Billy Beane Defends Jon Lester Trade, Says A’s Don’t Make Playoffs Without Him

Despite ample criticism, Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane doesn’t regret his blockbuster trade deadline deal.

With Jon Lester on the hill, the A’s fell to the Kansas City Royals, 9-8, in a 12-inning thriller in the American League wild card game Tuesday. As a result, Beane took heat for the blockbuster trade that brought the left-hander to Oakland, but he sticks by the move.

“Simply put, if we don’t have Jon Lester, I don’t think we make the playoffs,” Beane told reporters Wednesday as the A’s packed up for the offseason.

The Boston Red Sox sent their former ace, along with outfielder Jonny Gomes, to Oakland on July 31 for slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. The A’s stood atop the American League West standings at the time, but their post-trade struggles led to them being overtaken by the Los Angeles Angels and forced into a wild card game against the Royals.

The A’s pitching rotation was already solid before the trade, so giving up a run-producer like Cespedes for Lester was a questionable decision from the beginning. Without Cespedes, the A’s struggled to score runs down the stretch, although they did put eight runs on the board Tuesday.

Lester went 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 games with Oakland. While he still performed up to his ace potential, the A’s offensive struggles enabled the red-hot Angels to overtake them in August.

And Beane says he saw it coming.

“The Angels were going to catch us,” Beane told reporters. “They played nearly .700 ball from a certain point. If you go back to my quotes from when we made those trades, despite the fact of where we were, at no point were those trades made for the playoffs. I was adamant about it. I could feel the Angels breathing down our necks.”

After his failed attempt at another postseason run, Lester will be one of the biggest names in free agency this offseason.

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