Who is the most expendable?

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 2:19 PM PDT Comment 13 comments

Of our pitchers that were on the roster last year, who is the most expendable, or the most likely to be traded?

I have chosen the players I have noticed mentioned the most on AN, and other places.

Chad Gaudin: Gaudin is young enough to attract potential teams, and showed great promise last year....before flaming out in the second half. He could be a valuable trading chip, but the fact he battled injury(ies) last year doesn't help.

Justin Duchscherer: An All Star reliever that always had what it took to start. He has come out of the gate impressively, minus the start he missed while injured, could also be an attractive find to a team in need of SP, or even RP. He can bolster a rotation or help anchor a bullpen, which ups his value. His versatility makes him easier to trade.

The down side, his going under the knife this offseason, and his early injury don't help. His continued strong outings should help ease any apprehension from another GM that is looking into him.

*Duchscherer is in a contract year, and he probably won't be resigned. If he is still pitching very well and the A's are contending, Beane might be willing to let him play the whole season out and hope he is a Type A free agent.

Joe Blanton: The most durable pitcher on the A's rotation, and appointed ace of the staff. I think that by default alone he has been given this title, because your ace usually is a dominant pitcher. Consistent is a better word than dominant when describing Big Joe. That being said, he certainly has some value, just ask the Rockies. I bet that come the deadline in July, Beane will be choosing which pocket he wants to pick in exchange for Blanton.

Huston Street: I've recently read here that closers are easy to come by. Are they? Street hasn't been the healthiest of the bunch, and I'm not sure he's the dominant pitcher that we all thought he was going to be. I do like Street, he has what it takes mentally, and Troy Percival is a good example of how quickly you can turn it around. Not by any means is Street performing poorly, but the fact that people on AN are willing to trade him has to say something about some of their opinions of him.

My vote is Joe Blanton. He is not an ace, but if his value were to dictate otherwise, which I think it will, he's the one. What do you think?

Poll

Who is the most likely to be traded?

Chad Gaudin

3 votes

Justin Duchscherer

3 votes

Joe Blanton

42 votes

Huston Street

25 votes

73 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 13 comments

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Comments

Of our pitchers that were on the roster last year?

Ruddy Lugo

We're going to knock balls out of the country's park, for the home team, which is America. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 9, 2008 2:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

I absolutely didn’t include his name in the breakdown. Can we trade Jay Marshall too?

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that's a direct quote, homes

We're going to knock balls out of the country's park, for the home team, which is America. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 9, 2008 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

holmes > homes

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey, Marshall is doing well at Midland!

And he’s a LOOGY, and I love LOOGYs. I vote no to this.

http://bocropleasestopswingingatbadpitches.blogspot.com/

by thejd44 on May 9, 2008 11:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No Poll?

No Harden?

It’s a moot question until the Harden status works out, for better or worse.

by MobiusKlein on May 9, 2008 2:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

OOPS!

I meant to add one, thanks.

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 2:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of the four

It’s gotta be Gaudin. I still suck air through my teeth when he’s pitching.

BaseBallDiva "Practice Safe Eating - Always Use Condiments"

by BaseballDiva on May 9, 2008 2:57 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Vote Gaudin 2008?

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 4:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Going OT about Duke...

...and him being an All-Star, but he was only an All-Star because somebody from the team had to be. Not saying he was a horrible pitcher in 2006, not at all, but if it weren’t for the rule that mandates at least one player from each team he wouldn’t have even sniffed that honor.

Some read stats. Others actually watch the game.

by UncleLeo on May 9, 2008 6:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Street

A’s have a a lot of guys who can be a part time closer, plus Street pitches the least amount of inning to replace, so I say even if we don’t get any pitching back from trading Street, we would still be fine.

It also depends on what you get back. I bet you everyone would say 6 months ago that Haren is most not expendable. But look at what we got in return, and how those guys have done, I’d say yeah Haren is very expendable.

by asfansince1989 on May 10, 2008 12:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Correction: Duchscherer is NOT in a contract year

Except in the trivial sense that everyone in his arb years without a multi-year deal is in a contract year of sorts. He doesn’t reach free agency until after the 2009 season.

by Faust on May 10, 2008 12:10 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That's all she wrote:

According to 57 wise baseball people, Blanton got 30 votes. I was the first to vote Blanton off of the island, therefore everyone copied me and I’m the smartest and bestest. :)

Ok, just kidding, but thanks for participating.

by passionately objective on May 14, 2008 4:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs