As I already made clear over at FanHouse, I have no idea what the hell the Athletics were thinking yesterday when they sent Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and John Donaldson. Why a team that's in the playoff hunt would want to trade a #1 starter 23 days before the deadline just baffles me.
I know that Rich Harden is a rather large injury risk, but as far as the Cubs are concerned, they won this trade big time. Well, at least for 2008.
Harden can last three innings in his first start as a Cub before his arm explodes, and this would still have been the right move for the Cubs to make. With the Brewers adding CC Sabathia on Monday and basically letting the Cubs know that there's a lot more to worry about than the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Hendry had to do something.
I knew there were rumors that the Cubs were talking to the A's about Harden, but I didn't think there was any way for them to pull the deal off considering the lack of attractive prospects in their farm system, and the fact that the A's are still in the playoff race. Apparently Mr. Hendry has a silver tongue, because he somehow convinced Billy Beane to make the deal.
Really, the only player the Cubs lost in this deal that I think could come back and haunt them would be Sean Gallagher, and even that's not something I actually expect. Eric Patterson is already 24 years old, so I'm not sure he's every going to develop into anything but a utility infielder on a good team. John Donaldson was a second round draft pick, but with Geovany Soto looking like he's going to be behind the plate for years to come, the Cubs had no need for him.
Then there's Matt Murton, who I feel better for than anybody else in this trade. I've always felt that all Murton has ever needed was regular playing time and he could develop into a very good Major League hitter. Now that he's in Oakland, he might finally get a chance to prove me right (more likely wrong) that he just wouldn't have gotten here. Not with Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome both planted in corner outfield spots for years to come.
Still, the centerpiece of this deal is Rich Harden who when he's healthy is probably the nastiest right-hander I've seen. The problem is he's not healthy all that often, as he's only started 26 games (13 of which have come this season) since 2006, and he also missed time in 2005.
That's why the forgotten man in this deal, Chad Gaudin, could end up being the most important piece of the puzzle for the Cubs. Gaudin could be invaluable for Lou Piniella as he can eat innings both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation. So now if Harden goes down, the Cubs can plug in Gaudin. If Harden stays healthy, the Cubs can use Gaudin to replace Jason Marquis in the rotation should he start going south.
If both Harden and Marquis stick, then Chad can work out of the bullpen and lighten the load for guys like Bob Howry, Carlos Marmol, and Kerry Wood.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that this was a great move by Jim Hendry, one of just many he's made since taking over as general manager of the Cubs.
Now that the Oakland Athletics have traded Rich Harden, Chad Gaudin, and Joe Blanton I don't think there's much doubt left that Billy Beane is probably going to try to ship his closer, Huston Street, to a contending team as well. At this point, it seems as though anything not nailed down and over the age of 23 in Oakland is a serious contender to be traded this July.
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