Swisher to White Sox

The Oakland A's have traded Nick Swisher to the White Sox for 3 prospects.

I'm surprised by the move mostly because Nick Swisher was not only the face of the franchise - he was also signed to a very reasonable contract ($3.5 million next year, $5.3 million in 2009, $6.75 million in 2010 and $9 in 2011 with a $10.25 million club option for 2012). Compare that to Aaron Rowand's recent 5-year $60 million contract and you can see how much of a bargain Swisher's contract is and why I'm surprised the A's would part with him.

The Transaction Guy has a pretty good breakdown of the deal. My guess is that Billy Beane thinks he knows the ceiling of Swisher's talent and that Beane is hoping to get at least one prospect out of the three with a higher ceiling.