Discussion: Justin Duchscherer

I guess if he proves he's no longer an injury risk (with strong July, August, Sept, Oct), there's no reason for a club to doubt him.

I think that if Duke can get back on the mound by the end of June and put together 4 or 5 decent starts by the trade deadline, Beane will trade him for a decent prospect or two.

If he can't do that, then obviously Beane will likely just hope that he can get on the mound at some point in the 2nd half of the season and build himself up physically and build up some value so that Beane can offer him arbitration in the off-season to either bring him back to the 2010 team on a 1-year deal, or get some draft picks for him.

As usual, it's ALL about health concerning anything about the A's.

As soon as Duke comes back and strings together 3-4 quality starts (if this happens), the A's should immediately flip him for prospects. Immediately.

"As usual, it's ALL about health concerning anything about the A's."

The A's are probably the worst team healthwise in MLB. Have been for a while now.

I actually think that if he posts a decent ERA when he comes back (Less than 4 prob). He can get a 2 or 3 year deal for 8 mill/yr

He was a really nice reliever but didn't have the arm to start for a year. I doubt a team will bet more than a couple mil on him. Guys like Sheets and Prior have been aces for full years and as long as they are injured they will not be given much.

If his rehab goes as planned he will be back sometime between mid-late June. That still gives him time to get 4-6 starts in before the deadline ends. With that said no team will give upper tier prospects for this guy just coming back from Elbow surgery. They could snag a mid-tier prospect at best...or 2 lower minor prospects. I would be nice to see the Cards make a run for him if he proves healthy for a month. With Pineiro and Welly in walk years (and I am not too pissed about that :) ) we could work with Duch the rest of the year and have the opportunity to resign him for next years staff. Would be nice to have another quality addition. I think if he hits the open market he gets no more than a 2-3 year deal...and may be smart to take a 1 year deal and hit the market again after a full healthy season. But as a Cards fan I would welcome him to STL!

the phillies, between last year's blanton trade and a possible trade this year, the oakland a's will be the philadelpha a's all over again

Duchscherer wouldn't be a bad fit in the Cardinals organization. He's demonstrated the ability to be a quality starter and is unlikely to receive a large contract this off-season. Worst case scenario, he becomes a high quality long relief man to anchor a young (but promising) St. Louis bullpen. Best case scenario, he replaces Wellemeyer and perhaps achieves better.

I see it as unlikely for Duchscherer to receive much more than $7,000,000 a year. That might be possible, what I think would be more likely is a $4-5,000,000 first year with an $8-9,000,000 option.

I can't see him getting a big multi-year contract in the offseason. I can see Beane trading him for nearly anything is he can get himself healthy before the break. I he comes back and does well Beane will get more, otherwise he'll settle for nearly anything. He won't get near the haul, in terms of quality or quantity that he got for Harden, but I'm guess he's settle for one descent prospect at least. Duke is a good pitcher but he just doesn't have the upside needed to be worth big money or a lot of prospects.

I think it's funny that Hudson's option at $12m is a slam dunk pick-up for the Braves but Dutch will be lucky to get $5m.

I know it was only one year but a 2.54 ERA isn't shabby as a starter. He was a top shelf reliever before that. The guy can flat out pitch.

By way of comparison, Looper, pitching the NL, coming off a year where he posted an ERA of 4.16 landed a $5m contract in this economic climate. I would take Dutch over Looper any day. No comparison.