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.