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Oakland Athletics Rumors: Three Potential Starting Pitcher Trade Targets

In news that seems to be about as shocking as the San Antonio Spurs making the NBA playoffs, the Oakland Athletics are reportedly interested in checking out the MLB trade market for a starting pitcher. 

According to the great Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle…

Given the issues with the back end of the rotation, there is little doubt that Oakland, a definite contender, will look to trade for another starter and might be willing to move a player off the big-league roster to do so.

If her report is true, and there is no reason to believe it isn’t, Oakland’s potential targets would have to provide an upgrade over either Dan Straily or Tom Milone in the back end of the rotation. Remember, both Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin will miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. That’s yet another indication that whoever Oakland acquires might be a one-year rental and a rather big name.

Two games ahead of the Texas Rangers and with an 18-11 record entering Saturday’s action, Oakland has been among the best teams in baseball over the first month of the season. And a lot of that has to do with its starting pitching, mainly the top-three in the rotation. Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez have combined for a 10-1 record with a 1.91 ERA in 18 starts. Meanwhile, Straily and Milone are a combined 1-4 with a 4.83 ERA in 10 starts.

If the A’s are able to acquire one upgrade, they might be nearly unbeatable in the ultra-competitive AL West.

While we aren’t currently at the point in the season where a lot of trades are made, there could be a few non-contending teams looking to move salary and acquire prospects.

Pure conjecture here, but the following players might make sense in Oakland.

The Arizona Diamondbacks boast the worst record in MLB at 10-22. While they did add Lucas Harrell to the mix in a deal with the Houston Astros, the Diamondbacks could very well look to deal Trevor Cahill this season. The former A’s pitcher is due $20 million over the next two seasons. He was recently pulled from the rotation after putting up a 9.79 ERA in four starts. Cahill was successful during his three-year stint with the A’s, winning an average of 13 games per season. If the Diamondbacks pick up a decent chunk of his contract, Oakland could very well look to bring this veteran back to Northern California.

The San Diego Padres pitching has been darn good this season, as they rank ninth in baseball with a 3.21 ERA. Despite this, San Diego is currently in fourth place in the NL West with very little hope of contending for a playoff spot. It could also use a bat or two in a lineup that’s among the worst in the majors.

A prime candidate here would be veteran righty Ian Kennedy, who is 2-3 with a solid 3.16 ERA. A’s general manager Billy Beane targeted Kennedy multiple times when he was a member of the New York Yankees and could make a strong play if the Padres put Kennedy on the block. Kennedy, who finished among the top vote getters in the NL Cy Young back in 2011, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $6.1 million in 2014. That’s not too shabby for someone with a tremendous amount of upside.

At 10-17 and a whopping 9.5 games out of first place in the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs will soon become seller’s on the trade market. And they have a decent option or two for contending teams looking to add a starter. The first name that comes to mind here is Jeff Samardzija, who will be a free agent following this season. The former college football player at Notre Dame, has been downright ridiculous this year. He ranks sixth in the NL with a 1.98 ERA, despite the fact that he’s yet to win a game. If the Cubs decide that they cannot retain Samardzija on a long-term deal, he could very well be moved. Unlike Cahill and Kennedy before, he’d likely require a nice bounty in return.

Trade options on the A’s current roster include John Jaso, both of those starters in the back end of the rotation and even outfielder Josh Reddick.

Photo: Charles LeClaire, USA Today

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