A's acquire Holliday from Colorado

By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—The Oakland Athletics completed their trade for star outfielder Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday, landing a big bat for the middle of their lineup.
The Rockies received right-handed reliever Huston Street, lefty starter Greg Smith and promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez from the A’s. The clubs reached a tentative agreement Monday, but had to wait for the results of physicals and other details to be worked out.
“We landed one of the biggest hitters out there,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “He’s definitely a piece of the offense you can build around.”
This is a major move by an A’s team that began rebuilding last winter and is more accustomed to losing star players than acquiring them.
“We wanted a right-handed bat and we got one,” Oakland outfielder Jack Cust said. “It’s usually the other way around—giving away a bigger-name guy for guys who aren’t as established. It’s definitely exciting going into the season.”
Holliday, a two-time All-Star and runner-up for the 2007 NL MVP award, is to make $13.5 million next season and then will be eligible to become a free agent.
“The long-term model for our organization to be successful has always been built around the team dynamic,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said in a statement. “The three men we acquired from Oakland are talented major league players that are a solid fit for us.”
Holliday has 128 homers and 483 RBIs in five big league seasons. His best year was 2007, when he won the NL batting title with a .340 average. He also had 36 homers and a league-best 137 RBIs in helping the Rockies reach the World Series. He finished second to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins for NL MVP. Geren spoke to Holliday by phone just after the deal became official.
“He is going to help us tremendously,” Geren said. “We all know the kind of talent he has with his numbers, but I talked to him and you can tell the kind of person he is. It’s a great fit.”
Oakland (75-86) reached the AL championship series in 2006 before being swept by Detroit. Last season, it finished with its worst record since going 74-88 in 1998. The A’s lost 44 of their last 68 games after being just four games out of first place on July 11.
Holliday joins a roster featuring six-time Gold Glove third baseman Eric Chavez, who is expected to come back healthy from shoulder surgery. The team recently re-signed second baseman Mark Ellis and shortstop Bobby Crosby. Cust batted .231 with a team-leading 33 home runs and 77 RBIs while drawing 111 walks in 2008.
“It’s caused a lot of attention around these parts, the fact we got a big guy the Yankees wanted and a lot of other teams wanted,” Cust said, speaking by phone from New Jersey.
“The last couple years we’ve had a lot of injuries and a lot of guys not doing as well as they’d like,” he added. “They say hitting is contagious and I believe that. Once you get guys rolling and get the pitcher worrying about a few guys, they’ve got to really bare down in the middle of the lineup. I played with Matt in Colorado. We were in the minor leagues together and now we’ll be in the big leagues together, so it’s come full circle.”
The 24-year-old Smith had elbow surgery last month. He went 7-16 with a 4.16 ERA in 32 starts and 190 2-3 innings during his first major league season.
Street, a 25-year-old right-hander, was demoted from Oakland’s closer this season and finished 7-5 with a 3.73 ERA and 18 saves in 25 chances. He would join a bullpen that includes Manny Corpas but is expected to lose closer Brian Fuentes in free agency. Street can become a free agent after the 2010 season.
Like Smith, the 23-year-old Gonzalez just finished his first big league season. He hit .242 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 302 at-bats.
Smith and Gonzalez, considered a top prospect, both came to the A’s last offseason in the blockbuster trade that sent ace Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton in Denver contributed to this report.