The Oakland Athletics announced on Wednesday that they had traded former top prospect Cristian Pache to the Philadelphia Phillies. The A’s received right-handed minor league pitcher Billy Sullivan in exchange.
Pache didn’t make Oakland’s Opening Day roster and was out of Minor League options. This meant that the team only had an option of trading him or making him designated for assignment.
Back in 2021, Cristian Pache was ranked as the No. 12 best prospect in baseball as a member of the Atlanta Braves farming system. He landed in Oakland ahead of the 2022 MLB season as part of the trade that sent star first baseman Matt Olson to the Braves.
Despite being the key return in the Olson trade, Pache never managed to find his footing with the A’s. The 24-year-old player demonstrated exciting athleticism in 2022, but his batting failed to get on the level that would make him a regular fixture in the majors. He played 91 games last season, batting .177 with three home runs and 18 RBIs.
The Phillies have added Pache to their 40-man roster and probably hope that they can do a better job of developing him than the A’s did. The potential is there, especially on the defensive end, but it remains to be seen if the Dominican outfielder can progress enough to hold his own on the plate.
For A’s, getting Sullivan is better than letting Pache leave for nothing. The 23-year-old player was 5-1 with Phillies’ Double-A affiliate Reading Fightin Phils in 2022, producing a 4.59 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 44 games.
