did not factor in the decision, but the A’s won the game.
This idea of a player with value being traded for as little as a dollar is not new- the Phillies traded Wes Helms to the Marlins a few years ago for the same amount- but it does seem odd, doesn’t it? Brad was tearing it up at Triple-A Nashville for Milwaukee: he was 4-2, 1.56, with only 51 hits and 18 walks in 75 innings, along with 77 strikeouts.
I guess those numbers equal a buck.
The silver lining is that I think Brad is probably very, very happy to be back in the major leagues, no matter what he may have brought on the trade market. Hopefully he gets a few more starts to prove his worth!
