San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Oakland Athletics have traded first baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss to the Cleveland Indians for minor league infielder Joey Wendle.
Moss, who hit .234 last season with 25 home runs and 81 RBI, might not be ready for spring training after undergoing hip surgery in October. Moss made the All-Star team last season for the first time in his career, but the hip clearly was an issue in the second half of the year, as he hit just .173 with four home runs and 15 RBI after the break
Moss has hit 76 of his 91 career homers in the last three years for the A's.
The 31-year-old Moss joins a lineup that last year ranked seventh in the AL in runs scored. The Tribe hit just .249 as a team after the All-Star break and averaged just 3.7 runs per game.
Moss is a .248 lifetime hitter with 91 homers and 298 RBI over parts of eight major league seasons with the A's, Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Wendle, meanwhile, batted .253 with eight home runs and 50 RBI in 87 games with Double-A Akron last year. The 24-year-old, though, missed much of last season with a broken hamate bone in his right hand and has never been above Double-A in three professional seasons.
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