
Then-Loons pitcher Grant Holmes on the mound during the 2015 Midwest League All-Star Game. He reportedly has been traded to the A’s. (Photo by Craig Wieczorkiewicz/The Midwest League Traveler)
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics reportedly agreed Monday to a five-player trade involving three former Midwest Leaguers.
Multiple reports say the A’s are sending outfielder Josh Reddick and LHP Rich Hill to the Dodgers for pitching prospects Grant Holmes, Jharel Cotton and Frankie Montas. Hill, Holmes and Cotton pitched in the Midwest League.
Hill pitched in the Midwest League when he was a Chicago Cubs prospect. He went 0-1 with a 2.76 ERA, 50 strikeouts and 36 walks in 29.1 innings (15 games/four starts) for the 2003 Lansing Lugnuts. He returned to the Midwest League for a single start two years later, getting the win after striking out 12 and walking none in eight innings for the 2005 Peoria Chiefs.
Both Holmes and Cotton pitched for the Great Lakes Loons. Holmes was a Midwest League All-Star last year, in a season when he went 6-4 with a 3.14 ERA, 117 strikeouts and 54 walks in 103.1 innings (24 starts) for the Loons. Cotton first pitched for the Loons in 2013, when he went 2-5 with a 3.55 ERA, one shutout, 58 strikeouts and 17 walks in 58.1 innings (11 games/nine starts). He made one more start for the Loons in 2015, getting a no-decision after striking out six and walking one while giving up two runs in 3.1 innings.