Oakland Gets RHP Gunnar Hoglund, LHPs Zach Logue and Kirby Snead and IF Kevin Smith
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics acquired right-handed pitcher Gunnar Hoglund, left-handed pitchers Zach Logue and Kirby Snead and infielder Kevin Smith from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for third baseman Matt Chapman, the club announced today. According to MLB.com, Hoglund is the Jays number-four prospect, Smith is number nine and Logue is number 27.
Hoglund was selected by the Blue Jays in the first round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft (19th overall) out of the University of Mississippi. Over three collegiate seasons, the right-hander went 10-5 with a 3.68 ERA (63 er in 154.0 ip) with 186 strikeouts and 35 walks. In May, he underwent “Tommy John” surgery.
Logue spent the majority of the 2021 season with Triple-A New Hampshire, racking up 93 strikeouts in 89.1 innings, compiling a 3.32 ERA and a 9-3 record across 18 games, including 17 starts. The 6-0, 165-pound left-hander was drafted in the ninth round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft by the Blue Jays out of the University of Kentucky.
Snead was the Blue Jays 10th-round selection in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft and made his Major League debut in 2021, appearing in seven games for Toronto and compiling a 2.35 ERA (2 er in 7.2 ip) with seven strikeouts. In five minor league seasons, the left-hander went 20-10 with a 2.86 ERA (75 er in 236.1 ip) with 250 strikeouts and 96 walks. In 2021, he struck out 57 over 40.0 innings for Triple-A Buffalo, for an average of 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
Smith was originally selected by Toronto in the fourth round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Maryland. He spent the majority of the 2021 season with Triple-A Buffalo before making his Major League debut on Aug. 18. He appeared in 18 games for the Blue Jays, going 3-for-32 with a home run in 18 games. While with Buffalo, the 25-year-old batted .285 with a .370 on-base percentage and a .561 slugging percentage, with 21 home runs, 27 doubles, four triples, 69 RBI and 18 stolen bases.
Chapman batted .210 with 27 home runs, 72 RBI and a .716 OPS in 151 games in his fifth season with the A’s last year. The batting average and OPS were career lows as was his .403 slugging percentage but he won his third American League Gold Glove at third base. He led all Major League third basemen with a .987 fielding percentage and his 166 putouts were the most by a ML third baseman since Darrell Evans had 185 for Atlanta in 1974. However, he set an Athletics record and ranked second in the majors with 202 strikeouts. The A’s first round selection in the 2014 draft, Chapman made his Major League debut with Oakland in 2017 and hit .243 with 111 home runs and 296 RBI in 573 games as an Athletic. He was an All-Star in 2019 and his 571 career games at third are fifth most in Oakland history.
