The Oakland Athletics made another big move, and a follow-up move, before Thursdays non-waiver trade deadline, acquiring an ace lefthanded starter to bolster a rotation that was already playoff-calibre. Corey Peters Jersey . Numbers Game looks at the As getting Jon Lester from Boston, sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox along with a deal involving the As and the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics Get: LHP Jon Lester, LF Jonny Gomes, OF Sam Fuld and cash. Lester, 30, was (depending on the availability of Tampa Bays David Price) possibly the premier pitcher available on the trade market, and is currently having the best year of his career, with a career-best 2.52 ERA in 21 starts. Hes also 10-7 with a 1.12 WHIP, with 149 strikeouts in 143 innings -- the first time since 2010 that Lester has struck out more than a batter per inning. This career season has come as Lester has altered his approach somewhat. Hes long had a four-pitch repertoire, but Lester has reduced his use of change-ups this year (a career-low 3.6%), while throwing more cutters (29.6%) than ever before Since 2008, Lester ranks seventh in Fan Graphs WAR (31.9), and is the 13th-ranked starting pitcher in the TSN.ca rankings, so he has the credentials of a major league staff ace and he joins an Oakland rotation that already leads the American League with a 3.32 ERA. As it stands right now, recently-acquired Jason Hammel and Jesse Chavez are left to battle for the fifth spot behind Lester, Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir and Jeff Samardzija. The As have followed up the Lester trade by dealing lefty Tommy Milone (6-3, 3.55 ERA, 1.22 WHIP in 16 starts for Oakland) to Minnesota, because the As simply are too deep when it comes to starting pitching, but adding Lester isnt so much about depth as it is adding talent at the top end. Hes been a front-of-the-rotation pitcher on some World Series-winning Red Sox teams, posting a 2.11 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 76 2/3 innings in the postseason. Moving to a pitcher-friendly park in Oakland only makes Lester more appealing. Lester, who is making $13-million this season, will be a free agent at seasons end. He reportedly turned down a four-year extension with the Red Sox worth between $70-million and $80-million, as well he should. He will sign for more than that as a free agent in the offseason. There are hopes in Boston that Lester returns and signs his lucrative new deal with the Red Sox, but its tough to bank on that now that he has departed. Gomes is a 33-year-old outfielder who has some power and hits lefties well (.875 career OPS vs. LHP, compared to .722 vs. RHP), but hes struggling this year, with a .683 OPS, the second-lowest of his career. He had a terrific season (18 HR, .868 OPS, 99 GP) while playing with the As in 2012 and has a .756 OPS in 68 career games in Oakland. Gomes is earning $5-million this season and will be a free agent at seasons end. Cespedes has seen the majority of the action in left field for the As this year, and Gomes can handle a platoon role, but there was no way to reasonably expect Gomes to replace Cespedes production, so the As followed up their trade with Boston by adding Sam Fuld from Minnesota. A 32-year-old who has never had more than 346 at-bats in a season, Fuld is a strong defensive player who can run (13 for 16 in stolen base attempts this season, 50-for-66 in his career), but has typically provided little offence. That said, Fuld has been red-hot in July, posting an .894 OPS while playing 23 games for the Twins, lifting him to a .722 OPS for the season, which isnt great, but the only other time in his big-league career that hes posted better was in 2009, when Fuld had an .821 OPS in 65 games with the Cubs. Fuld, who makes $800,000 this season, can platoon with Gomes to cover left field for the As and can play any of the three spots in the outfield if needed. Its a bit of a downgrade from Cespedes, but the upgrade on the mound makes the As even heavier favourites than they were before. This deal, coming on the heels of adding Samardzija and Jason Hammel, is a blast from the As that they are in it to win it this year. The Red Sox Get: LF Yoenis Cespedes and the second pick in the competitive balance Comp B round. Cespedes, 28, is a power-hitting outfielder who has a cannon for an arm. In 365 career games, hes hit 66 home runs, with a .262 batting average and .788 OPS. He ranks eighth among left fielders in Fan Graphs WAR (2.3) and TSN.ca Player Rankings, so hes an above average starter at the position. The issue for the Red Sox, in acquiring Cespedes, is that he is only under contract through next season, making $10.5-million this year and next, before he is eligible to become a free agent. Since his production this year has little relevance for a Red Sox team that is 10.5-games out of a playoff spot, that means Cespedes brings one season of value for Boston. Certainly, if Cespedes is playing well, a contract extension could be in the cards, but in evaluating this trade, the Red Sox can only count on what they are getting today. Acquiring Cespedes is an indication that the Red Sox expect to bounce back and contend next season and hes a legitimate power bat that could help Boston contend next season, but thats a short-term play that really atypical of what teams seek when trading away pending free agents. In the As previous deal with the Cubs, for example, the centrepiece of the deal for Chicago was the As best prospect, shortstop Addison Russell, who figures to have a long-term impact when he reaches the major leagues and that provides more of a window to get results. What happens if Cespedes gets hurt next year? That could wipe out any possible value that he might provide, so there is risk to the proposition, though it comes with the safety of knowing that Cespedes is at least a bona fide major leaguer. The pick that the Red Sox receive will reportedly fall around pick 70 in next years draft. Of 60 players taken between pick 70 and 75 from 2001-2010, 10 (16.7%) are (or have been) full-time major leaguers. (The list: Dan Haren, Andrelton Simmons, Yunel Escobar, Justin Masterson, Charlie Blackmon, Jon Jay, Wade Davis, Kevin Slowey, Chris Ray, Bryan Shaw). The Twins Get: LHP Tommy Milone. 27-year-old Milone has been an effective starter for the As, going 32-22 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 80 games over three-plus seasons. His average fastball velocity (86.5 MPH) is among the slowest, so hes not going to overpower anyone, but Milone can keep hitters off balance with his breaking and off-speed stuff. He kind of has the crafty lefty repertoire, even if hes younger than the stereotype for that handle. Some of his effectiveness, however, has been due to the favourable home park in Oakland, where Milone has a 3.11 ERA (1.15 WHIP) in 37 games, compared to a 4.52 ERA (1.37 WHIP) on the road. Moving to Minnesota is likely going to cost Milone some runs. Even if hes not able to maintain his strong start to this season, Milone can join a Twins rotation that is still pretty spotty behind Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson and its an opportunity to prove he is worthy of a regular major league starting job. Making $510,000 this season, Milone isnt arbitration eligible until after next season, so hes also a bargain for Minnesota and all it cost the Twins was an outfielder that they had previously claimed on waivers from Oakland in April. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Football Cardinals Jerseys . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. A.Q. Shipley Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. http://www.cheapcardinalsjerseyssale.com/?tag=tre-boston-jersey-sale .Steamboat Ski Resort contends Steamboat Springs, Colorado has long been known as Ski Town, U.S.A., and claims in a new lawsuit that Salt Lake tourism officials violated their trademark when they rolled out the Ski City marketing campaign last month.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, Early in the second period of Mondays game between Los Angeles and Vancouver, Kings player Jake Muzzin hit Canuck Daniel Sedin with a high stick, knocking a tooth out. Sedin clearly showed the tooth to the referees, yet Muzzin received only a two-minute minor. Why was this not a double minor? Thanks,Shaun from Vancouver --- Hi Kerry, As I watched Daniel Sedin take a high stick to the mouth and broke a tooth (at least now people can tell the two apart), shouldnt that be a double minor? My understanding of rule 60.3 regarding a double minor is that it is any injury should warrant a double minor and blood does not have to show. When a player carries or holds any part of his stick above the shoulders of the opponent so that injury results, the Referee shall assess a double-minor penalty for all contact that causes an injury, whether accidental or careless, in the opinion of the Referee. Could you explain why the referees didnt give Muzzin a double minor? Thanks,GarethRichmond, BC Shaun and Gareth: Based on the physical evidence presented by Daniel Sedin to Referee Steve Kozari and the calm and accepting demeanor coach John Tortorella demonstrated in the explanation that followed, its most obvious that a replacement crown became unglued as a result of the high stick committed by Jake Muzzin. The solid cap Daniel pulled out of his mouth does not constitute an injury. On the other hand, if Sedin had spit out broken fragments of a tooth (crown) or even withheld solid evidence in his glove revealing a broken chiccklet, short of checking dental records the referee would have legitimate cause to assess a double minor penalty. Christian Kirk Jersey. I found myself in this very situation in two different games played within a week of each other. Both times they involved Matthew Barnaby and his missing tooth. I wasnt aware that Barney had a capped front tooth. A stick came up near Barneys face and he immediately bent over and covered his mouth. By the time I got to him Matthews big smile revealed a broken front tooth. I assessed a double minor penalty as a result of the apparent injury.The very next week I worked another game involving the Buffalo Sabres player. During the National Anthem I noticed that Matt Barnaby was sporting a shiny silver crown. As good luck would have it, this time around I was in perfect position to see an errant stick clearly missed Barnabys face and head. Once again, Matthew doubled over, grabbed his face and yanked the silver cap out of his mouth which he immediately concealed inside his glove. Barney then approached me and pointed to the same filed down remnants of a front tooth as he appealed for a double minor penalty to be called. I now had legitimate reason to suspect I had been duped in the previous game. I told Matthew he had two problems with this attempt to sell a penalty call this time around. For one, the stick never touched him and two, his memory was obviously fuzzy since I was the same ref he pulled this on a week earlier. Matthew didnt dispute my claim and instead fished the shiny cap out of his glove, stuck it back in his mouth and gave me the smile of a choir boy! Fortunately for Referee Steve Kozari, Daniel Sedin didnt take a bite out of Barnabys play book. 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