Sources: A's Close to Deal for Rockies Star Holliday

The A's are close to acquiring left fielder Matt Holliday from the Rockies, according to major-league sources.

 

The players the Rockies will receive have not been decided, and the deal likely will not be finalized for approximately 48 hours, sources said.

Over the weekend, the teams discussed A's outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, left-hander Greg Smith and reliever Huston Street, according to one source, but it is not known if any or all of those players will be included in the package for Holliday.

Holliday will earn $13.5 million in 2009, then become a free agent.

The A's are not acquiring him with the intention of flipping him or even trading him in July. The team is in position to increase its payroll to as much as $80 million, and plans to contend next season.

To that end, the A's also are targeting free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal to be their leadoff man. Furcal is drawing interest from about 10 clubs, according to his agent, Paul Kinzer. The acquisition of Holliday could help persuade Furcal that the A's are serious about competing.

If the Rockies obtained Smith, they almost certainly would insert him into their starting rotation. The addition of Street would represent a buffer against the pending loss of free-agent closer Brian Fuentes.

Gonzalez could enter the team's outfield mix, or the Rockies could flip him to another club for additional players. The Nationals are known to have interest in Gonzalez.

The Cardinals also made a run at Holliday at the general managers' meetings, discussing a package that included outfielders Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker as well as right-hander Mitchell Boggs, according to a source. Those discussions failed to progress, however, enabling the A's to emerge as the front-runner.

The news of the Holliday trade first was reported by SI.com.

This article originally published in FOXSports.com.

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