The Harden Trade
There was a prospect trade involving the A’s. Did anybody think I wasn’t going to talk about this?
Christina Kahrl over at BP is far from a fan of this trade, but I think she’s looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps people’s hopes were brought up after Jayson Stark suggested a Harden package would have to be similar in stature to the smörgåsbord of talent Beane got for Haren. (Anderson, Carter, Cunningham, Smith, Eveland, Gonzalez - Wow!).
In reality, this trade is likely more than what Harden was worth. Now, I love Harden. He’s a good Canadian kid who’s as exciting to watch as any pitcher in baseball, and I hope he pitches another 2000 innings on his way to Cooperstown. The reality is that in half a season, Harden’s pitched more innings than any year since 2005. This was Harden being sold at the apex of his value. (Since 2005, at least). If the A’s got this package for Harden before the season started, it would have been an absolute coup.
Now, on to the actual players involved.
Gallagher and Donaldson have already been covered in the top 100 prospects review series. Donaldson is the ultimate throw-in, just there in the vague hope that he could turn into something; I don’t think even Beane expects Donaldson to have much value.
Gallagher, on the other hand, is the centerpiece of this trade. While he’s no phenom, he should be a cheap, effective presence in the rotation for years to come, helped out by Oakland’s cavernous ballpark. With the additions of uber-prospect Michael Inoa and Gallagher, not even the Rays can boast the young pitching that Oakland does.
Matt Murton fell out of favour with Lou Pinella and the Cubs, but he certainly has value. Beane’s approach to Oakland’s since the re-building started seems to be to find as many pieces as possible and hope they fit. With Murton, Cust, Buck, Sweeney, Cunningham, Chris Carter (now a left-fielder) and Carlos Gonzalez, there will certainly be a fight for roster spots in the coming years. In the meantime, Murton’s immediate duties will likely be to take as many at-bats as possible from Emil Brown while spelling Jack Cust and Ryan Sweeney against lefties.
Eric Patterson may or may not be included in that group. The A’s will have the option of playing his offense as a bad second-baseman or an experiment in centerfield. Either one could fit into the A’s plans, as Mark Ellis, while decent, is certainly not in a position to block anybody. I believe it’s more likely that Patterson will be tried at center, as while Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney have gotten the bulk of playing time at the position, neither are particularly adept there.
Josh Donaldson had an intriguingly big season last year, but he’s died in the water at Low-A ball. He showed an excellent plate approach along with power last year, but both have disappeared. He’s just here as an ‘if he makes it, great’ guy.
Of course, this package doesn’t measure up to the Haren deal, but that’s an absolutely ridiculous standard to set. They didn’t rob the Cubs at all, but for a pitcher who’s a long-shot to go half a season, the A’s got at least three pieces who have a chance to be significant producers for years.
Related posts
Comments
Comments »
Subscribe
No comments yet.