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Brett Anderson

A’s Extend Brett Anderson

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The A's signed lefty Brett Anderson to a four-year contract extension, the team announced (via Twitter). The deal runs from 2010-2013 and includes club options for 2014 and 2015. The extension buys out Anderson's last two pre-arbitration seasons and his first two arbitration years. The options cover Anderson's final arb year and his first year of free agency. 

As the Associated Press reported (via ESPN.com), Anderson will earn $500K in 2010, $1MM in 2011, $3MM in 2012, and $5.5MM in 2013. The options are for $8MM in 2014 and $12MM in 2015, with a $1.5MM buyout for each year. Anderson will also receive a $1MM signing bonus, paid in four equal installments between now and November 2011. Overall, the deal will guarantee the left-hander $12.5MM and could be worth as much as $31MM over six years.

In comparison, Brandon Webb signed a $7.5MM extension covering the same four-year chunk of his career in 2004. The Anderson contract overwrites the 2010 deal worth $410K that the A's re-signed him to last month.

The 22-year-old lefty pitched to a 4.06 ERA in 175.1 innings last year with 7.7 K/9 and 2.3BB/9. He has pitched similarly well in his two starts this season. Baseball America ranked Anderson the seventh-best prospect in the game going into the 2009 season.

A’s Acquire Matt Holliday

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5:01pm: Scott Miller of CBSSports.com says the Rockies are prepared to turn around and trade Street to another team.

4:08pm: Gonzalez confirmed his inclusion in the trade in a phone call to Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today.

3:42pm: A Rockies spokesman told the AP that talks are fluid, and "everything’s speculation."  Heyman is now aboard with Gonzalez/Smith/Street as the package.  Seems solid for one year of Holliday and the accompanying draft picks.

3:20pm: Susan Slusser spoke to Smith, who is flying to Denver for a physical.  She agrees that Street and Gonzalez are the other two players.

2:54pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick confirmed Smith is in the deal.

2:39pm: Troy Renck says the A’s had been offering Street and Gonzalez.  Meanwhile ESPN adds Ryan Sweeney and Gonzalez to their mix of players discussed.

2:30pm: Brown says the two teams have agreed in principle to a deal that will send Gonzalez, Smith, and Street to the Rockies.

2:24pm: The ESPN report now says Brett Anderson was under discussion as well as Smith.

2:03pm: The ESPN guys talked to A’s assistant GM David Forst, who said, "It’s still an ongoing discussion."

2:00pm: Ken Rosenthal chimes in.  The deal may not be finalized for about 48 hours.  Players discussed over the weekend: Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Smith.  Rosenthal says the A’s do not plan to flip Holliday or trade him in July.  Rosenthal also says the A’s could increase payroll to as high as $80MM, which could mean $25-30MM to play with.

1:57pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney and Jerry Crasnick say the two teams have agreed to terms, and believe pitcher Greg Smith was under discussion.

1:51pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown also says a deal is close.

1:27pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the A’s traded for Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday.  More as it comes in!

Slusser On The Dan Haren Trade

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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was recently named Rumor Royalty for the A’s.  She answered a few questions for MLBTR for the series.

MLBTR: Some have called Billy Beane’s return on Dan Haren "quantity over quality."  Do you agree?  What is your opinion on the Haren haul?

Slusser: My understanding is that the A’s felt that Arizona might be the best match all along for Haren and that they received pretty much exactly what they asked for, so clearly these are prospects the A’s valued highly, Carlos Gonzalez and Brett Anderson in particular. Maybe there’s some belief the A’s should have gotten one of the Diamondbacks’ young big-leaguers, but that was never on the table. I’m not sure they would have done better elsewhere, and they got some quality and certainly quantity – which isn’t a bad thing. Mark Ellis was a throw-in in the Damon deal, essentially; no one really noticed him at the time. He turned out to be the most valuable piece, long-term.

Dan Haren Trade Analysis

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The first domino fell tonight as an ace starter, Dan Haren, was dealt to the Diamondbacks for a bevy of prospects.  I believe the D’Backs won this one.  Let’s dig into the details.

Take Haren, a horse of an American League pitcher, and throw him in the easier league.  The D’Backs got themselves a bona fide ace to pair with Brandon Webb, and they get him for three years at a reasonable price.  He makes a mere $16.25MM over 2008-10; he’s worth at least three times that amount.   (Arizona also gets 26 year-old reliever Connor Robertson, who hasn’t really conquered Triple A yet.)

To balance out the immense value of Haren, the A’s get six young players.  Four of them represent the #1, 3, 7,  and 8th ranked prospects on Baseball America’s top ten for the team.

Carlos Gonzalez, 22, is the stud of the group.  He can play right or center and has definite star potential.  However, he’s no lock to become Carlos Beltran or Jeff Francoeur.

Southpaw starter Brett Anderson turns 20 in February.  He’s more about polish and command than stuff, and is a curious guy to be the main pitching prospect in the Haren deal.  He’ll try to tackle Double A in 2008.

We’ve discussed 21 year-old first baseman Chris Carter recently; the D’Backs just acquired him for Carlos Quentin.  Who knew it was setting up a Haren deal.  He’s a slow guy with massive power and plenty of strikeouts.  He’ll give High A ball a try in ’08.

Outfielder Aaron Cunningham turns 22 in April.  He’s one of those guys who doesn’t do anything poorly but isn’t great at any one skill either.  Baseball America thinks he’ll become a solid fourth outfielder.

24 year-old southpaw Dana Eveland came to Arizona along with Doug Davis.  He’s drawn David Wells comparisons and has proven himself in the high minors.  He missed a lot of ’07 with a torn tendon in his pitching hand. 

Greg Smith is a 24 year-old southpaw starter with a good curveball and mediocre fastball.  His strikeout rate was just 5.85 per nine at Triple A in ’07.

I’m surprised Billy Beane didn’t get more "sure thing" young players for his best trading chip.  Gonzalez will probably pan out, but he really needed a high octane near-MLB young gun starter too and he didn’t get it.  I will give him credit for spreading out his risk over six prospects, though.  Josh Byrnes gets an ace without giving up anyone he needed in ’08.

Dan Haren Traded To Diamondbacks

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It looks like Billy Beane has pulled the trigger on a trade for Dan Haren, sending him to the Diamondbacks for a package of prospects. The departed: Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, and Aaron Cunningham. The A’s also sent right Connor Robertson to the D’Backs.

The D’Backs also completed another deal, sending closer Jose Valverde to the Astros for Chris Burke, Chad Qualls, and Juan Gutierrez.

Tim will be around later to share his views on the trade.

–Joe

D’Backs Put Offer On Table For Haren

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According to John Mahnke of the East Valley Tribune, the Diamondbacks have a trade offer out to the A’s for Dan Haren.  The package includes Carlos Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio, and Brett Anderson – but not Max Scherzer. 

Gonzalez is apparently the headliner – the A’s would try him in center field even though he’s mostly played right.  Mahnke says Gonzalez hasn’t appeared in a winter league game in over a week, and that’s a sign that he’s part of a possible trade.

It’d be surprising to see Josh Byrnes pull this off without giving up any young Major Leaguers.  However, none have been named as part of Arizona’s offer as of yet.  The D’Backs are one of few teams that could pull this off without disrupting their big league club much.  Pairing Brandon Webb with Haren could really help the team plow through playoff series. 

D’Backs Still Searching For A Starter

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The D’Backs’ loss of Livan Hernandez should become official today when he declines their offer of arbitration.  That leaves the team with a rotation of Brandon Webb, Randy Johnson, Doug Davis, and Micah Owings.  The Big Unit is a question mark, so a starter must be acquired.

Back on November 15th, Nick Piecoro noted the team’s interest in Matt Clement and Bartolo Colon.  But the Diamondbacks are sticking to their no bonuses/no escalator clauses mandate.  So that pair will probably look elsewhere.

Hiroki Kuroda received a three-year offer and a pitch video featuring Randy Johnson.  He’ll visit Arizona next week.  If he chooses Seattle, L.A., or Kansas City, the D’Backs will have to move on.  It’s rumored that the Ms added a fourth year to their offer.

The big name is Dan Haren.  Jack Magruder says Arizona’s proposal included two of Carlos Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio, and Brett Anderson.  Magruder believes the A’s are also seeking Major Leaguers, which makes sense.  So that huge untouchables list might have to be compromised if the D’Backs are to get Haren.

A’s Rumors: Jenkins, Haren, Swisher

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Susan Slusser and Rick Hurd check in with the latest on Billy Beane and the A’s.

  • Hurd indicates that the A’s might have some interest in free agent Geoff Jenkins.  It’s a sign that the A’s might be playing for 2008, after all.  Slusser wonders whether Barry Bonds rumors are next to surface, if that’s the case.
  • The D’Backs put together a five-player offer for Dan Haren, including Carlos Gonzalez and Brett Anderson.  Slusser says there’s a "slim chance" of a deal.  Likewise the Dodgers are not close to anything on Joe Blanton.
  • While the Cubs have liked Nick Swisher for some time, they’ve never impressed the A’s with an offer.
  • Beane had some talks yesterday with Huston Street’s agent about a long-term pact.
  • The best quotes of the day yesterday came from Beane in reference to our debacle of a three-way trade rumor.  Beane labeled it the "all-time most ridiculous" trade rumor and "laughable."  It sounds like it almost knocked Beane off his exercise bike.

Dan Haren Rumors: Wednesday

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UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:20am: Joel Sherman says Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, and Tony Pena are also off the table in the Haren talks.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:09am: Susan Slusser adds that the A’s aren’t being unreasonable with Arizona – they haven’t asked for Justin Upton or Chris Young. Slusser also notes that Billy Beane wouldn’t sit down with the Tigers unless they’d discuss Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin.  That’s when the Tigers turned to the Marlins.  Beane downplayed the chances of trading Haren, but what else is he going to say?

FROM 12-5-07 at 12:09am:

Technically it’s Wednesday now, and some of the more rumor-filled threads were getting really long.  So I’m happy to start a set of new ones.  You can check out Tuesday’s Dan Haren thread here.

According to Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune, the D’Backs are willing to discuss a package of Carlos Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio, and Brett Anderson for Haren.  That the D’Backs could spare these three very talented youngsters without skipping a beat speaks to how deep their farm system is.  Magruder’s source says the A’s could ask for a staggering six players. 

Jose Valverde, Dustin Nippert, and/or Alberto Callaspo could be involved to give the A’s some MLB-ready talent.  From previous reports, we know that Conor Jackson and Max Scherzer will not be involved.  Ken Rosenthal had suggested last night that the A’s initial request scared the D’Backs off, but he’s since corrected that information. 

The A’s, however, want to wait for something to happen with Johan Santana before trading Haren.

Additionally, Magruder adds that the D’Backs have a touch of interest in Noah Lowry.

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