Athletics Rumors

Matt Holliday Uncensored

By | June 2, 2009 at 7:33pm CDT

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?

Draft Updates: Braves, Reds, Tigers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 2, 2009 at 3:56pm CDT

The draft's a week away and here's what some teams are thinking as the big day approaches.

The Braves will take the best available player with their seventh overall pick, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. It's the earliest pick they've had since 1991, but they'll have to wait until 87th for their next turn. Zack Wheeler, a Georgia high school pitcher, could be available when the Braves select.
MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds would like to add catching depth and left-handed pitching in the draft, which they say could be deepest in rounds 2-6. Cincinnati has the eighth pick of the first round, when high school lefty Tyler Matzek could be available.
As MLB.com's Jason Beck reports, the Tigers are looking for pitching with the ninth pick. Pitchers Jacob Turner and Shelby Miller have caught the Tigers' attention.
MLB.com's Thomas Harding points out that no one on the current Rockies roster was drafted in the last three years. This time around, they'll draft 11th.
The Royals say they'll take the best available player with the 12th pick, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. This is the first time in four years that the Royals don't have a top-three pick.
MLB.com's Mychael Urban reports that the A's agree with many teams: this year's first round is littered with power arms. The A's don't know what options they'll have with their 13th pick, however.

Taking Stock Of Matt Holliday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 2, 2009 at 1:49pm CDT

At the start of the year, we expected Matt Holliday to establish himself as the top free agent player heading into the offseason. After two months in Oakland, there's no question his value has sunk. Buster Olney says Holliday will be in position to command three-year offers worth just $30-35MM. There's still a lot of baseball left, but let's take a look at some of the reasons his value is so low:

Holliday's hitting just .275/.368/.440
His slugging percentage this year is 200 points lower than his career mark at Coors Field.
He's attempted just five steals after stealing 28 bases last year.

But he still has a lot going for him:

He has Scott Boras for an agent.
He's hitting .330/.459/.534 since May 4th, with five homers and all four of his steals.
If he's dealt to a contender and makes the playoffs he could boost his value by playing well in October.

Discussion: Justin Duchscherer

By | May 30, 2009 at 2:05pm CDT

A's right-hander Justin Duchscherer is a free agent after this season, but he hasn't thrown a pitch all year due to lingering elbow discomfort and suffered yet another setback on Friday. Heading into the '09 season, things were looking up for "The Duke of Hurl." The 32-year-old had a 2.54 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 95/34 K/BB ratio for Oakland in 2008 and was cruising toward his first major contract. What now?

I thought it'd be interesting to poll the readers. Can he still demand a hefty multi-year deal? Will A's GM Billy Beane try to deal him once he returns? What clubs are a good fit? Obviously a lot depends on his performance in the season's final few months, but let's assume he pitches as well as he did last year.

Take in the full MLBTR archive on Duchscherer right here.

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 8:44am CDT

Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.

RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.

Giants Not Dangling Cain, Not Interested In Holliday

By Tim Dierkes | May 25, 2009 at 8:17am CDT

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle provides an update on a few Giants rumors.

Schulman's "very high-level" Giants source says Matt Cain is not being dangled, contrary to an earlier rumor.
Schulman agrees with Juan C. Rodriguez's report that the Giants have asked the Marlins about Dan Uggla.
Schulman believes the Giants are talking to the Nationals about Nick Johnson. However, his source said the team has no interest in Matt Holliday. Much has been made of Holliday's slow start, but keep in mind he's hitting .296/.406/.494 in May.

Odds & Ends: Peavy, Gomes, Nolasco, Price

By | May 23, 2009 at 3:03pm CDT

Your Saturday afternoon links, with more to come…

JorgeSaysNo! reiterates that the Brewers are a "perfect fit" for Jake Peavy, and Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com's "Circling The Bases" believes Milwaukee will need to move quickly in order to land him.
As Mark Sheldon of MLB.com points out, Jonny Gomes is set to make his debut with the Reds this evening. He showed good faith in the club when he accepted an assignment to Triple-A at the end of spring training, and that faith has now been rewarded.
Ricky Nolasco was demoted to Triple-A New Orleans this morning after beginning the season with a 9.07 ERA, 1.81 WHIP and 2-5 record. R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs examines what the 26-year-old has been doing wrong.
David Price finally got the call. He'll start Monday against the Indians and R.J. Anderson of DRaysBay highlights a few things to monitor.
Athletics Nation asks the question: "Where will the A's find greatness?"
As Tim noted earlier this week, there are now several ways to keep up with the action here on MLBTR. You can join the Facebook fan page, follow us on Twitter, sign up for the RSS feed, and even get updates on your mobile phone.

Gammons On Peavy, Greene, Holliday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 22, 2009 at 11:42am CDT

More rumors from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons in his latest column:

Gammons says it made sense for Kenny Williams to try to deal for Jake Peavy because the AL Central is winnable and Gordon Beckham wasn't part of the deal.
Gammons expects teams to be wary of no-trade clauses after seeing Peavy thwart the Padres' plans to deal him.
Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants to deal now, while more teams are in the pennant race and remain possible buyers.
Rizzo would like to improve his bullpen, which has an ERA nearing 7.00.
The Red Sox want to wait on David Ortiz and plan on giving him the chance to start hitting. He finally homered this week, but has struck out in seven of his last 20 plate appearances.
Gammons believes it makes sense for the Cardinals to see if the Red Sox have interest in Khalil Greene.
Billy Beane may face a limited market for Matt Holliday if he decides to trade the left fielder in July.

Stark On White Sox, Bedard, A’s, Penny

By Tim Dierkes | May 21, 2009 at 2:28pm CDT

A new Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

Even if they don't acquire Jake Peavy, the White Sox are apparently "open for business." Stark takes that to mean names such as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could hit the market.
The Mariners are not quite yet at the point of making Erik Bedard available. They figure to price him like an ace if they do so.
If A's GM Billy Beane decides to fold on 2009, he could make veterans such as Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and Russ Springer available.
It's very unlikely that the D'Backs shop Brandon Webb this summer, since he'll be coming off a shoulder injury.
Indians GM Mark Shapiro seems to be leaning toward hanging on to Cliff Lee for now. Shapiro may look to add pitching by trading Mark DeRosa or an outfielder.
The Red Sox are "actively listening" on Brad Penny. My opinion: the Phillies, Indians, White Sox, or Mets could make sense.

Oakland A Fit For Mark DeRosa?

By Tim Dierkes | May 21, 2009 at 9:09am CDT

According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser:

Oakland is likely to talk to the Indians about Mark DeRosa, who is on the block. The A's had some interest in the infielder after the 2006 season. The Indians are believed to be looking for pitching, but the A's won't trade any of their hotshot young pitchers.

Second baseman Mark Ellis should be back in June, but the A's are getting a .177/.270/.300 line over at the hot corner. The A's are currently 7 games out and in last place, though, so they might be the ones shopping veterans a month from now.

Speaking of DeRosa, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if a deal involving him, Jamey Carroll, and J.J. Putz could be worked out between the Mets and Indians. He says Carroll is an Omar Minaya favorite.

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