A's GM Beane on offseason personnel changes: 'Half of them I won't see again'

Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane has become one of the most respected GMs in the majors for his ability to put a winning team on the field despite being limited by a small payroll.

The A's made the postseason for the a third consecutive year, but fell short of their obvious goal to win a championship, losing 9-8 in extra innings to the Kansas City Royals in a thrilling American League wild-card game. Beane addressed the media Wednesday, and spoke of the hardships of being cash-strapped in Oakland.

"Half of them (players) I won't see again," Beane said about the team's low-budget mentality. "It's not like across the Bay where, 'I'll see you the next five years.'"

Beane was, of course, referring to the San Francisco Giants, who have managed to keep a nucleus of high-profile players together due to their significantly higher payroll.

Beane also addressed the highly controversial trade that sent slugger Yoenis Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for lefty Jon Lester, who won't be retained by the A's next season due to budget constraints.

"The Angels were gonna catch us," Beane said. "At no point were those trades made for the playoffs. I could feel Angels breathing down our neck."

Beane insisted the team would not have made the playoffs without the Lester-Cespedes deal. Lester went 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts after being acquired by the A's and left the wild-card game in line for the win in the eighth inning.