Sportsbook Handicappers Note Oakland Trade. The Oakland Athletics have been a surprise team so far vs. the sportsbook odds this baseball season. The A’s made a trade on Tuesday that could help them down the road vs. the baseball odds at the offshore sportsbook. Oakland got Conor Jackson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a minor league pitcher.
Sportsbook odds list the Oakland A’s as underdogs much of the time even though they are right around the .500 mark this season. When a team is an underdog a lot and they win half the time they make money for their followers. That has been the case this season with the A’s. Oakland is hoping that the addition of Jackson will give them some added offensive punch. Jackson had a good season a year ago for Arizona but has struggled so far this year.
Oakland gave up minor league pitcher Sam Demel in exchange for Jackson. Demel was 9-8 with a 2.79 ERA and 42 saves in 151 relief appearances in his minor league career with the A’s. The A’s picked him in the third round out of TCU in 2007. He has 200 strikeouts and 70 walks in his minor league career. He was 2-0 with six saves and a 1.26 ERA in 22 games for Triple-A Sacramento this season.
Jackson is a former first round pick and he could bolster the A’s offense. He was hitting just .238 with one home run, 11 doubles and 11 RBIs in 42 games for the Diamondbacks this season. He has been a much better hitter than that. He hit .277 with 24 homers, 104 doubles and 247 RBIs in six seasons with Arizona. He missed a lot of last season due to illness. The Diamondbacks are going nowhere this season so trading Jackson for a pitcher that could help them down the road vs. the baseball odds at the offshore sportsbook makes sense.
Oakland is just 26th in the league in runs scored so they really could use some help. Kurt Suzuki who is not known for his power is actually leading the A’s in home runs with eight. Jackson has the ability to hit home runs and drive in runs so he could be a factor for the A’s as they look to stay in the race in the American League West.