SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The rivalry has thawed, kind of.
The Giants sent right-hander Burch Smith to the A's on Saturday morning in exchange for cash considerations, marking the first deal between the two Bay Area teams since 2004, when the Giants sent pitcher Adam Pettyjohn to the A's for cash.
The Giants designated reliever Burch Smith for assignment earlier in the week when they added Jarlin Garcia, but this is the kind of deal that people on both sides have been on the lookout for since Farhan Zaidi joined the Giants in November of 2018. Zaidi started his professional career with the A's and said at the time of his hiring that he anticipated making deals with them. A's general manager David Forst said the same.
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The sides still have another barrier to cross. Their last two deals have essentially sold one player to the other side, but you have to go back to 1990 to find a Giants-A's trade that actually involved players going the other way for both sides.
That winter, the A's sent Darren Lewis and a player to be named later to the Giants in exchange for infielder Ernie Riles.
The Giants had a clear advantage in that trade. Riles hit .214 in one season for the A's while Lewis went on to play five years for the Giants, winning a Gold Glove Award.