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Harden joins the Cubs

by Matt Smith

Touché

Just a day after the Brewers made a splash by signing a top pitcher from the American League, the Cubs retaliated by doing the same yesterday. Talks had been ongoing for several weeks, so the signing of Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin was in no way a panic move by Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry, but it makes for a great storyline. One moment it looks like Milwaukee have trumped their rivals, the next moment Chicago answers right back. Over to you St Louis. 

As an A’s fan, seeing the news first thing this morning was a bit of a shock. There had been plenty of rumours about Harden leaving town, but the news can still knock you for a second once it’s been made official. First Haren, then Swisher, this is just the latest in a long line of Billy Beane moves that look to capitalize on our best assets in the face of knowing that we won’t keep hold of them for long. Our 49-41 record has been a welcome surprise and some have questioned whether the rebuilding should have been put on hold for half a season to give this group a chance of causing a real upset in the West. The fact that the Angels are still five games ahead tells its own story. L.A. have the stronger roster and even with Harden the A’s would have struggled to keep up. Sometimes the bravest thing to do is admit defeat in a battle and to concentrate on winning the war.

If the A’s wanted to get younger and cheaper, then the deal works well. Sean Gallagher is going to be the measure for how this move pans out. If he becomes a solid Major League starter then the deal may look worthwhile. If he goes down the Dan Meyer route, questions will be asked. Matt Murton is okay as a fourth outfielder and would be an upgrade on Emil Brown, but ‘an upgrade on Emil Brown’ isn’t much to get excited about. The two prospects, Eric Patterson and Josh Donaldson, will be added into the pot of players that Beane has accumulated in the A’s three major deals this year which have greatly improved what was a weak looking farm system.

Is that enough though for someone of Rich Harden‘s potential combined with a solid pitcher in Chad Gaudin?

It really depends on what happens with Harden over the next year and a half. We all know his M.O. When he’s healthy, Harden is as good as any pitcher in the Majors. Trouble is, he can’t stay on the field. Having made thirteen starts this season, there’s an argument that the A’s are selling while the going is good; like accepting a fair amount of cash for a high-performance but unreliable car on the basis that as it’s ran fine for several months, it’s bound to splutter to a halt in the near future.

CC Sabathia will almost certainly be a three month rental for the Brewers. With his track record, Harden may well only be on the field for three months of the next one and a half seasons, but if those three months cover the rest of this season then Chicago have got a real chance of ending their 100 year wait for a World Series victory. That’s a chance well worth taking.

What helps the Cubs here is that they were also able to pick up a more than decent arm in Chad Gaudin. He has faced his injury problems as well, but by and large he represents a nice bit of insurance if Harden does disappear to the DL in short measure. The Cubs now hold a $7m club option on Harden next year so they could cut bait if they needed to, although that seems unlikely. Overall, Chicago has picked up a potentially excellent starter alongside a useful arm to add to their collection. The Cubs have a better roster today than on Monday, that’s for sure.

The A’s roster has obviously taken a turn for the worse in the short-term. Whether the medium and long term benefits will make the deal worthwhile remains to be seen.

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