Why all the trade Dan Johnson talk?

It's not because Barton should play now, or because DJ is a bad hitter. We should move DJ now because his value will not get higher as his price increases, while in the long term he is not the answer to 1B.

Still, it makes no sense to trade him for a guy like Proctor. I'd like to see a prospect with upside in return rather than another ML roster filler.

Here's my list of guys who need to be traded/replaced, in a very particular order:

Kotsay
Piazza
Crosby
Kielty
Stewart

I know the team's not looking so good, and there's a lot going on that one could find issues with. However, I feel like bagging on Mark Kotsay after he just had back surgery is a bit of a bummer. Let's give the guy a chance to regain his strength, etc. before we bag on him.

If I were Kotsay, I'd be a bit bummed at the rampant dissing after he had the surgery, and then worked so hard to come back and try to be a part of the team. This is a team, and the reasons we're not doing so well aren't fairly placed on individuals.

We know the A's have 1B alternatives should they trade DJ with Swish or Barton at 1B. Trading DJ could provide improvement now or in the future with the player they get at another position.

I see a trade, not as an indictment of DJs performance, but as a way to get a player who will be part of the longer term future. I think its becoming clear that this is not the A's year so lets start building a lineup with players who could be part of their next playoff run. Sure there is risk that the player won't pan out but what part of life doesn't have some risk.

DJ is going to be 28 in a few weeks, entering the prime of his career, very reasonably priced and puts up decent off/def stats. That should attract interest from BBs counterparts.

If the A's feel Barton is ready to be their 1B of the future why not give him a chance now? Yea it starts his arby clock and maybe he could use more seasoning at AAA but thats what management is paid the big bucks to figure out.  

  One of the more annoying things about AN is the bandwagon jumping. There is no real reason for AN's dislike of DJ based on the numbers or even the Barton worship. DJ was not that good last year because of an eye injury which delayed his development by a year. This off season the front office did something very rare for them and basically endorsed DJ and put their support behind him.
    As for Barton he easily could wind up an AAAA player like people accuse DJ of being. He has a lack of pop which means his bat is slow. Slow bat in the majors can be easily exposed. I also worry about his makeup because of his really shitty defence. Come on, I played a very serviceable 1st and 3rd base once upon a time, I don't get how a pro athlete can be so bad at fielding. Barton played some 3rd in high school which can be argued is harder to play than in the minors. The use of aluminium bats at the high school level and the resultant screaming pulled metal bat line drives make third a living hell for high school and college third baseman.
    I hope the A's keep DJ. I wish they would move Barton to third. I fear Chavez's forearm and shoulder injuries are chronic and will shorten his career. Reading about Barton’s antics at third at Sac, my first thought went to someone can only play that bad because they want to. Where there is a will there is a way. He's too athletic to be that bad. It seemed to me he had a fit at being moved and didn't put any effort in at all. I have voiced my concern before that Barton is just plain not ready. He has had only one good month at AAA and is 21. 21 is when most college players are drafted.

who wanted to keep DJ.  Looks like there is a large minority who want to do so, as well.  DJ is not the problem with this offense.  In fact, he is one of the few bright spots.

And, I agree with rebus and several others, Kotsay has got to go next.  From Baseball Prospectus:

STAT OF THE DAY

Bottom 5 2007 AL Center Fielders, by VORP

Player, Team, EqA, VORP

Mark Kotsay, OAK, .197, -5.3
Jerry Hairston, TEX, .223, -5.0
Jerry Owens, CHA, .185, -4.3
Rocco Baldelli, TBA, .221, -4.3
Hiram Bocachica, OAK, .119, -2.7

His current defensive contribution is vastly overrated by much of AN based on past performance.  Time for Billy to dump this albatross and his contract and make room for improvement next year.  

because he is pretty good, actually has some value, and we have enough other players to cover his loss.  Its not so much a matter of us not liking him or DJ having a terrible year.  Its more that we dont see DJ as the long term plan at first, and his trade value is higher than most pieces we can trade to rebuild with.

If we trade Kotsay, then every single one of our clubhouse leaders will be gone.  If we are giving up on the season, might as well rip the heart out of the clubhouse too, eh.  Although, at this point, if anyone can bring us some good rebuilding pieces I'd be happy with the trade.

The reasons to trade DJ are:

1. Free up a spot for Barton long-term. I do think that Barton is likely to be better than Johnson, but it's not clear by how much.

2. Free up a spot for Piazza short-term. Note that Piazza isn't actually a very good hitter any more, and you also have to be willing to play Cust in the outfield, so I'm not sure this is really a net positive. But we have to do something with Piazza.

3. Get some real value in exchange for Johnson.

The third point is key. Johnson, as you say, is a pretty decent hitter. If we can turn that asset into a prospect at a different position, it's worth doing. But if the best thing we can get for that asset is an overworked journeyman reliever, then I don't see the point.

in trading DJ back when the team was doing well and it looked like we had a shot at the playoffs. The logic was that he's a decent player but one we can replace with only a slight downgrade, so therefore we could trade him for a different decent player who is a better match for our needs right now.

Now that we stink and the odds against us going to the playoffs are 30:1 and growing, I think there's less need to trade him, though I'm still open to it if we get a good return. (I feel the same way about Shannon Stewart.)

I've never agreed with the "seller" mentality, the idea that when the team is out of contention you should trade away all your good players for prospects. But then again, I've found that in general on AN when one says "seller" one doesn't really mean selling off good players, just the crappy ones -- Kendall, Crosby, Kotsay, Kennedy, etc.  In that case, I'm on board. But I don't think of it as "selling". I wanted to trade those guys as a "buyer", too.

for the A's.  He is clearly not better at 1B than Swisher and Cust's power would make him a second choice at DH too.  Where else can he play on this  team?  Unless he is willing to play as a backup, I'm all for giving him a better long-term opportunity with another organization.

However, the guy is cheap and I don't think it would be a bad idea to keep him around.  He is not going to "carry" a team but you could do a lot worse and his numbers are respectable.  If he does get traded than it's a clear message that the A's think Barton is ready.  

I can't believe the talk in this diary about Barton possibly being "no more than a AAAA hitter."  He's 21 years old and raking in AAA, for God's sake!

Barton should be playing first tomorrow for the A's, or the day on which DJ is traded, whichever comes first.

DJ will be a decent major-league regular for a while, but on the order of a guy like Mike Pagliarulo.  Barton has the potential to be John Olerud when he was threatening .400 in the '90's.

Should the A's trade DJ so they can call up Barton?

HELL NO!

Maybe this is just semantics on my part, but you do not trade DJ in order to free up a spot for Barton. DJ is too valuable for that.

Trade DJ if you get a deal too good to say no to. Then you can replace him with Barton while using whomever you got in the DJ deal to strengthen the team elsewhere.