Hot Stove Update: Trader Billy

A's trade Aaron Miles and a PTBNL to Cincinnati for Willy Tavaras and Adam Rosales.

Once upon a time there was a TV show called Twin Peaks. It was a murder mystery set in the Pacific Northwest with beautiful scenery and a large cast of interesting, quirky characters. My wife and I watched the first show and were hooked. It was the most interesting thing on TV at the time, by a pretty good margin. In subsequent shows, the plot seemed to thicken with added layers and interweavings of intrigue. As time went on, however, we started to get the feeling that the show wasn't really going anywhere, that there was no plot and no resolution. The writers were making it up as they went along with no end in sight.

That's the same feeling I've had with Billy Beane for awhile now. Yesterday's machinations did nothing to help me shake that feeling. At first, I thought Billy was just indulging his newfound love for collecting CF's, but then he immediately DFA'd Tavaras leaving him with Adam Rosales, a too old 3B prospect who has put up pretty good minor league stats, but was a complete failure in a MLB trial with Cincy last year. Why Billy thought he had to get Rosales after acquiring Kevin Kouzmanoff earlier in the offseason will remain a mystery for now.

Taken as a whole, starting with the Dan Haren and Joe Blanton trades, Billy now basically has Brett Anderson, Michael Taylor and Chris Carter to show for it. While not a terrible return, it's certainly not a lock that he wouldn't have been better off just signing those two to long term contracts and building the team around them. At this point, Billy seems to be spinning his wheels and making trades just to make trades.