The Balance of Power just shifted in the American League West thans to the Dan Haren Trade.
First, The Arizona Side of the trade. Arizona gets a solid Number Two starter and sends several blocked prospects to Oakland in exchange for roster certainty. None of the players really had a chance of cracking Arizona's roster, save Chris Carter, and for the Diamondbacks, it's about winning now and worrying about the farm depth emptying out later.
Arizona's new lineup is likely the following:
Brandon Webb (RHP)
Dan Haren (RHP)
Doug Davis (LHP)
Micah Owings (RHP)
Randy Johnson (LHP)
That's a much strong rotation, much better than last years.
Overall, this trade works for them.
As for Oakland, it's a symbol that Billy Beane has conceded the season and is beginning to rebuild. As seen from my farm system previews, Beane doesn't have a ton of high ceiling talent in his minor league system and much of the talent that is close to being drawn upon is already up.
And Beane has shown that he is willing to conduct a full scale rebuild sooner rather than later and likely saw that it was time to do so.
So, let's take a look at each of the players recieved:
Chris Carter (1B) - A pure masher, Carter has plenty of upside. He's not the greatest defender, but he's passable enough. Overall, he's a middle of the order power threat waiting to happen.
Aaron Cunningham (OF) - Stolen from the White Sox in the Danny Richar move, Cunningham has a high upside, as he hits the ball to all fields and has some speed and power. Many compare him to former A's outfielder Eric Byrnes. I say he's more like a young Steve Finley.
Carlos Gonzalez (RF) - Gonzalez is another young outfielder that can mash, given the opportunity. He could start in Oakland right now, pushing Swisher to center and Kotsay out the door if Oakland is willing to take pennies on the dollar.
Brett Anderson (LHP) - A decent left hander with okay stuff, he's more of a Number Four starter at best, though he does have innings eater potential. He'll do well in that ballpark than he ever would have in Arizona.
Gregg Smith and Dana Eveland - Decent arms, but more likely to wind up as relief prospects than anything else.
Overall, it's a trade of quantity over quality. The A's did get a pair of high upside players in Cunningham and Carter, but I wonder if they shouldn't have pushed the Diamondbacks for Matt Scherzer, a pitcher better than Anderson, Smith and Evaland and well worth waiting for.
It's a good trade, as it gives the A's options to play with in the outfield and a future power threat in Carter. I'm just wondering if it was enough to justify the Haren trade. Oakland needs pitching and unless they're planning on using high draft picks due to low finishes on near ready college pitching, they'll be hurting for quite some time.
This trade also officially gives the divisional race solely to the Mariners and Angels. With Oakland and Texas now entering full scale rebuilds (with Texas slightly ahead due to two good drafts and a couple of smart trades), it should be interesting watching the Mariners and Angels slug it out with each other.
If that's the case, then while my team is out of contention, I'll be rooting for Seattle.
Oakland is gearing up for 2011 when they move into their new stadium in Fremont. At this point I'm not sure they care if anyone shows up to watch them the next 3 seasons.
This couldn't have worked out better for the Twins in their effort to get maximum value for Santana. Oakland got quite a lot for Haren, and now he's not an option for the Evil Empires. And best of all the Indians came up short in their efforts to land Haren.
As far as the AL west is concerned, I'd just as soon see anybody besides the Angels win the division so that probably leaves it to the Mariners.
The Haren trade does nothing to "shift the power" in the AL West.
First, it's the Angels that are in first, and the Mariners who are in second. The Rangers and Oakland are below them.
Second, the real conversation should be what the A-Rod decision finally did to the AL West. Sure, A-Rod's not in the AL West, but him opting out of his contract actually done one VERY good thing for the Rangers, it freed up all that contract money being sent to the Yankee's. This now gives the Rangers loads of money to start to compete once again. So basically, A-Rod opting out of his contract in NY actually gave the Rangers a chance to actually compete once again over here in the AL West. Should be interesting watching what the Rangers decide to do with all that money that AIN'T going to the Yankees now.
Third, Haren leaving for the Diamondbacks has absolutely no impact on the AL West other than to keep what's evidently a bottom feeding A's right at the bottom again. They're rebuilding, finishing 3rd and 4th is typical when rebuilding. No brainer there.
The M's are trying hard to land top pitching, the Angels feel they can tread water another year and keep the M's at 2nd. You watch, if the M's land both Bedard and Kuroda, the Angels will THEN do something significant to keep pace.
As for the Johan Santana race? Sheesh, his team is so greedy he'll likely end up staying put. If some team actually trades for him, they'll not compete this year simply for how much they'll have to give up to get him.
No, the real AL West action will be in seeing which top pitchers come t
sawdustking - I don't think the Haren trade does anything for Santana's trade value. Look at the teams who were bidding for him, the Red Sox and Yankees. The Red Sox aren't about to give up their prospects for Santana and the Red Sox are so stacked anyway I think they really do not care whether they get Santana or not. That leaves the Yankees, who I think are perfectly content with keeping their prospects (Chamberlain and Hughes), and just waiting until Santana hits free agency to get him. I don't think Omar Minaya is a good enough GM to pull it off for the Mets either. Santana isn't going anywhere. Haren had high trade value because of his contract (signed for about $7 million per season over the next three years).
Oh and Beane #### the DBacks on this trade folks. I predict three of the prospects the A's got will be all-stars. Haren is basically another Barry Zito, had one good year but otherwise a #2 or #3 starter on a contending team, nothing to get real excited about. Haren also struggled a lot in the 2nd half last year AND he has never thrown a complete game OR thrown a shutout in his career. Being an A's fan and watching him too he never impressed me as a guy who can dominate a lineup either. He is a solid pitcher, that is about it.
I dont think the impact on the Al west has really changed as it has in the NL west. People have said that the Athletics took the D-backs to the cleaners on this trade. This might be true but none of these prospects were going to play for the backs anytime soon so they have little value to the d-backs (Maybe Carter). Give the defending Nl west champs another top pitcher (Haren) and they did well and made this years NL race alot more exciting.
Last edited by myfingerhurts on January 14th at 7:07 AM.
I'm a long time Texas Rangers fan who has come to love baseball as a whole. I recently began this blog as a way for me to showcase my opinions, provide some analysis, and hopefully entertain those who happen to stumble upon my little soapbox online. I'll toss in an NFL, College, or NBA nugget every now and then. Enjoy the posts everyone, and yes, getting a little love in a Deadspin post was probably the highlight of the year, blogwise.
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