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Sources: A’s trade Brandon Moss to Indians

Jeff Passan
·MLB columnist
In his three seasons with Oakland, Brandon Moss hit 76 home runs. (Getty Images)
In his three seasons with Oakland, Brandon Moss hit 76 home runs. (Getty Images)

The Oakland A’s traded slugger Brandon Moss to the Cleveland Indians for minor league second baseman Joey Wendle, completing a deal Monday morning that had been widely anticipated for nearly a week, sources told Yahoo Sports.

Moss, 31, is coming off hip surgery following a down second half but brings a potentially powerful bat that the Indians desired. Over his three seasons in Oakland, Moss hit .254/.340/.504 with 76 home runs. He is expected to receive a raise into the $7 million range via arbitration and is under team control for two more seasons.

Wendle is a 24-year-old second baseman drafted by Cleveland in the sixth round in 2012. After their go-for-it deals last season didn’t pan out, the A’s entered this offseason looking to overhaul their team, first with the signing of DH Billy Butler and then the trade of third baseman Josh Donaldson for Brett Lawrie and three prospects.

Cleveland, too, could make further moves, particularly with the logjam now at first base and DH, with Moss, Carlos Santana and Nick Swisher. The Indians, sources said, have sought controllable starting pitching, even with Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, T.J. House and Danny Salazar all set to make near the league minimum this season and Carlos Carrasco in his first arbitration season.

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