MLB Trade Rumors: Will Oakland End Up Dealing Brandon McCarthy?

The Oakland Athletics are no stranger to deal their top pitchers recently and could deal another in Brandon McCarthy before the July 31 trade deadline.

McCarthy—currently on the 15-day DL with a strain in his right shoulder—is 6-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 12 starts for Oakland this season. Last season—his first with the A’s after three years with the Texas Rangers—he went an even 9-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 170.2 innings.

During this past offseason, Oakland GM Billy Beane wasn’t afraid to trade his two top pitchers—Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill—in order to acquire talented prospects that will benefit the A’s in the future. Beane will be shopping McCarthy as well as the trade deadline approaches, according CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler.

While the A’s have had a fine first half and enter the All-Star break with a .500 record that leaves them just 2.5 games out of a playoff spot, they still see themselves as sellers rather than as contenders. In fact, A’s people are hoping Brandon McCarthy pitches well when he comes off the disabled list after the break, so that he can join the long list of pitchers the A’s have traded away.

It seems as if Oakland is confident that McCarthy will be gone shortly after his first start or two coming off of the disabled list. In order to get good value in return, McCarthy is going to have to pitch pretty well.

Oakland received several top prospects in exchange for Gonzalez and Cahill, but likely won’t get the same return for McCarthy. For one, he will be a free agent after this season and there’s no guarantee he’d re-sign with a new team. He has, however, expressed interested in signing an extension with Oakland, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Another reason that Beane might not get top dollar for McCarthy is because he hasn’t been that impressive over the course of his career. He’s pitched well for a struggling Oakland team over the last season and a half, but could he do the same in the AL or NL East? That’s up for debate.

Why would Beane want to sell yet another pitcher, though?

McCarthy has pitched well for Oakland and he wants to come back. The A’s are known for not having a large payroll, but McCarthy shouldn’t drive that number up too much. He made just $1 million last season with the A’s and is scheduled to make $4.275 million this year.

McCarthy won’t be an expensive pitcher to extend and there has to be a season in the back of Beane’s mind where he feels that Oakland will be serious contenders. Why doesn’t he feel that McCarthy could be a factor in making that happen?

The A’s are shopping McCarthy for sure, but they should hang on to one of their pitchers for once and see how things play out. Who knows, Oakland could find their way into the playoffs and they’ll need McCarthy for sure if that happens.