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Carlos Gonzalez

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.

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 Will Be Pricey

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:09pm: Hank Steinbrenner weighed in on the Haren-Yankees talks, calling Billy Beane’s request "ridiculous."  The Yankees are out on Haren.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:00pm: Nick Piecoro’s source says Conor Jackson is not a part of the Haren talks, actually.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:13pm: The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford says the A’s and D’Backs have had "constructive talks" about Haren for Carlos Gonzalez, Conor Jackson, and two others.

FROM 12-4-07 at 10:58am:

OK, you already knew that.  But Joel Sherman has details.

  • Billy Beane sees Dan Haren as equal in value to Johan Santana, all things considered.  Over the next three years, that could be true – plus Haren is much more reasonable in terms of salary.
  • Beane’s focus is young pitching.
  • Beane doesn’t want Melky Cabrera from the Yankees.  He wants a package starting with Phil Hughes and one of Ian Kennedy or Alan Horne.
  • Sherman says the Mets don’t have the blue-chippers in Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber, and Kevin Mulvey. 
  • The Dodgers and D’Backs match up better for Haren than the Yankees and Mets, though Arizona doesn’t really have the young pitching.
  • Joe Blanton won’t be cheap either; Beane equates him with Brad Penny.
  • Athletics Nation believes Blanton is much more likely to be traded than Haren this winter.

D’Backs Rumors: Haren, Kuroda, Carlos Gonzalez

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MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert has some trade rumors to digest this evening concerning the D’Backs.

  • Arizona had discussions with the A’s about Dan Haren today.  Many names were thrown about.  Conor Jackson was not involved.  The A’s asked about Max Scherzer and were told he’s not available.  We learned earlier that Carlos Gonzalez’s name came up. 
  • By the way, the D’Backs aren’t interested in Joe Blanton.
  • Arizona is still around 3/30 on Hiroki Kuroda.
  • The Rangers inquired about Carlos Gonzalez but wouldn’t consider parting with Eric Hurley for him.
  • The Nats are indeed interested in Miguel Montero, as reported previously.

Rangers Rumors: Bay, Gagne, Fukudome

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T.R. Sullivan has the Rangers goods for us this evening.  Wow, did MLB.com send 30+ reporters out to Nashville?

  • The Rangers are still pursuing Eric Gagne to return as their closer (and then maybe they’d flip him again).  The interest is mutual. 
  • The team is also considering LaTroy Hawkins, Shawn Chacon, Luis Vizcaino, Trever Miller, and Octavio Dotel.  Basically, most of the relief market.  Problem is, the Rangers don’t want to give more than one year to any of these guys.
  • The Rangers are moving toward filling center field internally after exploring options.  Carlos Gomez, Felix Pie, and Carlos Gonzalez proved unavailable or too pricey (though if all the Mets wanted for Gomez was Gerald Laird, Daniels should’ve pounced).
  • Daniels has shifted gears to a corner outfielder.  Kosuke Fukudome remains on the radar.
  • The Rangers had a preliminary conversation with the Bucs about Jason Bay. 
  • The team isn’t focused on getting pitching for once, but Daniels is still perusing medical reports on Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, and Jason Jennings.   
  • Daniels said he’s not shopping Hank Blalock.

Reported Jose Valverde Demands Not Accurate

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UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 10am: Nick Piecoro talked to Valverde’s agent; the below demands are not accurate.  Valverde knows where he stands and that he’s a few years off from cashing in.  Another D’Backs note: they were in on Matt Garza but Carlos Gonzalez didn’t measure up to Delmon Young.

FROM 11-27-07 at 10:30am:

Jose Valverde led the Majors with 47 saves last year, and now he wants to be paid accordingly.  He made $2MM in ’07 in his first year of arbitration.

Listin Diario, a well-known Dominican Republic newspaper, reported on November 9th that Valverde is seeking a four-year deal from the Diamondbacks in the range of $50-60MM (hat tip AZ Snakepit).  Sounds like Valverde wants to be paid like a guy with six years of service time, though he only has four.

Failing a multiyear deal, Valverde is hoping to get $10MM for the 2008 season.  The article says the D’Backs offered $4MM.  If the two sides can’t meet somewhere, they’ll have to go to arbitration.

If Valverde is to get up to the $8-10MM range it makes sense for the D’Backs to shop him as an elite closer under team control through 2009.  He could be involved in a deal for a starter, for example the Tigers’ Jeremy Bonderman (pure speculation).  What are your thoughts on a Valverde deal that might make sense?

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