Hotmail
Sources: A's close to deal for Rockies star Holliday
Bay Area Holliday
Why would the Rockies trade one of the best hitters in baseball? Are the A's going to make more moves? Ken Rosenthal has all the answers right HERE.
|
The players the Rockies will receive have not been decided, and the deal likely will not be finalized for approximately 48 hours, sources said.
Over the weekend, the teams discussed A's outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, left-hander Greg Smith and reliever Huston Street, according to one source. Those are the players believed to be in the deal, though the names are subject to change. An official announcement will not be made until each of the players in the trade passes a physical, sources said.
Gonzalez and Smith are two of the six players that the A's acquired from the Diamondbacks last offseason for right-hander Dan Haren and minor-league pitcher Connor Robertson.
"Talks are continuing. They're very fluid and at this point, everything's speculation," Rockies spokesman Jay Alves told The Associated Press, speaking on behalf of general manager Dan O'Dowd.
Oakland owner Lew Wolff, attending a regional luncheon of Associated Press Sports Editors, wouldn't confirm or deny a trade but said he had already spoken with general manager Billy Beane three times on Monday.
"Billy's doing different things right now," Wolff told AP.
Holliday will earn $13.5 million in 2009, then become a free agent.
The A's are not acquiring him with the intention of flipping him or even trading him in July. The team is in position to increase its payroll to as much as $80 million, and plans to contend next season.
To that end, the A's also are targeting free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal, and have even requested medical records from his agent, Paul Kinzer. Furcal is drawing interest from about 10 clubs, according to Kinzer. The acquisition of Holliday could help persuade Furcal that the A's are serious about competing for a postseason berth in 2009.
If the Rockies obtained Smith, they almost certainly would insert him into their starting rotation. The addition of Street would represent a buffer against the pending loss of free-agent closer Brian Fuentes.
Gonzalez could enter the team's outfield mix, or the Rockies could flip him to another club for additional players. The Nationals are known to have interest in Gonzalez.
Must-read:
Must-see:
Top headlines:
- Federer bests Roddick for 15th Slam
- Police rule McNair death a homicide
- Jeter, Pujols highlight All-Star rosters
Worth a thousand words:
The Cardinals also made a run at Holliday at the general managers' meetings, discussing a package that included outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker as well as right-hander Mitchell Boggs, according to a source. Those discussions failed to progress, however, enabling the A's to emerge as the front-runner.
The 28-year-old Holliday, playing half his games at Coors Field, has 128 homers and 483 RBIs in five big league seasons. His best year was 2007, when he won the NL batting title with a .340 average and had 36 homers and a league-best 137 RBIs in helping the Rockies reach the World Series. He was runner-up to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins for NL MVP.
Oakland was last in the majors leagues with a .242 batting average this season and last in the AL with 646 runs.
"If we can bring a little bit of hitting talent to our current team I think the pitchers won't get as frustrated as they were late in the season," Wolff told the gathering of sports editors. "You're always rebuilding and regenerating. It's fun. We want to win. I want to win. We're going to try to be there again if we can."
The A's used eight starters in left field and finished 75-86, their worst record since 1998.
Street, a 25-year-old right-hander, lost his job as Oakland's closer during season and finished 7-5 with a 3.73 ERA and 18 saves in 25 chances.
Smith, 24, went 7-16 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts during his first major league season. Gonzalez, 23, was also in his first big league season and hit .242 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 302 at-bats.
The news of the Holliday trade first was reported by SI.com.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Member Comments
gstaterob<br />11/10/2008<br />2:39 PM (report inappropriate content)<br /><br />Why is it that whenever a team makes a trade all of the bashers say...."Its gonna take more than Holliday to make the A's competetive"? I dont understand, this is the beginning of the off-season right? Beane has more up his sleeve than just this one move. <br /> <br />********<br /><br />um you kind of answered your own question...he has more up his sleeves, it won't be his only move. Because more moves are NEEDED, this move alone doesn't do it.<br /><br />The question isn't whether the A's will make any other moves this off-season, it's if Holliday ALONE will make A's a playoff team, and the answer is quite obviously no.<br /><br />Read the question "does the addition of Holliday make A's a playoff team?". It's not asking "are the on their way to being a playoff team if they make more moves?", they are asking "they got Holliday, are they INSTANTLY a playoff team"<br /><br />I'm actually surprised by the % that answered yes too, because I'm surprised that it's even 24%, it should be around 0-5% if majority of the voters actually know anything about baseball. One extra good hitter doesn't make you a contender if you were originally 25 games behind, not even close. Texas was the top offensive team in the AL and they were 20 games out of the playoffs. Detroit had the second most HRs in the AL and they were fifth place in their division. White Sox had the most HRs in the AL and they were an easy out in the playoffs after barely making it in. One good hitter does NOT make a team that's 20 games out of the playoffs an instant contender, it's a no brainer.
s1234511/12/2008 7:47:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Wow the A's are acutally going out and getting someone. Thats pretty rare becuase they've gave away six aces. Rich Harden, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Dan Haren, and Joe Blanton and lots of other great pitchers that they made
Chavezrocks1111/12/2008 3:39:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Here is what the Angels now need to do: Number one,clean house so long <br />Anderson, Garland, Rivera, Figgins, Izturis, Aybar, KROD,Wood. Now with that money back in your pocket and all the garbage in the dump, re sign BIG TEX. Then next yr get rid of OLDMAN COLD POSTSEASON BAT GUERRERO. Now once Tex has his stuff back in his locker, go get Pat Burrell to play LF, Khalil Green to play SS, and Adam Dunn to DH. Now you can sign CC Sabathia if you desire too. What is another 100 million for a billionaire owner(Moreno). Oops I forgot we need a 3B too, Joe Crede will suffice. OOPS forgot, Reggie willits hit the road too. I want every punch and judy hitter gone. Now look at this lineup.<br />LF Burrell, CF Hunter, RF Guerrero DH Dunn, 3b Crede, SS Greene, 2b Kendrick 1b Texiera C #44 and a rotation of Lackey, Santana, Sabathia, Weaver, and Saunders...Closer Arrendondo....NOw that will stack up vs BOSOX....Get it done and quit sqeeze bunting. JDR Owasso OK
11/11/2008 20:29:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Don't unpack your stuff, you'll only be an A till the trade deadline. Sorry to say it but its the truth
UFgreat_FSUgarbage11/11/2008 18:27:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Wow, A,s going for a big name, should have kept Haren and Blanton, could have helped.
turkington11/11/2008 18:09:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
I agree with you, Cowboyup, keep these loser off these sports sites!
hawgluvr196011/11/2008 11:29:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
How can anyone say this is a bad trade for the Rockies when... <br /><br />1) They had zero chance of re-signing Matt Holliday<br /><br />2) They're getting a huge return for Holliday.<br /><br />Would you all rather see Holliday's contract expire ... then watch Scott Boras pawn him off to the highest bidder at season's end? Because that's where it was headed. The Rockies simply can not afford to pay someone $18-20 million per season AND field a competitive team behind that player.<br /><br />This is an organization that has some success using its farm system in recent seasons. All but three of the players on that World Series roster were from their own farm system ... and the farm system was still ranked the 7th highest in baseball heading into last season.<br /><br />One of the drawbacks of being a team that relies so heavily on its farm system is that they do it becuase they do not have the cash to get into bidding wars for high-priced free agents - even if it is their own free agents they are bidding for...<br /><br />The addition of Huson Street will give the team a bona-fide closer to replace Brian Fuentes.<br /><br />The addition of Carlos Gonzalez gives the team a huge prospect who is ready now and instantly provides them the center field help they have desperately needed the past few years. It also allows Dexter Fowler to spend a full year at Triple-A before Gonzalez and Fowler ultimately team up in the same outfield at Coors Field...<br /><br />Greg Smith helps a staff that was absolutely decimated last year. He's young, left handed and has proven that he can get guys out at the Major League level. His arrival puts a little less pressure on Frankie Morales and Greg Reynolds - two top prospects who were forced into the mix last season before they were ready...<br /><br />Good Trade!
justinept2711/11/2008 10:46:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
I can not believe this!!! Holiday is one of the best if not the best player the Rockies have. I have been watching the Rox since they debuted in 1993, this has to be one of the stupidest trades I have ever seen. I live in NJ and pay for MLB.com to watch them play, after this deal who knows!!! BAD DEAL!!
RockiesNJ11/11/2008 10:27:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
That tears it!! I am going to go back to watching a team that is relevant like the Angels or the Cubs. The Monforts do not know how to run a team, they are not investing to get us back to the World Series. This is probably the stupidest thing I have seen them do since the Mike Hampton/Denny Nagle debacle! They just need to sell the team to Stan Kronke who owns the Avs, the Nuggets AND the Pepsi Center. At least he knows how to run a class organization in 2 sports and both teams are somewhat relevant. I was a little skeptical about the Allen Iverson trade, but look at how that has worked out for the Nuggets!! Chauncey is tearing up the court, whereas The Answer has now become The Question. The Monforts suck and we the fans need to run them out of town by boycotting the games and not watching them on tv IF they ever make it back to a national broadcast again
rockiessuperfan11/11/2008 10:05:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Can't somebody please keep the horny losers from posting their smut on a sports site????
cowboyup72311/11/2008 9:48:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
As a Padres fan...I am glad to see him go! He has yet to touch home plate on the last play of the 163rd game of the 07 season!!! LOL
cowboyup72311/11/2008 9:35:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
You can say the Rockies are getting the better of this deal for now, but you have to wait and see what the A's get in return once the trade deadline approaches next year.
unionsteward11/11/2008 8:44:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Does this mean the Phils will resign Burrell? What other outfielder is out there?<br /><br />BTW: I just saw a 3-day sale on shop.mlb.com for 25% off. Code: MLBFFV.
NEPhilly11/11/2008 7:20:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
Any other team making the deal for holliday i would say it was not good.But beene is the best at what he does.So he has a plan im sure.
Joeycapecod11/11/2008 4:39:00 AM(Report inappropriate content)
BAD DEAL FOR BOTH<br /><br />1st: There is a huge free agent market with a lot of sluggers and closers. They are trading at a time when the value of a trade is lowest (because there are options available thru free agency)<br /><br />2nd: The Rockies are trading their most talented franchise player for what exactly? GOnzales had 23hrs in Single A ball, but didnt do as well in AA or AAA. Huston street was a 4.0 era reliever last year.<br /><br />(3) I think the A's are going to trade Holiday for his max value at the trade deadline this summer<br /><br />(4) Holiday's sub Kevin Youkilis numbers last yr will be even worse in the A's stadium with the A's lineup.<br /><br />They shoulda traded him to the Giants for a pitcher
mbenz1611/10/2008 23:54:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
Hey, maybe I'll go watch the A's for the first time in my life.
Gigantes_de_San_Francisco11/10/2008 23:14:00 PM(Report inappropriate content)
advertisement
