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.