Photo credit: @AthleticsPR

By: Ana Kieu

OAKLAND, Calif. — Last month, the Oakland Athletics acquired starter Mike Fiers from the Detroit Tigers. Fiers had a brief stint with the Tigers this year. Prior to his departure, Fiers posted a 7-6 record and a 3.48 ERA in 21 starts in Detroit.

In exchange, the A’s were going to receive two prospects or a considerable amount of cash. The A’s received two unknowns–the first of those two was reliever Nolan Blackwood and the second was starter Logan Shore. Shore was initially an A’s second-round draft pick in 2016, but his MLB career hasn’t panned out the way he wanted. Shore was described as a “fast track candidate” out of the University of Florida, but injuries hampered his early progress in both the minor and major leagues.

Shore’s line in Double-A in 2018 features a 5.50 ERA, 68 2/3 innings pitched, 49 strikeouts, 19 walks, 7 home runs and 4.27 fielding independent pitcher.

Shore’s most recent injury was a ulnar nerve irritation, which forced him to finish the 2018 season on the DL.

I accept the final result of this specific trade. At 33 years old, Fiers is on the older side, but he has been dominating in Oakland thus far. Fiers currently has a 5-1 record with a 3.09 ERA since August 6th. Moreover, Fiers remains under the A’s control, as he’s eligible for arbitration.

If healthy, Shore will be a solid prospect for the Tigers’ roster. Shore just has a slightly lackluster arm, so he has to put in a little bit more effort to work his way into the Tigers’ pitching rotation.

As for Blackwood, the 23-year-old was ranked 30th on this year’s list of A’s prospects on MLB Pipeline. Blackwood has a deceptive bullpen arm, but could use some other deceptive bullpen arms to complement him on the mound.