I think the A’s could blow up their disappointing roster this week and why not? Any player who isn’t a part of the A’s future (I count at least 16 of them) will likely be on the trading block this week. The whole A’s starting outfield (Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp and David DeJesus) could be on the move and they each have decent value trade wise. DH Hideki Matsui and outfielder Ryan Sweeney also have limited appeal to other teams on the trade market. Conor Jackson, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Daric Barton will also be on the trade block this week but none of them will bring much of a return on their own. Righty starting pitchers Rich Harden and Brandon McCarthy will be on the block with teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers and Cardinals having interest in them. The bullpen is going to bring back nice returns for the A’s if they decide to move a lot of them. Lefty relievers Brian Fuentes, Craig Breslow and Jeremy Blevins likely appeal to the Red Sox, Yankees, Brewers, Cardinals and Diamondbacks. Righty relievers Grant Balfour, Brad Zeigler and Michael Wuertz will likely draw attention from the Tigers, Twins, Rangers, Angels, Braves, Pirates and Diamondbacks. A’s GM Billy Beane might try to make a few package deals to maximize his return for the players he’s willing to deal. I see the A’s looking a lot different on August 1st than they look right now.

The Oakland A’s won’t be big time sellers at the trade deadline but I still see them making some moves. First off I see the Cardinals dealing 3B/OF Allen Craig and SS Tyler Greene to the A’s for Ben Sheets. After that I would trade lefty reliever Craig Breslow to the Red Sox for outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin. I would trade lefty reliever Jeremy Blevins to the Padres for lefty reliever Cesar Ramos who I think has a nice upside. Finally I would send outfielder Jack Cust to the Giants for outfielder Nate Schierholtz and infielder Matt Downs. Craig, Lin, Greene and Ramos are solid prospects with nice upsides. Schierholtz and Downs could help the A’s off the bench in the near future.

The A’s are 41-43 on the season which has them in third place in the A.L. West, 8 games behind the Rangers. I think the A’s will wait another couple of weeks to decide whether they will be buyers or sellers. If the A’s become sellers they have a lot to move to other teams. Ben Sheets, Mark Ellis, Rajai Davis, Jack Cust, Coco Crisp, Brad Ziegler, Michael Wuertz and Jerry Blevins all likely will have good value for the A’s. The A’s also likely wouldn’t hesitate to trade Gabe Gross if they find a taker for him. I think A’s GM Billy Beane will get a good return for his players and I think he will be very aggressive especially if the A’s don’t play better the next couple of weeks.

I just don’t see the A’s having the type of offense that G.M. Billy Beane wants right now. He has done a great job of rebuilding the pitching staff with talented young pitchers. But unless he can find some hitters soon it’s going to be a very disappointing year for the A’s. I have a feeling that the A’s wouldn’t mind trying to trade catcher Landon Powell and outfielder Travis Buck (currently on the D.L.) to the Dodgers for outfielder Xavier Paul. The A’s also signed Ben Sheets with the idea of trading him in July if things weren’t going well. I think the A’s would consider trading him to the Nationals for Roger Bernadina or Justin Maxwell. The A’s will also likely move either Craig Breslow or Jeremy Blevins as they are loaded in the pen with lefties. The Yankees, Red Sox and D-Backs would likely be the most interested and maybe even the Rays. The A’s would also like to probably move Rajai Davis who isn’t a “Moneyball” kind of player. The Padres and Marlins would likely be the most interested in Davis.

The A’s have a big need at 3B and they will likely set their sites on Mat Gamel of the Brewers. He won’t come cheap as the Brewers will be looking for pitching in return for him. The A’s could offer Santiago Casilla, Dana Eveland and a decent prospect for Gamel. If the Brewers want to aim higher the A’s would consider trading reliever Michael Wuertz and a prospect for Gamel. The A’s will probably pursue Gamel hard as they definately need to boost the offense for the 2010 season.

Despite trading for Scott Hairston last week the A’s still appear to be sellers at the trade deadline. They lost the big gamble on Matt Holliday as he won’t bring as big of a return as what the A’s gave up to get him. The A’s will likely make both Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera available for a decent prospect or two. The A’s are also disappointed with outfielder Travis Buck and they might make him available this month. Bobby Crosby and Nomar Garciaparra will both likely be available also for fringe type prospects. Billy Beane loves to rebuild (or reload) his team so he should have some fun this month. The A’s like the young pitching they have so they will likely focus on getting young position players in return for what they have to deal.

The Oakland A’s seem to be in fire sale mode despite being 52-49 on the season. The A’s are now 10 games behind the Angels in the A.L. West and 7 games behind the Red Sox for the Wild Card. With that in mind it seems that Beane has his finger on the red button on his desk with the idea of blowing up the team. Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis, Emil Brown, Matt Murton, Huston Street and Alan Embree could all be on the move by July 31st. Beane still has his biggest trade chip in All-Star righty starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer who is leading the American League in ERA. He has stared 17 games for the A’s this season and he is 10-6 with a 1.87 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He has allowed an amazing 77 hits in 115 innings which no one could have seen coming. The A’s would likely demand a haul similar to what they got back for Rich Harden in order to pull the trigger with Duchscherer.

The Oakland A’s are keeping their fingers crossed that they can trade righty starting pitcher Rich Harden before he breaks down again, and let’s face it…..it’s only a matter of time. The Philadelphia Phillies look like a perfect trading partner for the A’s because they could use a starting pitcher and a lefty reliever (Alan Embree). So here it goes, the A’s would send Rich Harden and Alan Embree to the Phillies for 2B Adrian Cardenas, SS Jason Donald, 3B Travis Mattair and righty reliever Joe Bisenius. The major league team would miss both Harden (4-0, 2.53 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) and Alan Embree (1-2, 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) but the upside of the rest of the trade is way too good to pass up. Cardenas is the #2 prospect in the Phillies’ entire minor league system according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook but his future in Philly is blocked by Chase Utley. The 20-year old lefty swinging Cardenas has played in 45 games in A-Ball this season and he is 56 for 173 (.324 avg, .892 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers, 15 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Jason Donald is a 23-year old shortstop with a good eye in the minors which fits into the A’s style of offense. The righty swinging Donald has played in 55 games in AA-ball this season and he is 63 for 211 (.299 avg, .862 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 6 homers, 30 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Travis Mattair had a big upside but he’s a raw prospect right now. The 19-year old righty swinging Mattair has layed in 63 games in A-ball this year and he is 54 for 220 (.245 avg, .620 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 1 homer, 27 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 25-year old righty reliever Joe Bisenius has had control issues this season walking 16 batters in only 24.1 innings between AA+AAA this year. He has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 0-2 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This is the kind of trade that would really help both teams as it would give the Phillies what they need to win now. Plus, the A’s would get quality infield prospects that could really help in possible positions of need down the road.