Harden & Gaudin for Gallagher, Murton, EPatt & Donaldson

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Godspeed, lads.

Murton looks like he belongs in the green and gold. Glad to see him somewhere where he'll be appreciated.

 

Which is why they sent him to AAA....

 

He's clearly struggling so they're not going to throw him out there Day 1. Don't you imagine they want him to work with their minor league coaches to see if they can fix it. If they took him in a deal, one would think their scouts saw something they thought could be fixed.

[twothousandfive]

I think Beane wants in Murton back in Oakland quickly, because he knows there are three good options for Murton -- 1) play him and get production, 2) trade him before the deadline and get either someone who is more help this year, or aprospect, or 3) trade Murton or the prospect in the offseason.

 

I'll bet Murton plays for Sacramento on Monday, then gets to Oakland asap after that. Given his hot second halfs, I think Beane wants to get either some of that lightening, or get another chess piece. Clearly, Murton is one of their best three OFs right now.

 

Gallagher was probably the only player on the Cubs who could make this work for Oakland. I agree with Callis that Beane might have held out for more (Ceda, Ascanio, Hart) but a $7 million pitcher on the DL is devastating to Oak. But they needed someone to take that spot in the rotation -- and someone who is very, very cheap. Right now, Gallagher's first year matches up with Felix Hernandez and Chad Billingsley -- not that he projects at their levels.

 

Currently there are nine rookie pitchers under 24 with 10 or more starts -- Justin Masterson in Bos has 9 starts, and they aren't going to give him up this season for Harden. Of the others Greg Reynolds in Col, Garret Olson in BAL, and Like Hochevar in KC ( second season?) haven't pitched as well as Gallagher (not sure how they project) and their teams aren't contending. The other six are Cueto (Cin), Lannan (Wash), Jurrjens (ATL), Smith (OAK), Laffey (CLE). Only Atl is even close, but Jurrjens is part of the reason, and if they are willing to discuss Hudson, then they don't match up, either.

 

Clearly, the Cubs were among very few contending teams with a major league ready (and tested) starter with 0 years of service. So Beane had Boston (Masterson, Buchholz), Dodgers (Kershaw), and Arizona again (Scherzer, in the pen) as other possibles.

 

It is easy these days to give Beane every benefit of the doubt, but my guess is he knew (certainly after the Sabathia deal) that the Cubs were the team most likely to give him a replacement for Harden, and throw in other pieces. he probably also wanted to do it quickly, because the marginal benefit of holding to get a bit more was outweighed by Harden's injury history.

[CuseCubFan69]

Beane has no clue on what he's doing, why would he have Murton in the minors? Or, is it we just complain about Hendry doing this.

[YearofDaCubs]

Beane has no clue on what he's doing, why would he have Murton in the minors? Or, is it we just complain about Hendry doing this.

I wouldn't be surprised if Beane is actively shopping Emil Brown to make room for Murton.

[CuseCubFan69]

Beane has no clue on what he's doing, why would he have Murton in the minors? Or, is it we just complain about Hendry doing this.

I wouldn't be surprised if Beane is actively shopping Emil Brown to make room for Murton.

 

I'm sure he's looking into options to make the A's better, does Emil have any trade value? I wonder if the Cards would go after him.

[YearofDaCubs]

Beane has no clue on what he's doing, why would he have Murton in the minors? Or, is it we just complain about Hendry doing this.

I wouldn't be surprised if Beane is actively shopping Emil Brown to make room for Murton.

 

I'm sure he's looking into options to make the A's better, does Emil have any trade value? I wonder if the Cards would go after him.

He's been terrible this year so I guess not but I think Beane will try to see what he can get before he outright releases the guy.

[Jehrico]

Beane has no clue on what he's doing, why would he have Murton in the minors? Or, is it we just complain about Hendry doing this.

I wouldn't be surprised if Beane is actively shopping Emil Brown to make room for Murton.

Beane gave up two guys off of his roster for three guys that need to be on the roster. He's got a little juggling to do, and projects to make at least one or two more trades. Once all of those moves flush out, I'd be surprised if Murton is still in AAA.

[Guest]

The A's didn't even ask about Vitters:

 

San Francisco Chronicle[/url]"]Though one of the A's main needs is a young third baseman, Oakland didn't inquire about Josh Vitters, who was the Cubs' top pick last year. Vitters was the No. 3 selection overall and the A's did not believe it would be appropriate to ask for him, knowing he wouldn't be available, anyway.

 

There is thought among other clubs that the A's might deal Murton or Patterson.

[Post Count Padder]

The A's didn't even ask about Vitters:

 

San Francisco Chronicle[/url]"]Though one of the A's main needs is a young third baseman, Oakland didn't inquire about Josh Vitters, who was the Cubs' top pick last year. Vitters was the No. 3 selection overall and the A's did not believe it would be appropriate to ask for him, knowing he wouldn't be available, anyway.

 

There is thought among other clubs that the A's might deal Murton or Patterson.

Interesting. I can't see Beane turning around and dealing Murt. He seems like a Beane-type player.

[CuseCubFan69]

The A's didn't even ask about Vitters:

 

San Francisco Chronicle[/url]"]Though one of the A's main needs is a young third baseman, Oakland didn't inquire about Josh Vitters, who was the Cubs' top pick last year. Vitters was the No. 3 selection overall and the A's did not believe it would be appropriate to ask for him, knowing he wouldn't be available, anyway.

 

There is thought among other clubs that the A's might deal Murton or Patterson.

 

I wonder if he'll deal Murton to the Rays?

[Guest]

BA's take on the trade: link. They review each of the players traded, including Josh Donaldson.

 

Since he's more of the unknown in the trade, here's what BA has to say on Gaudin:

 

A six-year major league veteran despite being just 25 years old, Gaudin has worked, often successfully, as both a starter and a reliever for the Devil Rays, Blue Jays and A's. He's gone 24-23, 4.33 in 422 career innings, with 299 strikeouts and 197 walks. Gaudin, a 34th-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2001 out of a Louisiana high school, occupied both roles for Oakland, going from reliever in 2006 (3.09 ERA in 64 innings) to starter in 2007 (4.42 ERA in 199 innings) and back to reliever this season (3.59 ERA in 63 innings). Despite standing just 5-foot-10, Gaudin gets good plane and sink on his high-80s fastball, and he also throws a darting slider that has made him tougher on righthanded batters throughout his career. All of his pitches are delivered with plus natural movement. Gaudin's shift back to the bullpen this season was brought about by three major factors: 1) the A's starting pitching depth, 2) his inconsistent control is stronger in short stints, and 3) he had surgery to repair a labrum in his hip last offseason and the lighter workload stands to improve his durability going forward.

 

Matt Eddy comes to the same conclusion that most of us have on this trade:

 

Credit Cubs general manager Jim Hendry with acquiring Harden, a pitcher with no-doubt-about-it frontline stuff, and a solid reliever in Gaudin at no real cost to the 2008 team. None of the Cubs' frontline young players, save for big leaguers like Gallagher and Geovany Soto, were having remotely successful years, but that didn't stop Hendry from getting a deal done—and he didn't have to touch shortstop Ronny Cedeno or center fielder Felix Pie to do it.

But A's GM Billy Beane has made out well in these veterans-for-bulk trades—hitting on the Dan Haren, Nick Swisher and Mark Mulder deals and misfiring badly only on the Tim Hudson one. And the fact that Oakland would trade its best pitcher in a season in which they've been competitive gives us an idea how the organization assesses the prospect of Harden's continued health. With 13 starts this season, Harden has matched his total from 2006 and 2007 combined, and his 355 days on the disabled list from 2005 to 2008 is simply a staggering number.

 

But it's a move that could pay off handsomely for the Cubs if they make a deep playoff run. The caveat, of course, being that they'll really miss Gallagher if Harden goes down with injury—though it may be a risk mitigated if Gaudin can shift back to the rotation.

[XZero771679666304]

BA's take on the trade: link. They review each of the players traded, including Josh Donaldson.

 

Since he's more of the unknown in the trade, here's what BA has to say on Gaudin:

 

A six-year major league veteran despite being just 25 years old, Gaudin has worked, often successfully, as both a starter and a reliever for the Devil Rays, Blue Jays and A's. He's gone 24-23, 4.33 in 422 career innings, with 299 strikeouts and 197 walks. Gaudin, a 34th-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2001 out of a Louisiana high school, occupied both roles for Oakland, going from reliever in 2006 (3.09 ERA in 64 innings) to starter in 2007 (4.42 ERA in 199 innings) and back to reliever this season (3.59 ERA in 63 innings). Despite standing just 5-foot-10, Gaudin gets good plane and sink on his high-80s fastball, and he also throws a darting slider that has made him tougher on righthanded batters throughout his career. All of his pitches are delivered with plus natural movement. Gaudin's shift back to the bullpen this season was brought about by three major factors: 1) the A's starting pitching depth, 2) his inconsistent control is stronger in short stints, and 3) he had surgery to repair a labrum in his hip last offseason and the lighter workload stands to improve his durability going forward.

 

Matt Eddy comes to the same conclusion that most of us have on this trade:

 

Credit Cubs general manager Jim Hendry with acquiring Harden, a pitcher with no-doubt-about-it frontline stuff, and a solid reliever in Gaudin at no real cost to the 2008 team. None of the Cubs' frontline young players, save for big leaguers like Gallagher and Geovany Soto, were having remotely successful years, but that didn't stop Hendry from getting a deal done—and he didn't have to touch shortstop Ronny Cedeno or center fielder Felix Pie to do it.

But A's GM Billy Beane has made out well in these veterans-for-bulk trades—hitting on the Dan Haren, Nick Swisher and Mark Mulder deals and misfiring badly only on the Tim Hudson one. And the fact that Oakland would trade its best pitcher in a season in which they've been competitive gives us an idea how the organization assesses the prospect of Harden's continued health. With 13 starts this season, Harden has matched his total from 2006 and 2007 combined, and his 355 days on the disabled list from 2005 to 2008 is simply a staggering number.

 

But it's a move that could pay off handsomely for the Cubs if they make a deep playoff run. The caveat, of course, being that they'll really miss Gallagher if Harden goes down with injury—though it may be a risk mitigated if Gaudin can shift back to the rotation.

 

More than mitigated, I think. For the remainder of 2008, Gaudin =/> Gallagher, IMO. Beyond that it may become an issue.

[karenmac]

according to MILB.com, it looks like Donaldson has actually been assigned to Stockton in the hi-A California League, so looks like the trade was good for him as well. Pretty sure most of the speculation I had previously seen was that he'd be assigned to Kane County, but he's gotten a bump up. Josh seemed like a good guy and am wishing him nothing but the best.

[TheDude]

I've been in the middle of a move all week, so I didn't really get to read and appreciate this deal. Most of my time on these boards is here in transactions, so I wish I hadn't missed the buzz here.

 

My bottom line here: Hendry did a fantastic job. For Hendry to be able to spin Gallagher as a center-piece was really the key the whole thing. I hope Gallagher does well out there. Many people around here didn't think Murton had any value left after the way the franchise handled him. But that more proves that people over-analyze the wrong things - Murton still does what he does, which is hit a lot of singles and walk at decent clip. I still contend Murton's offensive skill-set is ideal for a 2B, but I obviously hope he makes it in the bigs as a corner OF.

 

I consider Patterson and Donaldson as throw-ins. Patterson, like Murton, is a guy who needs to figure how to match his offensive skills to a position he can play at the bigs. At this point, I don't even know what position Patterson gets advertised at. I feel like both these will get bumped from the OF by anyone with more power, but who knows. Maybe that isn't true on a mid-market club.

 

Now, I just can't wait to see Harden-Marmol-Wood combo completely dominate a game. Man that is going to be sweet.

[Guest]

according to MILB.com, it looks like Donaldson has actually been assigned to Stockton in the hi-A California League, so looks like the trade was good for him as well. Pretty sure most of the speculation I had previously seen was that he'd be assigned to Kane County, but he's gotten a bump up. Josh seemed like a good guy and am wishing him nothing but the best.

 

Actually, the speculation in the Bay Area papers had him on the move to either high-A California or even AA Texas. :shock:

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

The A's didn't even ask about Vitters:

 

San Francisco Chronicle[/url]"]Though one of the A's main needs is a young third baseman, Oakland didn't inquire about Josh Vitters, who was the Cubs' top pick last year. Vitters was the No. 3 selection overall and the A's did not believe it would be appropriate to ask for him, knowing he wouldn't be available, anyway.

 

There is thought among other clubs that the A's might deal Murton or Patterson.

 

Assuming this is true. Murton to the Rays, maybe.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I wouldn't be so sure that Murton is a Beane-type player.

 

The point of Moneyball wasn't that OBP is the end-all of existence (though it is oh-so-important), it's that it was *undervalued*.

 

These days, most teams appreciate the value of OBP, so it's not undervalued anymore. Most advanced sabermetric teams have moved on to other areas where they might be able to glean an edge.

[BCVM22]

Gallagher starts for Oakland tonight, wearing his beloved uni no. 36 (a welcoming gift from A's first base coach Tye Waller, the previous caretaker of the number) and Murton is officially up with the A's and wearing no. 26 after they optioned infielder Wes Bankston back to Sacramento.

 

Good luck, boys, we'll be pulling for you.

[Post Count Padder]

Gallagher starts for Oakland tonight, wearing his beloved uni no. 36 (a welcoming gift from A's first base coach Tye Waller, the previous caretaker of the number) and Murton is officially up with the A's and wearing no. 26 after they optioned infielder Wes Bankston back to Sacramento.

 

Good luck, boys, we'll be pulling for you.

Yeah, good luck guys