A's Players Most likely to get traded this season...

I think Dotel should be ahead of Rincon. Teams are always looking for a lefty reliever, but that would leave us with none. Unless we are totally out of it....

Dan Johnson should not be on that list. It's not as if BB doesnt like him. BB doesnt have ADD, he knows Dan is a great hitter. Here's why it all makes sense. Durazo and Hatteberg are in the last year of contracts. There is a chance that we sign Ruby again next year, but most likely not hatteberg. Maybe hatty for 1 year, but not both. Next year will be his time. Unless Daric Barton goes crazy, he will not be ready next year. Our 2 first baseman are free agents, so that will be the ideal time for Johnson. We save some money at it too. In fact, we probably will sign either Hatty/Durazo to another one year deal to play DH/1B so we can leave swisher in the outfield.

About Kielty: He could not get worse than last year. If you look at his stats, last year did not reflect him at all. Expect a rebound. If Kielty sucks like last year, I'll eat my menorah.

I don't see why they would trade byrnes.  They know he is legit, why not hold onto him and let the guys under him prove themselves before we trade him.  Cause, if Kielty and Thomas suck, our outfield will blow.  A Crap Platton in left, a rookie in right, and a leadoff hitter in center.  Byrnes is insurance, his bat is good, his defense is good.  If Thomas or Kielty prove themselves, Byrnes is taking a one-way flight out of Oakland on July 31.

isn't good-looking enough to be an A.

SORRY! I know that was shallow but I couldn't resist.

Byrnes has been impressive enough to be trade-bait I'm really surprised he's still around.

Dotel isn't likely to be traded unless we're out of the race early or he falters badly (i don't envision either happening... by july anyway). I think after last season's closer debacle BB is starting to realize that he can't afford NOT to have a true closer. In the past he has made some damned good gambles at the craps table that doubles as our last line of defense in the bullpen. However, i think he (and we) were fortunate that those 3 guys performed so well. Sure, they were well calculated risks but good fortune also smiled on us. I think BB figured he could do no wrong when it came to refurbishing and discarding gems off the scrap heap. Why else would he have gotten the ridiculous notion that Arthur Rhodes could have the same kind of success? But while it may sound like i'm being overly critical of Mr. Beane in fact i think that that disaster illustrates just why he's on of the best gm's in the game. The guy LEARNS from his mistakes (though perhaps he'd be a bit reluctant to admit to a few). Look at our alternatives if we trade Dotel in june or july. No, i mean look OBJECTIVELY..we're all guilty of being overly optimistic at times when it comes to OUR team . I Think while we'll be competitive this season, we're more likely to do serious damage in '06. And in '06 i'm not sure Street (i think he'll be a great set up guy rather than a lights out closer), Garcia (he has the stuff, but the command and confidence may take another year or two) or Cruz (again, he has the stuff..but not the mentality or command) are slam dunk candidates to close for what chould be potentially the best team we've had in a long long time. I do understand Billy's thinking in not locking up Dotel for an extra year however ( he wasn't exactly lights out himself last year in his first year shutting the door), but i think he will be an elite fireman this year and in the future. Despite Billy's willingness to pull the trigger on a pre-emptive strike when he feels it's time , my guess is that he'll be very careful before trading Dotel away before someone else is truly ready to step into his shoes.

I'm not sure BB's supposed willingness to trade Byrnesy isn't just alot of smoke and mirrors. Think about it...you have one of our few righthanded bats with some pop..a guy the fans love because he hustles his ass off and plays with rare emotion and enthusiasm (something this team needs MORE not less of)...he's far superior to Kielty both at the plate and in the field (they're both basicallly right handed hitters..Kielty does BAT lefthanded on occasion..but rarely actually hits)...so why trade Byrnes?...doesn't a Byrnes/Thomas platoon (not strictly lefty/righty but also who's hot) in left look like our best option? I've heard people say Byrnes will be traded because Billy believes in trading when value is highest and buying when value is lowest..that's an oversimplification..and a flawed one as well.
If Billy Beane TRULY believes that Eric has peaked all he needs to do is contruct a graph of the guy's performance curve..Notice an upward trend?

Rincon is not going to be traded until we have another quality lefthanded options in the pen (or two). And frankly, looking at our organization chart there's no one fitting that description in sight. I'm sure Billy will rectify that with a trade in the near future. We have a righty bullpen surplus.

Hatteberg: I'm all for trading him now. Since i think Johnson could probably help us more on the field right now i suspect that Hatty's professionalism and leadership in the clubhouse with a young (and getting younger) team is the only thing keepng him around at this point.
Durazo: The guy can rake..and i think Billy knows he's due for an even bigger spike in the power department..30 bombs and 100 rbi's is within reach this year..and god don't we need  little more pop. THIS is the guy who should have gotten more than a one year deal (especially NOW when we can still afford it..after he hits .300 30 & 100 he's out of our price range).
Johnson: The guy has done all he can do at TRIPLE A. Sure he's only adequate defensively at first (like the guy over there now is a gold glover) but check his walk to K ratio..the man is ready to hit big league pitching and hit it well..something/someone HAS to give.

Expendable...while i think we need a soft tosser to offset all the power arms in the pen now i think Ducherer can fulfill that need just as effectively (perhaps MORE effectively)..how 'bout a straight up swap for a lefty reliever of similar value?..OR.. we can toss in a midling prospect from a source of strength (John Baker, Shane Bazzell,Chris Mabeus) and get an even better quality lefty for the pen.

Kielty is going to have to be packaged with someone else to even HAVE any value to another team.

I think it would be a waste of at bats better spent on someone else to give Kilety a chance to resurrect what's left of his career in Oakland. Not to mention the lack of production said at bats would give the team.

If Ellis is healthy AND hitting (two pretty big ifs) and Omar Quintanilla makes the adjustment to 2b ok (pretty much a given) and continues to rake like he has..then we'll have a surplus of middle infielders for the first time in eons and Ginter would probab;y have the most value...i don't think he's good enough defensively to be the answer for anything more than short term despite his bat.

If his ERA doesn't slide back down to around 3.00, I don't think they keep him and his $8 million price tag for 2006. He'd fetch a nice package of prospects and pre-arb players.

i know we've been discusssing who might be traded..but i'm curious how other fans would rank what we need in return as far as filling weaknesses goes....here's my list

 1. Lefty reliever : i really think it would help the entire pen as well as the young starters if we had two lefties in the pen.
 2. Right handed power bat : yeah, i realize this one isn't going to be easy to find..but there are a few who might be available who can play 1b/dh and/or left field (if Byrnes is traded).
 oh...and IF Byrnes is traded the flip flop the above priorities (righty power bat would be #1 in that case)

Its obvious Hatty isn't the long-term 1B and if DJ continues to rip up the Minors, they almost have to give him a shot sometime this year.  I think after the All-Star break he might get his chance if someone wants a lefty pinch hitter or replacement for a 1B thats in contention, it Hatteberg.  Take his salary and give DJ his shot since it seems like its his position for 2006.  Or call him up, give him a few starts, if he shows he can play at the MLB level, then look to make a deal...after all Hatty won't be around in 2006 anyways, I don't think he will accept a pay-cut to stay.

Bradford might not net the best value but his salary is high and we all know the glut of relievers we have.  If/when Yabu goes to the pen and we call up Blanton or Meyer(I think one starts the season in the minors) then to create that spot try and get whatever, PTBNL ;), for Bradford.  

If the team really struggles, more than almost any of us believe will happen or hope for plus they feel they won't be able to re-sign Durazo...I can see a trade but I really doubt it.

Players least likely to go...anyone making under 1 million and that is under 30 years old ;) plus Chavez.  That rules out a good portion of the team.