A's outfielder Matt Holliday appeared on SIRIUS XM Radio's MLB Home Plate Channel Tuesday afternoon and let loose about his expectations for the July 31 trade deadline (Quotes courtesy of MLB.com's Mychael Urban).
Asked if the A's had discussed with him a potential contract extension:
"They have not approached me or my representation at all," Holliday replied. "I would assume that being a smaller-market team that is into developing young players currently, that they will probably either trade me at some point or take their [compensatory] draft picks [for losing a Type A free agent] at the end of the year.
"It's sort of the understanding that I have. So we'll just kind of see what happens. I'm taking it day-by-day and just trying to go out there and play the best that I can to help our team win, and then move on to the next day.
Asked if he'd rather be traded or spend the rest of the season in Oakland, Holliday offered a lengthy response:
"That's an interesting question. I'd like for this to work out. I've had a great time with my teammates and have really appreciated the way this organization has treated me in this first couple of months. The guys have been great, and I see a lot of potential in this team, but we obviously aren't playing very well.
"We got off to a rough start and we've had some injuries and find ourselves 10 or 11 games back in the race. So I would say if it looks like we're not going to be able to get back into the race or get healthy, I think every player wants a chance to win, and I'm no exception. I'd love to play in the postseason again. That was the time of my life in baseball … getting a chance to play in the postseason in 2007.
Here's where it gets interesting…
"So if it looks like we're not going to be able to make it to the postseason and they can get some good players for me, I'd be OK with getting a chance to go try to make it to the postseason and play in October."
Ben worked up a nice profile on Holliday's situation earlier today. The 29-year-old Scott Boras client is batting just .275/.368/.440 this season, but has hit .330/.459/.534 since May 4th. As his batting line rises, so too will his trade value. What contenders might find him desirable?
