5:36pm: The Cubs' press release is out. The Cubs get Harden and Chad Gaudin for Gallagher, Murton, Patterson, and catching prospect Josh Donaldson.

 

5:25pm: Dave Kaplan of WGN Radio in Chicago reports that the Cubs have acquired Rich Harden from the A's. Sean Gallagher is reportedly part of the deal, and possibly Matt Murton. Hal McCoy says Eric Patterson and another minor leaguer are also included. More when I have it.

 

Harden, 26, has been dominant in 13 starts for the A's this year. The injury-prone Harden is a tantalizing player; he's only topped 130 innings once but has a career ERA of 3.42. The latest concern: decreased velocity/dead arm in his last start.

 

Harden has a $7MM club option for '09, which is highly likely to be exercised.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/07/dave-kaplan-of.html

The Cubs get Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin for Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and catching prospect Josh Donaldson.

Cubs Acquire Harden from A's

 

CHICAGO ? The Chicago Cubs today acquired right-handed pitchers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin from the Oakland Athletics for right-handed pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson.

 

Harden, 26, is 36-19 with a 3.42 ERA (206 ER/541.2 IP) in 97 appearances (89 starts) in all or part of the last six seasons with Oakland. He has 523 strikeouts in 541.2 innings pitched, an average of 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings, and has limited opponents to a .224 batting average. He pitched in the 2003 and 2006 postseasons.

 

The righthander is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA (20 ER/77.0 IP) in 13 starts this season with Oakland, fanning 92 batters in 77.0 innings, an average of 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings. His 2.34 ERA would rank second in the majors behind only Oakland?s Justin Duchscherer (1.98), but he is just shy of the necessary innings to qualify. Harden?s .206 batting average against would rank third in the majors. He has 92 strikeouts and 31 walks this season, one strikeout shy of a three-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio. Harden has allowed only five home runs in 77.0 innings.

 

Among pitchers with at least 12 starts this season, Harden leads the majors with 10.75 strikeouts per nine innings (San Francisco?s Tim Lincecum is next at 9.49) and he ranks 12th with 10.40 baserunners allowed per nine innings.

 

Harden spent one month this season on the disabled list (April 10-May 11) with a strained right shoulder and has averaged six innings per start since returning, four times pitching into the seventh inning or beyond. He has turned in a quality start in seven of his last 10 outings, posting a 2.02 ERA (14 ER/62.1 IP) and a .190 batting average against in that span starting May 17. Overall, he has allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of his 13 starts.

 

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Harden went 3-0 with a 0.68 ERA (2 ER/26.2 IP) in four starts vs. the National League during interleague play this season, limiting those foes to a .132 batting average. In his career, Harden is 5-1 with a 1.81 ERA (11 ER.54.2 IP) in 10 interleague appearances, nine as a starter.

 

A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Harden is 10-3 with a 2.95 ERA (49 ER/149.1 IP) during the last three seasons, limiting opponents to a .201 batting average, though five stints on the disabled list have kept him to 29 appearances, 26 as a starter. His 2.95 ERA and .201 batting average against would lead all big league starters if he had accumulated the necessary innings during the last three seasons to qualify for league-leader rankings. In his career, he is 18-3 with a 1.45 ERA (35 ER/217.1 IP) when pitching at least seven innings (29 starts).

 

Gaudin, 25, is 5-3 with a 3.59 ERA (25 ER/62.2 IP) in 26 appearances (six starts) with Oakland this season, including a 3.38 ERA (10 ER/26.2 IP) in his 20 relief appearances. He has not allowed an earned run in 15 of his 20 relief outings and has pitched 1.0 inning or more in 17 of those appearances. The 5-foor-10, 185 pound Gaudin joins the Cubs having turned in a 1.50 ERA (1 ER/6.0 IP) in his last seven relief outings beginning June 21.

 

The New Orleans native has pitched all or part of the last six seasons in the big leagues with Tampa Bay (2003-04), Toronto (2005) and Oakland (2006-08), going 24-23 with two saves and a 4.33 ERA (25 203 ER/421.2 IP). He returned to the bullpen this season after making 34 starts with Oakland last season. Gaudin is 8-5 with two saves and a 3.63 ERA (59 ER/146.1 IP) in 111 relief appearances in his career.

 

Gallagher, 22, is 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA (29 ER/58.2 IP) in 12 appearances (10 starts) with the Cubs this season. He has split the last two seasons between the Cubs and Triple-A Iowa. Gallagher was originally selected by the Cubs in the fifth round of the 2006 Draft.

 

Murton, 26, has split the 2008 season between the Cubs and Triple-A, batting .250 (10-for-40) with two doubles and six RBI in 19 games for Chicago this season. He has spent all or part of the last four seasons in the majors, hitting .294 (256-for-870) with 28 home runs and 104 RBI in 308 big league games. He was acquired by the Cubs on July 31, 2004 from the Boston Red Sox as part of a four-team, six-player trade.

 

Patterson, 25, has also split the season between the Cubs and Triple-A and hit .237 (9-for-38) during his three stints in the big leagues this season. He was originally selected by the Cubs in the eighth round of the 2004 Draft.

 

Donaldson, 22, batted .217 (51-for-235) with six home runs and 23 RBI in 63 games for Single-A Peoria this season. He was selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2007 Draft.

 

http://chicago.comcastsportsnet.com/view_c...0p.asp?ID=67112

We Gitz are selvs an ol fashion topic battle!

 

I choose JD since JD is my hero.

 

Seriously though.. Good enough to match the CC deal?

over/under, 5 starts before harden is on the dl.

The guy is a five to six inning pitcher. He can dominate, but has a VERY low pitch count (at least with Oakland he did).

 

But, honestly, none of the guys that the Cubs gave up are anything special.

 

If he stays healthy and pitches, its better than what they have, for sure.

over/under, 5 starts before harden is on the dl.

 

Ill say over like 8 starts then he'll go down. Its the cubs something has to go wrong for them.

Can you imagine if Beinfest had done something like this? :whistle

It's great that the "great" Billy Beane did this...the only reason this trade isn't getting criticized is b/c of Beane's resume.

 

1. He traded his most talented pitcher...in the middle of a playoff race (yes, the A's are contenders!)

2. He traded Harden (1 of the nastiest pitchers in baseball when healthy) + Gaudin (a young pitcher who was good last year for the A's...should help the Cubs in middle relief, at least).

 

The best player he got in return...Sean Gallagher...? There's not even much potential to speak of, in this deal, coming to the A's.

 

Oh...thank the Lord, Beinfest didn't do this. The board would be goin' crazy! :whistle

Can you imagine if Beinfest had done something like this? :whistle

It's great that the "great" Billy Beane did this...the only reason this trade isn't getting criticized is b/c of Beane's resume.

 

1. He traded his most talented pitcher...in the middle of a playoff race (yes, the A's are contenders!)

2. He traded Harden (1 of the nastiest pitchers in baseball when healthy) + Gaudin (a young pitcher who was good last year for the A's...should help the Cubs in middle relief, at least).

 

The best player he got in return...Sean Gallagher...? There's not even much potential to speak of, in this deal, coming to the A's.

 

Oh...thank the Lord, Beinfest didn't do this. The board would be goin' crazy! :whistle

 

I'm not overly impressed with this deal from the A's end either to be honest... I think that if say, the Yankees got Santana, Beane could have gotten a similar package from the Mets for Harden

Someone call the sheriff, because this is a highway robbery.

meh, while I certainly thought Harden would have gotten more, we don't really know the true value of players (A player is only as valueable as what other GMs are willing to give up for him). I severely doubt Beane didn't try getting more elsewhere.

 

You also have to remember, Harden is such an injury concern. The guy has made only 29 starts the past two and a half years, already has been on the DL this year, and has been suffering from dead arm lately. Mark Prior has all the talent in the world, and he got non-tendered because of his injury problems. Paying a guy millions of dollars to sit on the DL is counter-productive.

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE LORIA RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE Admin BEINFEST RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

 

Not his choice

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE Admin BEINFEST RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

 

this whole post was garbage

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE Admin BEINFEST RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

 

 

That's not his job.

great pick up

The best player he got in return...Sean Gallagher...? There's not even much potential to speak of, in this deal, coming to the A's.

 

I kinda thought the same as you on the day this trade happened. Cubs got a steal, dumb trade by the A's, highway robbery, etc.

 

Well, that was until I did a little research. Sean Gallagher (still only 22 years old) absolutely dominated the minor league ranks. He had an ERA of 2.77 and struck out over a batter an inning (9.02 K/9). The dude has a lot of promise.

 

Donaldson is a young catcher who was taken in the 1st round of the 2007 draft, so there is potential there.

 

Eric Patterson did very well in the minor leagues (.300/.364/.468) and has potential to be a very good middle infielder in the big leagues.

 

Matt Murton also did very well in the minors (.310/.386/.455) and could figure it out with the A's

 

 

Sure the A's traded their best pitcher in the middle of the race, but he can get injured at any time. With these 4 players, he gets some young talent. Will they be stars? Probably not. But I could easily see all 4 of them becomming solid major leaguers, and Gallagher has star potential. The trade is not as lopsided as most people think.

 

Billy Beane likes to buy and sell at the same time. This is a perfect example.

Matt Murton also did very well in the minors (.310/.386/.455) and could figure it out with the A's

 

Matt Murton's very nice for them cuz they have a ton of LH OFs (Ryan Sweeney, Carlos Gonzalez, Travis Buck), so Murton (And Denorfia once he's heathy) gives them a nice platoon partner for them (Career .882 OPS v.s. LHP).

 

But, I would also say he's already "figured it out". He's a career .808 OPS hitter in nearly 900 ABs, close to two seasons worth. Now a lot of that does have to do with the fact that he has gotten a lot more time against LHP than normal, but he still has a career .765 OPS against RHP, nothing outstanding but not horrid either. He's not gonna be a stud by any means but he's a solid player.

The A's did not get raped, they got somebody to hopefully replace Suzuki, who they are not high on (and shouldn't be, he's Matt Treanor), 2 good pitchers and a RH bench hitter (which they really need) for an injury prone starter and a bullpen arm

Oh look, Harden goes about five innings in his first Cub start. Strikes out a bunch of guys, they call it a great start. But the Cubs bullpen comes in and nearly blows the game. This is why five inning pitchers are bad.

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE Admin BEINFEST RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

 

 

That's not his job.

 

oh lol my bad. whos job is it then?

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE Admin BEINFEST RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

 

this whole post was garbage

 

 

the same as all your 2688 posts.

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE Admin BEINFEST RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

 

 

That's not his job.

 

oh lol my bad. whos job is it then?

 

Loria

This is why i hate baseball. The marlins will never make big time trades or sign big names. Its frustrating watching most of the teams get the great players while we get prospects. PLEASE Admin BEINFEST RAISE THE MARLINS SALARY SO WE CAN SIGN A BIG NAME PLAYER.

 

 

That's not his job.

 

oh lol my bad. whos job is it then?

 

Loria

 

 

thanks