The A’s are close to acquiring left fielder Matt Holliday from the Rockies, according to major-league sources.
The players the Rockies will receive have not been decided, and the deal likely will not be finalized for approximately 48 hours, sources said.
Over the weekend, the teams discussed A’s outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, left-hander Greg Smith and reliever Huston Street, according to one source. Those are the players believed to be in the deal, though the names are subject to change. An official announcement will not be made until each of the players in the trade passes a physical, sources said.
Gonzalez and Smith are two of the six players that the A’s acquired from the Diamondbacks last offseason for right-hander Dan Haren and minor-league pitcher Connor Robertson.
Holliday will earn $13.5 million in 2009, then become a free agent.
The A’s are not acquiring him with the intention of flipping him or even trading him in July. The team is in position to increase its payroll to as much as $80 million, and plans to contend next season.
To that end, the A’s also are targeting free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal, and have even requested medical records from his agent, Paul Kinzer. Furcal is drawing interest from about 10 clubs, according to Kinzer. The acquisition of Holliday could help persuade Furcal that the A’s are serious about competing for a postseason berth in 2009.
If the Rockies obtained Smith, they almost certainly would insert him into their starting rotation. The addition of Street would represent a buffer against the pending loss of free-agent closer Brian Fuentes.
Gonzalez could enter the team’s outfield mix, or the Rockies could flip him to another club for additional players. The Nationals are known to have interest in Gonzalez.
The Cardinals also made a run at Holliday at the general managers’ meetings, discussing a package that included outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker as well as right-hander Mitchell Boggs, according to a source. Those discussions failed to progress, however, enabling the A’s to emerge as the front-runner.
The 28-year-old Holliday, playing half his games at Coors Field, has 128 homers and 483 RBIs in five big league seasons. His best year was 2007, when he won the NL batting title with a .340 average and had 36 homers and a league-best 137 RBIs in helping the Rockies reach the World Series. He was runner-up to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins for NL MVP.
Oakland was last in the majors leagues with a .242 batting average this season and last in the AL with 646 runs.
The A’s used eight starters in left field and finished 75-86, their worst record since 1998.
Street, a 25-year-old right-hander, lost his job as Oakland’s closer during season and finished 7-5 with a 3.73 ERA and 18 saves in 25 chances.
Smith, 24, went 7-16 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts during his first major league season. Gonzalez, 23, was also in his first big league season and hit .242 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 302 at-bats.
The news of the Holliday trade first was reported by SI.com.