Oakland Athletics beat writer Susan Slusser has reportedly confirmed that the A's have dealt All Star pitcher Trevor Cahill to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Reports indicate the A's are sending Cahill and relief pitcher Craig Breslow to the DBacks for RHP Jarrod Parker, OF Collin Cowgill and RHP Ryan Cook. The deal has not been announced by the A's, but all indications are that it is just about wrapped up.
Once the deal does officially go through, Parker will immediately contend for a spot in the A's 2012 starting rotation. That specific spot remains to be seen given that the A's are still actively shopping much of the rest of their rotation.
Cowgill will likely immediately compete for a starting outfield spot. David DeJesus left for the Chicago Cubs and Josh Willingham is not going to be returning, which opens up a couple spots for some healthy competition. Chris Carter and Michael Taylor will be competing for those and other spots. Ryan Sweeney is the only significant outfielder from the A's 2011 25-man roster still under contract.
Ryan Cook will get a shot at a bullpen spot in 2012, although it is possible he could start the season at Triple-A. Cook split his 2011 season between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno. He made 48 appearances between the two and finished with a 2.21 ERA over 61.0 innings.
The A's are in a bit of a fire-sale mode at this point as they look to build a team that could conceivably compete when a hypothetical stadium opens in 2015. Although Trevor Cahill had club options after 2015, that also boosted his value and provided a potential for the best return. The A's will hit plenty of speed bumps in 2012, but they will likely have some intriguing young talent to keep fans interested.