Billy Beane's Magic: Mark Mulder

Thinking back to that seemingly dreadful day when the A's traded Mark Mulder, I was bummed.  Looking at the trade now though, I realize how much we really got out of Mark Mulder (and a few others).

This is where it all began.  In return for a pitcher that has since been hurt more often than healthy, we received an All-Star, a decent reliever and a prospect who may or may not pan out.

07/08 Off Season:  A's trade Dan Haren and Connor Robertson to the Diamondbacks for Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Chris Carter, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith and Aaron Cunningham.

With this trade, the A's now had eight players in return for Mulder and Robertson (who had a terrible year with the Diamondbacks and was released a year later).  This trade in particular saw the A's part with All-Star Dan Haren, but it did land them three top prospects (Gonzalez, Anderson, Carter) and three marginal ones.

08/09 Off Season:  A's trade Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Smith to the Rockies for Matt Holliday.

This was not one of Beane's better trades, although his ability to deal Holliday at the deadline somewhat made up for trading away an All-Star closer and two of the players he received for Haren (one of whom was a top prospect).

09 Trade Deadline:  A's trade Matt Holliday to the Cardinals for Brett Wallace, Shane Peterson and Clayton Mortenson.

This trade somewhat made up for the previous one, as we received top prospect Brett Wallace and two other minor leaguers in return for Holliday.  It is still too early to truly judge the quality of this trade, but it was one the A's had to do because they knew they could not re-sign Holliday at the end of the season.

09/10 Off Season:  A's trade Brett Wallace to the Blue Jays for Michael Taylor.

This is a Billy Beane special, swooping into a trade that he has no business a part of.  It's a Billy Beane special in another way as well though, as he dished off a first round pick (Wallace) for a sixth rounder (Taylor).  When the trade is examined more closely though, one would notice that Taylor's batting stats are actually superior to those of Wallace.  The disparity grows even more when you factor in fielding, as Taylor is Gold-Glove caliber while Wallace is a liability.

09/10 Off Season:  A's trade Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham to the Padres for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard.

With the injury history of Eric Chavez, Beane knew he needed a third baseman.  He got a young one with some pop in Kevin Kouzmanoff in return for two players who would have probably not gotten adequate time in the crowded outfield (the A's already had Ryan Sweeney, Rajai Davis, Coco Crisp and Michael Taylor).  To go with Kouzmanoff, the A's received Eric Sogard, who had more walks (58) than strikeouts (47) last season in the minors.

So...how does this final trade sound to you? Mark Mulder, Huston Street, Scott Hairston and Connor Robertson for Daric Barton, Brett Anderson, Chris Carter, Dana Eveland, Shane Peterson, Clayton Mortenson, Michael Taylor, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard.

Keep it up Billy!