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12/18/2004 8:52 PM ET
A's trade Mulder to Cards
Two pitchers, catching prospect coming to Oakland
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By John Schlegel / MLB.com |
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| Dan Haren performed well in the postseason, allowing two runs in 8 1/3 innings. (Darren Hauck/AP)
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Only 48 hours after the Big Three became only two, it was pared down to one on Saturday when the A's traded left-hander Mark Mulder.
The 27-year-old Mulder was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for Major League right-handers Dan Haren and Kiko Calero and minor league catcher Daric Barton in a startling move that marks a significant week in recent A's history.
Combined with Thursday's trade of right-hander Tim Hudson to Atlanta, the Mulder trade leaves lefty Barry Zito as the lone remaining member of the vaunted Big Three starting pitchers in Oakland.
In trades clearly designed to cut costs and manage future payrolls, the A's have taken a decidedly different direction. It's a direction A's general manager Billy Beane fully supports, as difficult as it may be.
"I'm the general manager, so I'm the caretaker of baseball operations," Beane said. "For the baseball health and the financial health of this franchise, this is something we needed to do."
As it turns out, the two trades pretty much fall in line with Beane's offseason plan. With the star pitchers' salaries increasing and free agency looming after 2005 for Hudson and 2006 for Mulder, the Big Three's future in Oakland was in big trouble.
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