In the trade that sent Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2004, the A’s acquired pitchers Dan Haren and Kiko Calero and then-minor league prospect Daric Barton.

In retrospect, the deal wasn’t all that bad. In fact, you could call it a definite win for Oakland. Mulder, who was a perennial Cy Young contender in most of his seasons with Oakland, fell apart in St. Louis; Mulder made 32 starts in his first season with the Cardinals, but made only 21 starts over the course of the next three years.

The A’s, meanwhile, got three solid seasons out of Calero and saw Haren develop into an All-Star. Haren, like Mulder before him, was traded to a team in dire need of an ace. The Diamondbacks in exchange for Haren, rewarded the A’s with a slew of prospects. That, however, is a different story. (more…)

Tough Choice: Will Mark Ellis return as Oakland's everyday second baseman? (Photo Credit: ProRumors.com)

While the A’s have faced many hurdles this season, they still face an even bigger challenge over the next couple of days. The A’s have been building towards the future, dating back to the team’s decision to trade Dan Haren following the 2007 season. Since the Haren trade, the Athletics have acquired such players as Gio Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Chris Carter, Michael Taylor, and a few others.

This youth movement, led by GM Billy Beane, is helping shape the organization’s future, but is also marking the end for such players like 2B Mark Ellis. Ellis, 34, is currently scheduled to come off the 15-day disabled-list on Wednesday, but it is still unknown whether or not he’ll assume a starting role with the team.

2B Jemile Weeks, called up shortly after Ellis went down with a hamstring injury, is batting .344/.364/.594 with five RBIs in nine games this season. While that’s a very small sample size, Weeks hasn’t underperformed by any means, and his performance doesn’t warrant a demotion to Triple-A. (more…)

Former A's 3B Eric Chavez now with the Yankees, is hitting .444 this season. (Photo Credit: NYDaily News)

This past winter the Oakland A’s cut ties with Eric Chavez by declining to pick up his $12.5 million option for the 2011 season. The move, which saved the A’s a ton of money, was a no-brainer as Chavez had been limited to just 154 games from 2007-2010 due to various injuries and set-backs.

From 2000-2006, however, the A’s former Gold Glove winning third-baseman, averaged 28 HR and 94 RBIs per season. Knowing this, of course, made his eventual body-break down in Oakland all the more painful to watch.

This season, however, Chavez’s body seems to be holding up well in his new home in New York. The Yankees invited the 33-year old to spring training this season as a non-roster invitee, and the A’s former star actually had a terrific spring as hit hit .395 with a homer and four RBIs in 18 games. 

More importantly, he’s still healthy.   (more…)