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Rich Harden

Rosenthal’s Latest

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Ken Rosenthal posted a new article this afternoon.  A good read as usual, though not chock full of new rumors.

  • Rocco Baldelli remains the Devil Rays’ best trading chip; they hope to see the 25 year-old return and re-establish the trade value he had in 2006.  Many are already saying the Rays waited too long on Baldelli, but let’s see what they get for him before making that judgment.
  • Reggie Willits has hit his way into a starting job for the Angels.  Nice to see an Angel drawing walks 12% of the time.  That will enable Willits to remain effective after his batting average regresses.  Rosenthal says third base is the clear position for upgrade for the Angels.  Garrett Atkins is desired, and Rosenthal would consider Brandon Wood a reasonable bounty.  If I’m Dan O’Dowd, I’m making that deal.  Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin believes the Blue Jays would ask for Wood for Troy Glaus, but would settle for Ervin Santana and 1B/3B/DH Matt Brown.  Shaikin’s source says J.P. Ricciardi is not yet prepared to trade Glaus, however.
  • Rosenthal speculates that the Braves would like to add a big-time starter to get away from the current plan of "Hudson and Smoltz and pray for lightning bolts."  Sorry, that was the best weather rhyme I could come up with.  He mentions Rich Harden and Dontrelle Willis, accompanied by the obligatory Jarrod Saltalamacchia rumor.  Poor Salty.

Stark’s Latest

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Jayson Stark posted a new Rumblings and Grumblings column over at ESPN; it’s definitely worth a read.  A summary of his trade rumors:

  • GMs calling the Marlins have noticed that the team seems a little more open to trading Dontrelle Willis this year. Miguel Cabrera doesn’t appear to be under discussion.  If the Marlins are out of the race in mid-July and a team ponies up with three legimate young regulars, they might be able to pry him away.  The D’Backs or Dodgers could probably pull this off without damaging their current group too much.
  • Stark says the D-Rays are considering promoting both Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac before the trading deadline, filling out the left side of their infield.  Someone would have to be pushed out; maybe B.J. Upton to center, Akinori Iwamura to second, and Rocco Baldelli to another team.  Stark reminds us of past interest by the Red Sox.  And don’t forget all the interest from Atlanta in December.   
  • The Rich Harden trade rumors may just reflect frustration on Billy Beane’s part, and not actual availability.
  • Stark also debates whether the Rangers would still be on the hook for $21MM if Alex Rodriguez opts out and then the Yankees re-sign him.  Right now it’s an open question.

A’s Not Discussing Harden?

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Both Buster Olney and Tim Brown have written about Rich Harden trade possibilities in recent days.  It seemed odd that talks would be going on with such an uncertain player, however.  Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle throws water on the fire, with a team source indicating to her that the A’s are not having trade talks involving Harden.

But usually where there’s smoke, there’s fire.  I would think Billy Beane has had Harden’s name come up in a conversation or two; perhaps back in early April when he was flashing his ace stuff with three quality starts.

It’ll be fun if Billy Beane throws a fire sale this summer (well, not for A’s fans).  It might be hard to get anything near full value for Harden, even though he’s the one with star potential.  Dan Haren, on the other hand…he could challenge for Cy Youngs as a Met. 

A’s Shop Harden To Red Sox

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Yahoo’s Tim Brown has a source indicating that Billy Beane has called the Red Sox to see if they’d be interested in oft-injured flamethrower Rich Harden.  Brown also knew some teams Beane didn’t call about Harden: the D’Backs, Dodgers, and Devil Rays.  He speculates that buzzing Boston could be an attempt to lure the Yankees.

Boston’s strength is it’s starting pitching, so it seems an odd area to upgrade.  Most likely this was just Billy and Theo BSing and it somehow turned into a trade rumor.  But can you imagine the Red Sox rotation on paper?

Matsuzaka
Beckett
Schilling
Harden
Wakefield

Then in ’08, the Red Sox could let Schilling walk and plug Lester in, without losing much.  Of course, a healthy Harden is like some sort of mirage.  Seeing Harden on a Major League mound is as rare as seeing me at the office past 4:52.  (What?  I have a 5:09 train I like to catch).

We could throw around a bunch of Red Sox prospect names in speculation, but why?  Nothing’s getting done until Harden strings together five healthy starts.

Brown says Oakland could go for a full-blown fire sale if they’re out of contention in July.  Future free agents Mike Piazza, Milton Bradley, Jason Kendall, and Joe Kennedy would be prime tradin’ chips.

Trading Rich Harden

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Rich Harden’s name first popped up in trade rumors in December.  John Delcos spoke with Mets GM Omar Minaya and indicated that the A’s starter was surprisingly available, perhaps for a package of Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman, and Philip Humber.  Ken Rosenthal later indicated that it was Dan Haren the Mets really wanted.  A confusing situation all around.

Buster Olney brought the rumor back to life today in his blog with some informed speculation.  He thinks that if Harden could stay healthy for a month or two, there could be a huge market for him at the deadline.  He’s locked up at a reasonable price through 2009.

Olney speculates that the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, or the big money teams could make a play.  One source Olney spoke to liked the Devil Rays as a suitor.  Personally I think Kazmir/Harden would be a lot better on paper than in reality, much like Prior/Wood.  I have to admit that putting Elijah Dukes and Milton Bradley on the same team could be cool.  Sidenote: Dukes seems like a changed man.  He sounds like a normal guy now, hanging out and eating Red Lobster with his family. 

Acquiring Harden in exchange for top tier talent would certainly be a risky move for a GM.  One GM not afraid to take risks: Kenny Williams.  The White Sox have a great medical staff, too.

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