Rotoprofessor.com: Holliday to the A’s
Another in our series of article trading with Eric Stashin at rotoprofessor.com. This week Eric takes a look at the first big trade of the offseason as the Rockies trade Matt Holliday to Oakland. Here’s what Eric has to say:
The trade has been made official, so it is time for me to weigh in on the deal that sent Matt Holliday to the A’s in exchange for Huston Street, Carlos Gonzalez & Greg Smith. The first thought is an easy, wow! Yes, the A’s had been thrown around as a potential destination but I never fully believed it. They are the team that sends their established stars away for promising young players, not the ones who go out and acquire rentals.
This is different, however, as the A’s get Holiday for a few months and if by July they realize they aren’t going to compete they can turn around and trade him again. Why not? What this deal certainly does signal is that they are making clear to the rest of baseball that they are out to compete in 2009.
As for Holliday’s value, there’s no doubt that it takes a hit. Almost all of the protection he had in the line-up playing in Colorado disappears, as does that nice cushy hitters ballpark he called home. Instead he’ll be hitting in a park that favors the pitcher, so coming off a season where he hit just 25 HR you have to wonder how much of an improvement, if any, there will be.
