Colorado Rockies acquire Brett Anderson from Oakland A’s

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The Colorado Rockies pulled the trigger on a big trade this afternoon, sending the highly touted Drew Pomeranz along with prospect Chris Jensen to the Oakland A’s in exchange for starting pitcher Brett Anderson.

The rumblings started when Troy Renck reported that he had heard Pomeranz was on the way to Oakland.

At that point it stood to reason, given the recent rumors, that the Rockies had traded for Anderson. Confirmation of such was handed down only minutes later:

As I pointed out yesterday, it is hard to really call this deal trading a prized prospect for a pitcher. It’s more like trading a once-highly-touted lefty (Pomeranz) for another once-highly-touted-lefty, with a higher ceiling and an actual track record (Anderson). They are the same age; Pomeranz has yet to break through, while Anderson has already broken through and just needs to prove he can stay healthy.

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Anderson is under team control for the next two seasons: he is due $8 million this year and has a club option for $12 million in 2015. Pomeranz’s honeymoon in Colorado ended quickly after he was the centerpiece of the Ubaldo Jimenez trade; his success never reached the buzz that surrounded his name, mostly because of his utter inability to locate his pitches. The team had actually reached the point where they were considering him as a reliever; to have reached that stage and to get a better starting pitcher for him, well, I’m ready to call that a success.

So we say farewell to Pomeranz, meaning that we have already said farewell to both of the key players from the Jimenez trade. Still, it’s hard to fault the process. The Rockies gave both Alex White and Pomeranz a shot to make their mark and settle into the big league rotation. When they didn’t, the organization explored trading them while they still had value as “young” pitchers who could even be called “prospects.” Wilton Lopez‘s results have been terrible, but the thinking behind the trade was not.

I like the thinking behind this trade too, so here’s hoping that Anderson hits his stride with the Rockies and bolsters the rotation. If he does, this trade is a win.