It hasn’t been a banner year for big league baseball in the Bay Area in 2017, and both the A’s and the Giants approached the MLB trade deadline in a seller’s position. The A’s made two significant deals and one minor trade, while the Giants dealt one impending free agent but chose to hold on to their biggest trade chips.

Of the three deals the A’s made during the “deadline period,” it was the Sonny Gray trade to the New York Yankees that grabbed the headlines. In what has been a trend since the 2014 off-season, the A’s traded away their most recognizable star for a package of players that are mostly unknown to the casual baseball fan.

With less than an hour to go before the deadline, the A’s sent Gray and a $1.5 million international bonus slot to the Yankees for outfielder Dustin Fowler, infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo and right-handed starter James Kaprielian.

There is plenty of risk involved for both sides of this trade.

In Gray, the Yankees are getting a proven big league top-of-the-rotation starter under team control through the 2019 season. However, the Yankees are also getting a pitcher who missed significant periods of time the past two seasons with injury. The A’s get back three players who all have All-Star potential, but two are recovering from significant injuries (Fowler suffered a torn patella tendon last month and Kaprielian is recovering from Tommy John surgery) and the third (Mateo) has yet to put together a statistical season commensurate with his talent.

The A’s went into this trade deadline period in rebuilding mode. Oakland lost more than 90 games each of the past two seasons and are on pace to hit that mark again in 2017. Although Gray had two more years of team control beyond this season, he didn’t fit into those rebuilding plans because the A’s window to contend is likely at least three years away. Given Gray’s health history since the start of the 2016 season, the A’s couldn’t count on Gray’s value increasing over the next year.

That being said, the A’s didn’t come away with a package of “sure-things” in their trade with the Yankees. All three players were among the Yankees’ top-10 prospects and will be top-five prospects in the A’s system, but all have significant questions surrounding their futures.

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Jorge Mateo

Of the three, Mateo is the biggest “boom-or-bust” talent in the group.

A highly regarded international signing in 2012, Mateo has had a high profile within the Yankees’ system since he turned pro as a 17-year-old. A five-tool talent, Mateo was the top prospect in the Yankees’ system going into the 2016 season.

His prospect status lost some of its luster last year when he hit .256/.309/.381 in 113 games with High-A Tampa of the Florida State League. He was also suspended by the team for a time, reportedly for complaining about not being promoted. This year, Mateo returned to the Florida State League and continued to post mediocre numbers. Then on June 27, he was promoted to Double-A Trenton.

The change of scenery seems to have done Mateo some good. He is batting .300/.381/.525 in 30 games in Double-A. It should be noted that the Florida State League is notoriously pitcher-friendly and that Mateo was a mid-season league All-Star in both 2016 and 2017 with Tampa.

According to Patrick Teale, publisher of PinstripesPlus and a long-time leading expert on the Yankees’ farm system, Mateo is still a top prospect despite the ups-and-downs over the past two seasons.

“He’s definitely not a sure thing, but the ceiling is enormous,” Teale said. “He alone could be worth more than Gray long-term, but you just don’t know. He’s got killer speed — second-to-none speed — and that’s compared to anyone in the game, Billy Hamilton included. You don’t know where he is going to fit defensively. He probably winds up in centerfield. He’s got a cannon for an arm.”

Mateo’s career slashline of .267/.335/.408 doesn’t scream elite prospect, but Teale says those numbers are not indicative of his abilities. Mateo, Teale believes, is a better hitter than people realize with the kind of power to pair 20 home runs in the big leagues with 50 to 80 steals.

“He’s got that kind of potential,” Teale said. “He’s your high ceiling/low floor guy. He’s either going to be a big-league All-Star or he’s not going to be much more than a marginal reserve player. It all depends on whether or not he can hit. I think he can, but it is going to take more time [to develop him] than the Yankees really had.”

Mark Shreve, co-founder of baseball prospect evaluation site 2080baseball, has seen Mateo several times with Trenton. Shreve calls Mateo “a very intelligent player who has the tools on both sides of the ball to become an impact shortstop in the big leagues, with a line-drive oriented stroke that sprays the ball to all fields, and enough backspin carry to the pull side to get it out of the park with average home run potential at maturity.”

Shreve grades Mateo’s speed an 80 (or at the top) of the scouting scale. He says Mateo’s speed puts significant pressure on defenses and he’s a “constant threat to steal a base or take an extra bag.” Shreve also indicated that Mateo has improved his plate discipline since reaching Double-A.

As for Mateo’s defense, Shreve says he has a chance to stick at shortstop long term thanks to his combination of soft hands, athleticism, above-average range and strong arm could make him a long-term solution at short. But he is athletic enough to play multiple positions, including the outfield because of his speed to cover the acreage in center.

“He showed he can make the plays out there in his seven games at the position in Trenton,” Shreve said. “It would not be a shock to see him in the big leagues as early as midseason next year, so long as the plate discipline holds at the higher levels. The package is exciting to watch.”

After the trade, Billy Beane indicated that Mateo would play shortstop with Double-A Midland. The A’s already have 2015 first-round pick Richie Martin getting regular playing time at shortstop and fellow top prospect Max Schrock playing second base in Double-A. The A’s began the year with Martin and Schrock sharing time with middle infielder Yairo Munoz in Midland. The A’s will likely go back to a similar playing rotation to the one they had in Midland at the beginning of the season, with Mateo seeing some time at second base and centerfield when he isn’t at shortstop.

Mateo is in his first big league option year, having been added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster this off-season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. That means the A’s have a couple of years to groom Mateo in the minor leagues before he has to stick with the big league club.

Dustin Fowler

Fowler and Kaprielian offer much higher floors than Mateo, but both have significant health concerns. Fowler landed in the national spotlight last month when he tore the patella tendon in his left knee colliding with the foul wall in right field during the first inning of his major league debut. The injury will cost Fowler the rest of the season and the long-term ramifications of the injury on his running ability won’t be known for a while.

Before the injury, Fowler was a rising star in the Yankees’ system. He hit .293/.329/.542 with 13 homers and 13 stolen bases in 70 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as a 22-year-old. Some scouts rated Fowler higher than Yankees’ outfield prospect Clint Frazier, who was reportedly one of the players New York wouldn’t make available in the Gray discussions.

Fowler has primarily played centerfield for the Yankees. He was clocked in the 3.98-4.06 range from home to first before his injury, according to 2080baseball, and he has always shown good baseball instincts in the field and on the bases. Many scouts saw Fowler sticking in center before the injury, but Teale projects Fowler to settle in as a left-fielder down-the-road.

“I think the knee injury solidifies what I already thought, which was that he was an average-at-best centerfielder but probably better suited long-term in left field. I never really bought into him as a long-term centerfield guy,” Teale said. “I thought the power was there and it started to emerge this year. I think the power will continue to come. The knee injury might zap what speed he already had. I think his speed was a little bit overrated, to be quite honest. But I think the hitting potential is there. He could be a .300 [BA]/20 [HR] guy, maybe a little more than that. I think he’ll be a solid, above-average left fielder.”

James Kaprielian

For Teale, the biggest prize in the deal is Kaprielian.

The former UCLA star was New York’s first-round pick in 2015. Since he signed with the Yankees, Kaprielian has wowed scouts when healthy, but he has been healthy in very limited stretches of time. He made only three regular season starts in 2016 because of elbow trouble, although he did return to throw an impressive 27 innings in the Arizona Fall League.

Kaprielian had a strong spring training, but his elbow troubles returned at the end of the spring and he had Tommy John surgery in mid April. Kaprielian likely won’t pitch in competitive minor league games until at least next May.

When healthy, Kaprielian offers four potential big league average-or-better pitches: a fastball that ranges from 93 to 97 mph, a slider, a change-up and a curveball. The fastball and the slider, in particular, grade out as above-average big-league offerings. He can throw all four pitches for strikes and he induces plenty of groundballs. Every pitch he throws has movement.

At UCLA, Kaprielian pitched well in big situations and he also dominated in the prospect-laden Cape Cod League in 2013. Teale believes Kaprielian has a chance to be a true No. 1 starter in the big leagues, if he can stay healthy.

Why would the Yankees trade him then? Teale guesses it was because Gray can help their current pursuit of the AL East title and a World Series. Not to mention Gray is controllable for the next two years. Kaprielian is at least two years away, so he requires patience. But if he pans out, he could be a stud for the A’s.

“He’s the meat-and-potatoes of the trade,” Teale said. “He’s the kind of guy that as a Yankee fan, you hate giving up because, quite frankly, in two years, he could be better than Sonny Gray is. He’s got that kind of stuff, that kind of command, that kind of aura about him. You just don’t know because of the injuries.”

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Across the Bay, the Giants elected to be cautious this deadline season, making only one trade and holding on to the majority of their veteran core. If the Giants do decide to rebuild, that process will begin this off-season. At that point, veterans such as Jeff Samardzija, Brandon Belt and Denard Span could be on the trading block.

San Francisco did get a decent return in their one deal. On July 26, the Giants traded away third baseman Eduardo Núñez to the Boston Red Sox. An impending free agent who may very well re-sign with San Francisco this off-season, Núñez was a logical choice to be traded.

The Giants picked up minor league right-handers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos from Boston. The Giants’ minor league pitching depth has thinned considerably over the past few years, and both Anderson and Santos will help to rebuild that part of their system.

Shaun Anderson

Anderson was part of a University of Florida pitching staff in 2016 that produced six top-10 round draft picks. That Florida staff was so deep in 2016 that Anderson couldn’t crack the starting rotation. He pitched out of the bullpen and dominated as the Gators’ closer, saving 13 games and posting a 0.67 ERA with 60 strike-outs and just seven walks in 46.1 innings. Scouts viewed Anderson as a starter as a pro and the Red Sox moved him into the rotation after selecting him in the third round.

This season, Anderson has a 3.58 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings in Class A and High-A ball.

Anderson isn’t a power arm, but he has a deep arsenal of pitches, featuring a low-90s fastball with some natural sink, a cut-fastball, a slider, a 12-6 curveball and a change-up. He utilizes a high three-quarters release point that hides the ball well. At 6-foot-5, 225, Anderson has the build to handle 180-200 innings on a regular basis. He doesn’t have the plus pitch to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, but he has the polish, build and repertoire to be a solid mid- or back-end rotation contributor for the Giants in a couple of years.

Gregory Santos

Santos is a right-hander who is all projection at this stage in his career.

A 6-foot-2 native of the Dominican Republic, Santos is in his second season in the Dominican Summer League. He turns 18 in late August. Signed by the Red Sox for $275,000 in 2016, Santos has present arm strength and a build that projects to add even more velocity. He’s very far from making an impact in the upper-levels of the Giants system, but he represents a solid injection of talent for the Giants’ player development staff to mold.

While the Giants and A’s didn’t compete for talent during this trade deadline season, if San Francisco chooses to rebuild, this off-season could be a unique Battle of the Bay as the two franchises maneuver to add young talent to their organizations.