Entering this offseason, I expected the A’s to make moves. After all, they went all in in 2014 and didn’t win. As a result, the team was gutted and needed to reinvent themselves. I don’t think the talent pool is so bad that they have to rebuild. But instead, they had to make some changes to make it work in a year or two.

Nobody is sacred with Billy Beane as the general manager and I know that. Trading players away to gather talent for the future is what the A’s have always been about. And it’s not surprising that a trade like this could happen. I am an A’s fan. I know this. I’ve been through it. I don’t get emotional about it.

I think that Donaldson may have peaked; he turns 29 next season. He might have reached his ceiling and Beane saw it. He knew that with the team the way it is now, they could not gain much with what the current roster has. The team needed to add more players and work for a better team in a couple years. That made everybody expendable.

The Jays needed new talent to their loaded team that could make a run for the title in 2015. With that in mind, both teams got what they needed. Donaldson was huge for the A’s in his tenure and it is tough to see him go. But the team is different now and changes had to be made. This is why I don’t see an issue with it.

Oakland has to look at what they can do to get back to winning in a couple years. By then, all these prospects will be ready to contribute big time on the big league level. This is a move for the future for the A’s. It makes sense to me. And knowing Beane, he may not be done yet and maybe he can bring in talent to keep this team as contenders.

Good luck in Canada, JD. And thanks for the autograph!