So Long Dan Haren! We Will Miss You

Hello again A’s fans, its Jordan here again, and this has been an eventful Friday afternoon. According to multiple sources, the A’s have traded their ace, Dan Haren, along with right handed pitcher Connor Robertson to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for six, count ‘em six prospects. The prospects include outfield prospect Carlos Gonzalez, Aaron Cunningham, infielder Chris Carter, and three pitchers; Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, and Greg Smith. This officially looks like the beginning of the rebuilding process in Oakland, and I must commend General Manager Billy Beane for having the courage to make this deal, because he will undoubtedly face some scrutiny. I wish the very best of luck to Dan Haren, and both his ability and presence will be missed however, I do believe the time was right.

Here are some information and statistics for the players that the A’s have acquired.

Brett Anderson

2nd Round pick in the 2006 First Year Player Draft. 19 years old, played at A level South Bend and Visalia last
season. He was 11-7 in 23 starts with a 3.07 ERA, with 125 strikeouts and just 21 walks in 120.1 Innings Pitched.

Dana Eveland

Spent the majority of his season at AAA Tucson dealing with an injury to his finger. He did have a few appearances with the
Diamondbacks, and was 1-0 with a 14.40 ERA in just 5 games. He was 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA in nine appearances for Tucson.
He is 24 years old and has 6 career starts in the big leagues. Eveland also spent some time with Milwaukee. He was placed on the A’s 40 Man Roster

Greg Smith

Split time last year with AA Mobile and AAA Tucson, and was 9-5 and a 3.54 ERA in 22 games, which were all starts. He was a 6th Round selection in the 2005 Draft, and through his brief career, he is 31-14 with a 3.27 ERA in 62 appearances, almost all have been starts. He is a left handed starting pitcher.

Carlos Gonzalez

He spent the majority of last year in AA Mobile. He hit .286 with 16 HR and 75 RBI in 120 games played. Was promoted to AAA Tucson late in the year and hit .310 with a HR and 11 RBI in just 10 games. Gonzalez is 22 years old and has a .286 career average with 74 HR and 354 RBI in 540 career games over a five year period. Gonzalez has been placed on the A’s 40 Man Roster

Aaron Cunningham:

He is 21 years old, and split time between A and AA level ball last season at A Winston-Salem, A Visalia, and AA Mobile he combined to bat .308 with 16 HR and 77 RBI in 127 games. Was a 6th Round Pick in the 2005 Draft by the White Sox.

Chris Carter:

Was originally drafted in the 15th Round by the Chicago White Sox. He played in A Kannapolis where he batted .291 with 25 HR and 93 RBI in 126 games played. He is 20 years old, and was a Southern League All Star last year.

All of these statistics were provided by the Oakland Athletics’ press release of the transaction. We shall see down the road whether or not this move by Billy Beane pans out, but we all hope it does. I hope everyone is having a Happy Holidays, and make sure you all give us your input on the deal because we really want to know what other A’s fans are thinking. There are a variety of ways to do so, you can email us at hosts@athleticscast.com, call us at 415-691-6185, or get a hold of us on our Myspace page, www.myspace.com/athleticscast. Make sure you guys shop through us for your late holiday gifts by clicking the Overstock.com links from our sites. We will definitely be discussing this trade in our next episode, so stay tuned!

That’s how I see it…Let’s Go Oakland!