We've seen a good amount of talk surrounding the A's lately and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle gave her take on it all..
- Even though it's been said that Billy Beane will listen on all of his players this offseason, that is standard operating procedure for the GM and nothing new. Beane's philosophy is that there is a match for any player, if the price is right.
- If GM Billy Beane could get a substantial return for them, Slusser could see him trading Gio Gonzalez or Andrew Bailey. Gonzalez is coveted by many contenders, with the Yankees at the head of the pack. Bailey's value isn't terribly high after missing the first-half of last season with elbow issues, but the skyrocketing price of closers helps his case. The two-time All-Star is under team control for three more years.
- Slusser believes that it would take a Dan Haren-type deal to pry Gonzalez away and doesn't see that happening.
- Of the bullpen options that the A's have, Bailey probably would make the most sense if the A’s were to trade a younger piece. Then again, Slusser notes that Grant Balfour is making more than Bailey and would also draw interest.
- Even though the A’s have been linked to Grady Sizemore, Slusser hasn't heard any rumblings at all from the team about the center fielder. The A’s are believed to be focusing on building a team with an eye towards a new stadium and signing Sizemore on a one-year deal doesn't fit with that idea.
- There also hasn't been any talk from the team of going after Yoenis Cespedes, who on paper is the kind of player that the team might have interest in. The A’s are not in the mode where they’ll do the kind of spending that it will take to land the 26-year-old, so it's not likely that they'll land him. They have had high level scouts and executives at games and workouts but the pricetag is likely too high for Oakland. Slusser suggests taking the Sizemore and Cespedes talk with a grain of salt until the team has more clarity on the stadium situation.
IM salivating over the idea of Gio Gonzalez and Kershaw! NOt going to happen as long as we have Colletti. Instead he will give Jamie moyar a 4/30! horray!
If the A’s were to sign Cespedes, he would be 29 by the time the A’s relocate to San Jose, assuming a deal gets passed this week at the team owner’s meetings. He would be peaking right when Cisco field opens up for business
Slusser “it would take a Dan Haren type deal to pry him away”. I dont understand that comment because Gio Gonzalez is no where close to the caliber of Dan Haren.
When Dan Haren was traded:
He had about 6 yrs of full time starting pitching experience, averaging over 220 innings a season. Oh yeah he is 6’5 listed at 250, and a horse on the bump. average ERA was just under 3.3 for those 5 + yrs.
Gio Gonzalez:
2 yrs of full time starting pitching experience, averaging just over 200 innings both years. He is listed at 6’0 200 lbs, and a just above average starting pitcher. Average ERA the 2 yrs was just under 3.2.
Dont get me wrong I like Gio a lot and I think he has great stuff, and could become a potential #2, but at this point in his career based on what his resume shows, he doesn’t even compare to Dan Haren.
I hate people/writers/analyst who have no clue what they’re talking about, and have no base for how they script their points/arguments. They just say things without thinking about what makes sense, and what makes sense is the numbers, upside, body build, and resume. Don’t quit your day job slusser.
@Dodgersarelife:disqus
Slusser is actually a great beat writer for the A’s. She’s so good that she was elected VP of the Baseball Writes Association of America.
Also, she’s not saying that Gio is as good as Haren, she is saying that it would take the same type of package to get him via trade. Maybe you should re-read the article a little bit closer.
lol did you really just compare pitchers based off their physical sizes?
Dan Haren was 26 when the A’s got that massive haul from AZ. His age 24, 25 & 26 years netted 12.9 WAR.
Gio Gonzalez is currently 25 and his 24 & 25 years have him at 6.7 WAR. He has been improving steadily and his last few games of 2011 were dominant. Its within the boundaries of reason that he will be a 4-6 WAR player in 2012, putting him at 10-13 WAR over the same time meaning they potentially could be pretty much the same pitcher, Haren was just a year older when they traded him, that’s why Gio’s value is about the same as Haren’s was at the time.
When Slusser suggested that it’d take a Dan Haren like return, does that mean a return like the A’s got when they traded him to Arizona? Or is it what the Diamondbacks got when they traded him to the Angels? There is a difference…
It would be a return like when he was traded to Arizona
Yikes. Pass.
Carlos Gonzalez and Brett Anderson wasnt a good return?
Depends on perspective.
I’m using a Yankee perspective on this.
It’s depressing to be an Oakland A’s fan…I would give my left hand to have them stay and Oakland and e competitive, but every day looks even more bleak.
gio to detroit for rick porcello and casey crosby
The A’s do not need pitching. If a trade were to happen it would be for bats, and maybe a low level pitching prospect.
A trade for Gio would not be centered on a pitcher.
A Verlander/Gio 1/2 combo would be amazing though. You might get close to 500 Ks in one season between them.
So in other words, if Gio was traded to the Yankees, the Yankees would have to include Jesus Montero, right?
That would probably be a starting point. Although, I don’t know how well that would play out. Montero is pretty much a bat with no position to play because of his poor defense.
Oakland has an all bat, poor defense player in Chris Carter. While it looks like Carter might not have Montero’s ability, he might be the starting DH for the 2012 A’s.
I say let the kids play in 2012 and see who sticks. Give a full year of Carter, Taylor, and Kila Ka’aihue and see what happens
Writing off Barton right now would be very stupid indeed. In fact I’d pencil him in at 1B right now.
Barton has had, what, 2 1/2 seasons to prove himself?? He has been inconsistent offensively and defensively over that time. Yeah, he was injured last year, but he played through it instead of saying something, which is worse.
At this point, 1B belongs to Allen and is his to lose, not Barton. Allen has good defense, is athletic, and has lots of power. Barton, is similar in some regards, but has no power whatsoever.
lol thats funny grate joke
I would say Montero, Gardner & a prospect get it done.
what do you think about this
Gio goes to Detroit
OF porspect Daniel fields,OFandIF Ryan Raburn,1B Ryan Strieby and OF Andy Dirks
To Oakland
Since i like Gio a lot. The Yankees will probably get him and i will have to hate him. They do this often.
You should have just linked the Slusser article because you didn’t add anything to it and just basically copied and pasted it. Lift your game Zach.
I don’t understand why people continue to say that BOTH Sizemore and Cespedes are out of the A’s price range. The MLBPA is not going to let the A’s just pocket their revenue-sharing check, so they’re going to have to spend on somebody. They can afford at least one $6 mil. player next season and still remain below last year’s payroll, depending on how they fill out the rest of the roster. Plus, Cespedes fits right into the new stadium plans, so I think it would be worth it for the A’s to invest.