Cubs Acquire Rich Harden

by Charlie on Jul 8, 2008 7:14 PM EDT Comment 5 comments

Hours after claiming "nothing's changed" following the Brewers' acquisition of C.C. Sabathia, Jim Hendry and the Cubs have dealt for Rich Harden. They also receive pitcher Chad Gaudin. The A's get pitcher Sean Gallagher, infielder Eric Patterson, outfielder Matt Murton and minor league catcher Josh Donaldson. That's an awful lot of pitching talent that's entered the division in the past few days.

I love Gallagher, who has a good performance record and gets nice movement on his pitches, and I like Murton better than most, but I still don't understand this deal from the A's perspective. Harden has a very reasonable club option for 2009, and he's obviously dominant when healthy. Gaudin is also a very useful swingman. The only high-upside player the A's got in return was Gallagher, who should be a good mid-rotation starter the next few years. After that, Patterson and Murton look like role players (and that's being generous), and after Donaldson's dreadful season so far in Class A, I'm not even really sure he's much of a prospect.

What's particularly odd here is that the A's, despite this being a rebuilding year, are still in the playoff hunt. Unless they're dumping salary, or their doctors are near-certain Harden won't stay healthy and it's best to get something for him before his arm falls off (possible, actually), I'm not sure what the A's are doing here. Of course, the A's usually do things for a reason, so maybe the next few months will give us an answer.

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pitching talent

yea that is alot of pitching talent coming in the division. Also, you shouldn’t forget about Chris Carpanter. Isn’t he supposed to be back after the break.

by joegonzo on Jul 8, 2008 7:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I thought

Thunder Matt’s Saloon would become an A’s blog now.

Don’t like the trade for the A’s, but you never know.

by Bukanier on Jul 8, 2008 8:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

selling high

as a sucker who’s owned rich harden the last 3 years in fantasy baseball, i can understand billy’s beane’s thinking. he can’t hold him to the deadline because there’s no telling whether he’ll still be healthy by then. two starts ago his velocity was down 4-5 mph and he walked four in his last start. i’m not saying that he’s hurt right now – no doubt the cubs gave or will give him a thorough physical – but i think it’s been enough to give beane reason to think that harden’s value is as high as it’s going to go.

by johnnycuff on Jul 8, 2008 10:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

“In fact, one baseball man called Oakland’s decision to trade Harden now - while he’s pitching great and the A’s are still in a race - a “serious red flag.” Meanwhile, in a potentially related development, a scout we surveyed reported that Harden’s velocity hasn’t been quite the same in his most recent couple of starts, since his eight-inning, 11-strikeout two-hitter against the Phillies on June 26. ” – ESPN

In Beane We Trust

by WestCoastBuc on Jul 9, 2008 8:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Matt Murton has a career 105 OPS+ and plays good corner outfield defense

And that makes him more than a role player. Beane better find a trading partner that wants some of his excess outfield depth, though.

As for Harden, we always knew he was talented. But until this recent stretch of 11 starts, nobody believed he could stay healthy. Why start now? This is not a white flag—it might slightly lower the A’s chances of catching the Angels, but it’s a smart move going forward.

by Sky Kalkman on Jul 9, 2008 5:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs