You’ve got to hand it to Billy Beane - he has a sense of irony.

At
a time when half the Oakland roster seems to be made up of patchwork
players and AA-ball stars due to the injury avalanche that has hit the
Athletics (again), Beane has announced a trade for Chris Denorfia from
the Cincinnati Reds - who won’t play until 2008 as a result of his need
for Tommy John surgery.

Going the other way? Two players to be named later (one of which is named Marcus McBeth) and cash.

Now,
Denorfia has upside, to be sure. He was the Reds minor league player of
the year in 2005 and boasted lines of .317/.391/.526 and .349/.409/.484
over the last two years in the minors. He reportedly plays a good
corner outfield, but can play in the center outfield spot if needed
without throwing too many balls away.

So, like, he’s a good ‘un, assuming his arm stay attached after TJ surgery.

Marcus
McBeth, on the other hand, is also a good ‘un, and one that will hurt
to let go of. Drafted as a shortstop, McBeth received a new lease on
life when the A’s convinced him to give up swinging the bat and instead
throw pitches.  

According to MLB.com:

McBeth was 1-0 with five saves and a 1.80 ERA in eight games at
Triple-A Sacramento this year. In 10.0 innings, he walked three and
struck out six while allowing two home runs. The 26-year old McBeth was
originally drafted by the A’s as a shortstop in the fourth round of the
2001 draft but was converted to pitcher prior to the 2005 season. He
led the A’s farm system with 32 saves last year. 

McBeth never played for the Vancouver Canadians, so we’ll only have known him in these parts by his reputation, but that reputation was looking very promising. So long, Scottish Play. 

In unrelated news, the Vancouver Canadians have lost a valued member of staff for the coming season, by virtue of an employee shuffle. I’m going to wait for clearance to discuss the issue, as well as fuller details, but let’s just say that the stands will be considerably less entertaining this season in his absence. Here’s hoping it’s a temporary situation.