A year ago, the Oakland Athletics traded for Rickey Henderson, and he helped turn them into a world champion. Now the A's have made another trade they hope will lead to another title.
"I had no idea this was going to happen," said second baseman Willie Randolph, who was traded to the A's by the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday for reserve outfielder Stan Javier."They have an awesome ballclub," Randolph said. "I knew Oakland was interested in me, and I knew the Dodgers were thinking about making some changes, but I didn't know I fit into them. It's a great opportunity for me to go to a world champion and hook up with Rickey again."
The A's have been looking for an infielder since they lost Tony Phillips to free agency after last season. Their search was intensified by the slow starts of Mike Gallego (.173) and Lance Blankenship (.097).
Javier, a speedy switch-hitting reserve outfielder with the A's since 1986, saw his playing time diminish sharply this year with the emergence of Felix Jose, another speedy, switch-hitting outfielder who hits with power.
"At this point in his (Javier's) career, it had to be frustrating for him to sit around," Oakland Manager Tony La Russa said. "I think with playing time he can be a star."
Javier, who spent Sunday morning in the A's clubhouse, said he knew he was on the trading block and expected the trade would be good for him in the long run.
"No way are there any hard feelings," Javier said. "This is a great organization. My teammates are great. That's just baseball."
Oakland general manager Sandy Alderson said the deal was made after the Dodgers contacted him Saturday with renewed interest in Javier. Alderson and La Russa visited Randolph at his home before the 1988 winter meetings in an attempt to sign him as a free agent.
"We've wanted Randolph for a long time,' La Russa said. "But the Dodgers offered him a better deal, so he went with them."
And with the AL's best record at 22-8, La Russa said the A's were in no hurry to move Javier until the the timing and package were right. "We never felt we were desperate to make a deal," La Russa said. "We wanted to wait for a quality player."
In Randolph, the A's are getting an All-Star second baseman who's a career .274 hitter.
"It was out there orbiting for a long time," Alderson said of the trade. "We passed on three or four people for the past month or so. When the Dodgers called us Saturday, we made the deal. He's not just any infielder."
Gallego, who had been playing every day, will back up Randolph at second and Walt Weiss at shortstop.
"It was a tough bit of news for him to take," La Russa said of Gallego. "But it was a trade we would make whether he was hitting or not. We've needed a middle infielder since spring training."
Most A's players agreed the trade will help their already well-established team.