Brandon Moss is one of my favorite players, having played for both the Indians and Athletics.
It took him 10 years and three organizations, but in 2012 he had a breakout campaign with Oakland, hitting .291/.358/.596 with 21 HR in only 265 at-bats.
- From 2012-2014 he hit .254/.340/.504 and averaged 25 HR a season. Good for an OPS+ of 135. This included his only All-Star selection in 2014. He was one of the better outfielders in the American League.
In 2015 the Athletics started a rebuild and traded Moss to the Cleveland Indians.
- The Indians had to give of Joey Wendle in the trade, which is unfortunate in retrospect. The Tribe could use a decent middle infielder in 2019.
The Indians went into 2015 as contenders and assumed that Moss would bring some much-needed production to the outfield. But Moss–along with the rest of the team–would struggle in 2015 and quickly fall out of contention.
- Moss his .217/.288/.407 with 15 HR. But he struck out a ton–106 K’s in 337 at-bats
The Indians ended up trading him half-way through the season, snagging a decent pitching prospect in Rob Kaminsky
Moss hung around for a couple more seasons before retiring. Nice little career.