Billy Beane's All-Trade Team

As a huge Oakland A's fan, this has been a rough week, as I watched our best player, Matt Holliday, get traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Of course, this is not the first time I have watched one of the A's best players get traded. Most of the time, these deals work out for the A's, Beane has a knack for getting very good prospects in exchange for his all stars. But it doesn't make watching the best players go any easier.

So with that, here is my all star team of sorts, of the best players Billy Beane has traded away from the Oakland A's. It is a mix of players who were great when they got traded, and players who were traded before becoming great... but if you could get them all on the field at the same time in their primes, it would be one hell of a team.

To make this list, a player must have played at least one game for the A's. This rules out players like Andre Ethier, Ryan Ludwick, or Angel Berroa, who were in the A's farm system before being traded by Beane, but never made it to the big leagues in Oakland.

Starting Pitcher—Tim Hudson

In six seasons in Oakland, Hudson went 92-39 with a 3.30 ERA and 899 strikeouts. In those six seasons, he won 20 games in a season, finished second, fourth, and sixth in Cy Young voting, and made two All Star teams. He was traded to the Braves after the 2004 season.

Starting Pitcher—Mark Mulder

Mulder had five seasons in Oakland, and went 81-42 with a 3.92 ERA and 668 strikeouts. He finished second in Cy Young voting once, and was named to two AL All Star teams. He was traded to the Cardinals after the 2004 season, in exchange for some guy named...

Starting Pitcher—Dan Haren

In three seasons in Oakland, Haren made A's fans forget the name Mark Mulder. He went 43-34 (a record influenced by low run support), with a 3.64 ERA and 531 strikeouts. In 2007, he was the starting pitcher for the American League All Star Team. Since being traded to the Diamondbacks after the 2007 season, he has continued his dominance and is one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Starting Pitcher—Rich Harden

His career, in Oakland and after, has been marred by injuries, but when he is healthy, I honestly think he is the single best pitcher in baseball. Anyone who has seen him in person pitch when he is healthy will find this hard to argue with. In 5.5 seasons in Oakland, he went 36-19 with a 3.41 ERA and 200 strikeouts. He averaged 9.1 Ks/9 innings, an ungodly figure comparable to Johan Santana's (9.2 Ks/9), far higher than Roy Halladay (6.5 Ks/9), Matt Cain (7.6 Ks/9), or all time greats like Steve Carlton (7.1 Ks/9). Harden was traded to the Cubs midway through the 2008 season.

Starting Pitcher—Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers pitched forever, but he did spend two years in Oakland during the prime of his career. In 1998 and part of 1999, he went 21-11 for the A's, with a 3.54 ERA and 206 strikeouts. Midway through 1999, he was traded to the Mets.

Relif Pitcher—Billy Koch

He may only have spent one year with Oakland, but what a year! He had 11 wins as the closer... on top of 44 saves, second in the league to Eddie Guardado's 45. He had 93 Ks in 93.2 innings. He was traded after the 2002 season to the Chicago White Sox.

Relief Pitcher—Huston Street

In four years in Oakland, Street had 94 saves and a 2.88 ERA. He was the 2005 Rookie of the Year. Before the 2009 season, he was traded to the Rockies, where he now is tied for the National League lead in saves.

Catcher—Ramon Hernandez

Hernandez was a .253 hitter during his five seasons in Oakland, but it was his presence behind the plate that really made him great. He was the catcher who called the games for Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito, as they transformed from young prospects into The Big Three—three of the best pitchers in baseball. Hernandez was an All Star in 2003, and was traded to the Padres after that season.

First Base—Carlos Pena

Carlos Pena was a hot prospect, a rookie at the start of the 2002 season, who was supposed to erase the memory of the traitor Jason Giambi, who had recently defected to the evil empire. Instead, Pena was traded to the Tigers after 40 games, and now, as the first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays, he is emerging as a premier power threat.

Secon Base—Randy Velarde

The career journeyman was a .286 hitter in parts of three seasons in Oakland. I'll always remember him for one play, on May 29, 2000, when he turned an unassisted triple play, the eleventh in Major League history, against the Yankees. He was traded to the Rangers after the 2000 season.

Third Base—Scott Brosius

The first trade Billy Beane made as general manager of the Oakland A's was when he sent Scott Brosius to the New York Yankees prior to the 1998 season. For the Yankees in his first year, Brosius had his career year (.300, 19, 98), was an All Star, and won the World Series MVP as the Yankees beat the Padres. In his seven years in Oakland, Brosius was a .248 hitter, and a very slick fielder anchoring the hot corner.

Shortstop—Marco Scutaro

Scutaro spent four years wearing the green and gold, winning over fans with his all out style of play. He was an average, .262 hitter, nothing amazing, but could play anywhere in the field, with most of his starts coming at short. He was traded to the Blue Jays after the 2007 season, where he is in the middle of a career year, emerging as a very solid everyday shortstop.

Outfield—Matt Holliday

Holliday only spent half a season in Oakland, but during that half season he was by far Oakland's best hitter, batting .286 with 11 homers and 54 RBI. He put up MVP caliber numbers in Colorado before coming to Oakland, and I hope, having been traded to St. Louis, he can continue to do so.

Outfield—Nick Swisher

In three full seasons in Oakland (plus a September call up), Swish was a .251 hitter with 80 homers and 255 RBI. He was traded to the White Sox after the 2007 season, and is now roaming right field in Yankee stadium, still showing off the power he developed in Oakland.

Outfield—Matt Stairs

During the mid 90s, when Oakland was struggling as a team, Matt Stairs was a cornerstone on offense and in right field. He hit .268 with 122 homers and 385 RBI, including three seasons of 25+ homers, and two of 100+ RBI. He was traded to the Cubs after the 2000 season In his 18 year career, the ageless wonder has played for 11 teams, including winning a World Series with the Phillies last year, but he had more seasons, more games, and better stats in Oakland than anywhere else.