The Oakland Athletics signed former Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets to a one-year, $8 million contract. This is a surprising move by Billy Beane considering he likes to sign players on the cheap and this signing is anything but cheap.

All things considered I really like this signing for them. I know a lot of people will look at the dollar amount and think otherwise. I think this is a win-win situation for Oakland. If he proves himself healthy and pitches toward his career norms, he is worth more than the $8 million. Putting Sheets with Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson and Justin Duchscherer might be enough to get Oakland into the discussion for the division. If the A’s fall out of it and Sheets is healthy he can bring a nice package in return at the deadline. If he falters or gets hurt, it was only a one-year deal. Oakland does not have a lot of huge contracts on the team and they can afford to give Sheets $8 million. I fail to see the downside in this deal for the A’s.  Honestly, I don’t know why more teams don’t do what Oakland is doing. I think it is smart to sign players like this and trade them at the deadline.