Thread: Holliday Traded

Everyone's reporting a deal has been reached in principle between the Rockies and A's for the A's to get Holliday, a future hall of famer...

The players the Rockies will receive are still being worked out-- but I'm going to go out on a limb and say the mediocre players we receive in return won't come close to matching Holliday's production...

One more reason every Rockies fan should pray the Monfort's will sell this team. They operate like a small market team despite living in a large market and having the money to do more....

I ******* hate the Rockies front office. Hate them.

Rockies deal Holliday to A's
By Troy Renck
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 11/10/2008 02:41:25 PM MST

Sitting in Laguna Beach on Monday morning, Matt Holliday was surprised to learn that the Oakland Athletics were aggressively pursuing him. He was intrigued by the fit. The scenario became reality around 12:30 MST when the Rockies' three-time All-Star received phone calls from Colorado general manager Dan O'Dowd followed by Oakland GM Billy Beane informing him of the deal.

The Rockies have agreed to send Holliday to Oakland for three players, likely including either outfielder Carlos Gonzalez or pitcher Greg Smith among others, pending physicals.

Holliday told The Denver Post that he "thinks the deal is done."

He will travel to Oakland on Tuesday to meet with A's officials.

"I can't tell you how much I've appreciated the way my family and I were treated in Denver. By people behind the scenes in the organization and by the fans," Holliday said Monday afternnon. "Hopefully they will be fans of me wherever I play. But I will always have a special place in my heart for what happened in Colorado, especially in 2007."

Holliday has been bracing for his exit over the last few weeks as the Rockies have aggressively tried to trade him. As first reported by The Denver Post last week, Oakland and Philadelphia were the front-runners before St. Louis made a late charge. The Cardinals' deal collapsed over the weekend, namely because the Rockies were going to receive outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker when their primary need is pitching depth.

Holliday temporary relocated to Southern California this winter to train after the Rockies fired strength coach and close friend Brad Andress. He knew this day would likely come after the team's effort to sign him to a longterm contract fizzled last spring.

The Rockies offered him a four-year, $72-million extension with a fifth-year player option at $12 million. Combined with his completed arbitration contract, the deal totaled $107 million. However, the four-year deal as a free agent is far short of what players have Holliday's stature have received on the open market where he is viewed by many as a $150-million player.
Holliday also worried that if he took the money the Rockies' money they might strip the team around him.

"As an athlete approaching free agency and making decisions about somewhere where you want to be longterm, you have to consider more aspects than money. I have a wife, and kids to consider. And I don't want to be in a position where I don't have a chance to win," Holliday said.

"It might be great the first year (with the new contract), but then you start going through years of Septembers where games don't mean anything and that would be absolutely no fun."

Oakland was first reported as a possibility because of its restocked farm system. Following multiple trades over the past few seasons, including a monster deal with Arizona involving pitcher Dan Haren, the A's have enough young players to deal away without crushing their minor-league depth.

Smith, Gonzalez and closer Huston Street have all come up in various trade talks over the past few weeks.

Such BS. This team is a joke. Dan O'Dowd is a joke. The Monforts are worthless...

Greg Smith was something like 7-16 last year with a 4. something ERA... I don't even feel like looking up anything on the other guys...

We may as well just close Coors Field down and forfeit all of our games if we have no interest in being competitive...

That's bullshit.

What happened to the deal with the Cardinals?

Originally Posted by Broncospsycho77

That's bullshit.

What happened to the deal with the Cardinals?

The Cardinals' deal collapsed over the weekend, namely because the Rockies were going to receive outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker when their primary need is pitching depth.

Sounds like none of the deals were worth taking to me. I would have rather we kept him and seen if someone got desperate around the deadline-- and if not, at least we'd get one more year out of him and then be compensated via draft picks when he walked in free agency... Better than rushing a deal for some hacks.

I'll miss his passion for the game. he has really worked hard to be a better OF

Snap told me this before I had class.

Sucks balls.

Now the Mariners have to pitch to him.

Originally Posted by Cicero

Snap told me this before I had class.

Sucks balls.

Now the Mariners have to pitch to him.

The Rockies are a joke. I'm gonna be ashamed to buy a ticket next season and support that franchise.

This does suck, but Street can be pretty dominant when healthy and A's fans seem to be a bit uneasy at losing this Gonzalez kid. Classic salary dump.

Street is by far the best player the Rox got in return.

Huston Street was AL Rookie of the Year in 2005. He had 23 saves that year with a 1.72 ERA. He followed it up with 37 saves in 2006. He started to get a few nagging injuries after that, and lost his closer job last season but still had a good year statistically. He has 271 k's in 269 career innings, which is a really good stat to look at for closers. Also, for his career, opponents have only batted .215 against him, another good stat.

He has been considered one of the top pitching prospects in the league for several seasons, and should replace Fuentes really nicely.

Edit: Street was a first round pick of the A's in 2004 and pitched in all of 12 minor league games before taking over as Oakland's closer in 2005.

Trading with the A's is usually a losing proposition...

Originally Posted by MissouriBronc

Trading with the A's is usually a losing proposition...

They can be had though. Look at what Atlanta had to give up for Tim Hudson.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1947892

I still think they could/should have gotten more for Holliday. I am trying to research these prospects still. This Gonzalez kid came over to Oakland from Arizona in the Dan Haren trade last year.

Carlos Gonzalez has been a pretty highly touted prospect for 2 franchises.

Prospect Rankings*
2006 - 32nd ranked Major League prospect
2006 - 4th ranked organizational prospect for Arizona Diamondbacks
2007 - 18th ranked Major League prospect
2007 - 3rd ranked organizational prospect for Arizona Diamondbacks
2008 - 1st ranked organizational prospect for Arizona Diamondbacks
2008 - 22nd ranked Major League prospect
2008 - 1st ranked organizational prospect for Oakland Athletics

*According to Baseball America

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/playe...nzalez-4.shtml

Originally Posted by ChampWJ

They can be had though. Look at what Atlanta had to give up for Tim Hudson.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1947892

I still think they could/should have gotten more for Holliday. I am trying to research these prospects still. This Gonzalez kid came over to Oakland from Arizona in the Dan Haren trade last year.

Here's the good news if its Gonzalez:
%ilar things were said about Upton before his explosive 2007 campaign. However, Gonzalez doesn't have quite the same degree of talent that he can afford to coast. On a more tangible level, he needs to have a plan every time he goes to the plate, so he doesn't expand his strike zone and get himself out. He gets himself in trouble when he tries to pull the ball too much. He's still an erratic defender, leading the high Class A California and Double-A Southern league in outfield miscues the last two years with 12 each time.

The Future: Arizona had no outfield openings with Eric Byrnes, Chris Young and Upton on hand, but Gonzalez will find opportunity easier to come by in Oakland. He's already knocking on the door of the big leagues at age 22, and the only given in the A's outfield is that Travis Buck will be one of the three starters, most likely in left field. Gonzalez would benefit from a half-season at Triple-A Sacramento, but he could win a starting job in center or right field during spring training. Long term, Oakland envisions Gonzalez batting in the middle of its lineup for years to come.[/QUOTE]

Code:

Club (League)  	Class  	AVG  	G  	AB  	R  	H  	2B  	3B  	HR  	RBI  	BB  	SO  	SB  	CS  	SH  	SF  	GIDP  	OBP  	SLG  	OPS
Sacramento (PCL) 	AAA 	.283 	46 	173 	23 	49 	9 	1 	4 	28 	16 	35 	1 	1 	0 	0 	5 	.344 	.416 	.760
Oakland (AL) 	MAJ 	.242 	85 	302 	31 	73 	22 	1 	4 	26 	13 	81 	4 	1 	1 	0 	7 	.273 	.361 	.634
Major League Totals 	.242 	85 	302 	31 	73 	22 	1 	4 	26 	13 	81 	4 	1 	1 	0 	7 	.273 	.361 	.634

I ******* hate this move. I get more and more mad every time I think about it...

**** the Rockies. **** the Monforts. **** Dan O'Dowd. This kind of thing should be criminal. They finally have a homegrown superstar, potential Hall of Famer, and they ******* trade him for a slightly above average closer and 2 other shmucks... All because they're too ******* cheap to sign him.

I am not going to buy a ticket next year. **** them. It's not gonna make any difference, but I'm ******* boycotting this team. If they're too cheap to sign talented players, then I'm too cheap to go to the ballpark.

Originally Posted by ChampWJ

They can be had though. Look at what Atlanta had to give up for Tim Hudson.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1947892

I still think they could/should have gotten more for Holliday. I am trying to research these prospects still. This Gonzalez kid came over to Oakland from Arizona in the Dan Haren trade last year.

Here's the good news if its Gonzalez:

He was the No. 1 prospect, according to Baseball America in 2008.

Background: Gonzalez burst onto the prospect scene by winning the low Class A Midwest League MVP award in 2005, and he has followed that with two straight appearances in the Futures Game. He also was Baseball America's Winter Player of the Year after the 2006 season, batting .318/.393/.530 with nine home runs in 198 at-bats in his native Venezuela. Now his biggest claim to fame is being the best prospect in the six-player package the Diamondbacks used to pry Dan Haren from Oakland. In 2007, Gonzalez got off to his traditional slow start, batting .210 in April before coming around later in the season, batting .335 with eight of his nine homers in the final two months. Scouts loved working Double-A Mobile games when both Justin Upton and Gonzalez were in the outfield, as the two seemed to play off each other and enjoyed a friendly rivalry at the plate and in the field.

Strengths: Gonzalez lacks nothing in the way of physical tools. He has tremendous bat speed, with a pure easiness to his swing that generates plus raw power to all fields. The strength and leverage in his natural inside-out stroke make the ball jump off his bat. A prototype right fielder, he has an above-average arm and enough speed to play in center field if need be—and in fact he played there quite a bit when Upton was with Mobile. Gonzalez is becoming more comfortable in right field as he gets more time there, learning better routes and whether to uncork a rocket or just hit the cutoff man. In general, his feel for the game has improved.

Weaknesses: Scouts and managers often have been turned off by Gonzalez' approach to the game, accusing him of giving away at-bats or not hustling at times. The Diamondbacks believed it was more an issue of immaturity and lack of focus than a result of makeup. They viewed him as a bright, outgoing person who wants to be a star and say some people have mistaken confidence for arrogance. Interestingly, similar things were said about Upton before his explosive 2007 campaign. However, Gonzalez doesn't have quite the same degree of talent that he can afford to coast. On a more tangible level, he needs to have a plan every time he goes to the plate, so he doesn't expand his strike zone and get himself out. He gets himself in trouble when he tries to pull the ball too much. He's still an erratic defender, leading the high Class A California and Double-A Southern league in outfield miscues the last two years with 12 each time.

The Future: Arizona had no outfield openings with Eric Byrnes, Chris Young and Upton on hand, but Gonzalez will find opportunity easier to come by in Oakland. He's already knocking on the door of the big leagues at age 22, and the only given in the A's outfield is that Travis Buck will be one of the three starters, most likely in left field. Gonzalez would benefit from a half-season at Triple-A Sacramento, but he could win a starting job in center or right field during spring training. Long term, Oakland envisions Gonzalez batting in the middle of its lineup for years to come.

He was signed six years ago out of Venezuela and is 23 years old. He's definitely big-league ready, and would immediately replace Holliday in the outfield.

Code:

Club (League)  	Class  	AVG  	G  	AB  	R  	H  	2B  	3B  	HR  	RBI  	BB  	SO  	SB  	CS  	SH  	SF  	GIDP  	OBP  	SLG  	OPS
Sacramento (PCL) AAA 	.283 	46 	173 	23 	49 	9 	1 	4 	28 	16 	35 	1 	1 	0 	0 	5 	.344 	.416 	.760
Oakland (AL) 	MAJ 	.242 	85 	302 	31 	73 	22 	1 	4 	26 	13 	81 	4 	1 	1 	0 	7 	.273 	.361 	.634
Major League Totals 	.242 	85 	302 	31 	73 	22 	1 	4 	26 	13 	81 	4 	1 	1 	0 	7 	.273 	.361 	.634

Smith and Street worry me a little more. If this is the trade, I like it a lot, but if its Holliday for Smith and Street or some combination not including Gonzalez, I really don't like it.

I gotta admit I wasn't paying enough attention to Royals games to watch closely enough to care about one of the A's prospects when the Royals played him, but he certainly has a lot of talent.

The thing is, his power numbers have never been that good...doubles power, really...and he may hit two-hole, or he may hit seven or six-hole, but you're trading away a solid, middle-of-the-order slugger for an average guy. He did hit 16 homers in Mobile in 2007, but he strikes out a lot.