With many of this year's free agents finding homes in the past week, fans should expect to hear more and more trade rumors in the coming weeks. The Oakland Athletics are interested in shedding payroll and acquiring young talent, and they can do so should the organization decide to deal Gio Gonzalez or Andrew Bailey. Multiple teams have checked in on the asking price of the two pitchers, and while there are clubs with interest in both players, do not expect a package deal anytime soon.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has the latest update: (Note -- the article is combined with a bit of Braves news, so we had to chop it up a bit to get the A's coverage.)
Teams with two marketable assets generally prefer to trade them separately to maximize the return. The Athletics likely will do that with left-hander Gio Gonzalez and closer Andrew Bailey. Certain teams, however, are interested in both Gonzalez and Bailey, according to league sources.
It is unlikely that that the Athletics will package both their chips in the same trade, sources say. But the mere possibility raises the potential for a bigger deal. The Red Sox, Rangers and Reds are among the teams that have shown interest in both Gonzalez and Bailey.
The main problem with pulling off such trades is that teams offering veterans with rising salaries want back packages of high-value, low-cost players - the very players that most clubs are reluctant to move. The Athletics likely will trade before Bailey before Gonzalez, preferring to hold off on Gonzalez until after the winning bidder for the rights to Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish is identified. At that point, Gonzalez should be in even greater demand.
It makes sense for the A's to split up their two trade chips should they decide to move both of them, especially with the organization having so many current needs. Instead of only having one franchise to pick prospects from, Oakland would have the luxury of picking through various farm systems to find the players they like most.
For more on the trade rumors, head on over to Athletics Nation.