Yankees Interested In Harden?

The only reason to trade Harden now is that he still does have some value (albeit the value is very low).

It really comes down to how you think he will perform in the future. If Beane buys into the notion that it was a series of freak injuries then yeah, hold on to him. Let him bring his value up this year and then move him.

However, if Beane thinks the guy is a ticking time bomb better to dump him now and get something of worth.

Personally, I don't think a guy like Kennedy is possible. However, someone like Kennedy who is still in the minors and has a little more risk of failure could be fair.

If Beane could get Kennedy AND a decent prospect, it would be a coup. Dude is a genius...and I'm NOT an A's fan. Both the Haren and Swisher deals were incredible. His best attribute is that he knows when to go for it and when to focus on rebuilding; his timing is impeccable, his eye for talent, impressive, and his focus on a singular objective is laudable. I can only hope (and I'm not convinced thus far) that my O's and Andy McPhail can learn from Beane and follow his all-or-nothing lead. I guarantee, for instance, Beane would have teams messing themselves over the possibility of nabbing Jeremy Guthrie whose rights are controlled for another three or four years, I think, but who, at 29, seems too old to figure into Baltimore's long-term goals. Beane is terrific at finding a market for his players...or creating one with hype and by playing teams off one another. He's handcuffed by his economic situation, but manages to use those strictures to define his overall strategy/philosophy. So far this offseason he's turned Mark friggin' Kotsay into a fairly recent (if unproven) former first rounder- Joey Devine- a very good young front-line starter who suffered through a pretty significant second half collapse last year, into Carlos Gonzalez- a top prospect with a ceiling so high you can't see it- Brett Anderson- maybe my favorite up and coming lefty starter prospect- Aaron Cunningham and Chris Carter- two nice young prospects with a lot to learn, but intriguing upsides, a polished lefty in Greg Smith, who has mid-to-back of the rotation potential, and a throw-in- Dana Eveland- who could help an MLB 'pen in a hurry. Amazing! Erik Bedard is a much better pitcher (IMHO) but Baltimore failed to net the same value in return due to $/time issues. Beane would've sent him packing as soon as it was clear which way the wind was blowing (him wanting to go). The Swisher/Tejada deals weren't even close, though Swisher is younger and doesn't have the...er...history that now taints Tejada. It seemed all offseason that the O's were two steps behind the A's in their rebuilding efforts; a fact I credit entirely to Beane.

I'll add, in closing, that one big difference seems to be that Beane seems to value talent first and foremost. He's done well to acquire a stable of excellent young pitching prospects, but not at the cost of getting the most talented prospects, as McPhail seems prone to doing. Instead of getting the best, he goes after pitching first and quantity second; a flawed strategy that quickly becomes tiresome. For all the talk of his returns in the Tejada/Bedard deals and the prospective Roberts trade, Beane has gotten more with, arguably, less and still has Blanton and Harden at the ready. I guarantee once a few more pitchers on contenders go down (assuming they stay healthy), he'll flip them for packages with far greater value. Hell, I wouldn't bet against the A's moving all the way up, into the top 5 in terms of farm systems, by this time next year. When you consider where they started...Wow!

Can the A's really afford to wait for Harden to realize his "full value"? The Yankees, among others, can keep a non-productive $7 million contract on their books without impacting the team, but the A's certainly can't. If Harden goes on the DL again this year, his trade value is practically wiped out. Beane should take what he can get for Harden now and stock up for another run at respectability in 2-3 years.

The Bo-Sox's rotation is Far superior to the Yankees this year. I don't even think it's a real comparison.

But if Beane traded Harden for Ian Kennedy ?! simply awesome.

Kennedy and Horne, no way, but amazing if he pulled it off.

I gotta think it would be better for Beane to get some infielders, but hey, Kennedy and Horne ain't bad.

It really is too bad he was never able to land Cueto before the Reds realized just how awesome he is.

Maybe Beane would work a blockbuster that would send Harden and Blanton to the Yankees ?

...and that gives the Yanks a rotation of
Wang
Blanton
Pettite
Harden
Hughes
w/Joba in relief until Harden inevitably goes down (and later taking Pettite's spot after he retires to get away from all the HGH talk).

Damn

No s@*^! It's still fun to speculate.

One more thought, This is a great site and I also like to read the posts. Keep up the great work guys.