OAKLAND, Calif. -- Matt Holliday hardly could have expected to land with the low-budget Oakland Athletics.
The A's completed their trade with the Colorado Rockies for the star outfielder Wednesday, securing the big bat Oakland sought for the middle of its order.
"Originally, it was a little bit of a surprise considering I've never been traded before," Holliday said. "I spent my first 11 years of professional baseball in the Rockies organization. Any time you make a change there's a bit of an unknown."
Colorado received right-handed reliever Huston Street, lefty starter Greg Smith and promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez from the A's. The clubs reached a tentative agreement Monday, but had to wait for the results of physicals and other details to be worked out.
Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said the Rockies earlier this year offered Holliday a deal worth $107.5 million over five seasons, but agent Scott Boras rejected it back in March.
"This wasn't going to go away. It was going to be a distraction," O'Dowd said. "And that's nothing against Mattie. He's earned the right to be a free agent after next season, and he's earned the right to pick where he plays after next season. There's no hard feelings, no animosity."
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| Matt Holliday is due $13.5M next year and will be eligible to be a FA after that. (AP) |
"We landed one of the biggest hitters out there," A's manager Bob Geren said. "He's definitely a piece of the offense you can build around."
This is a major move by an A's team that began rebuilding last winter and is more accustomed to losing star players than acquiring them.
"We wanted a right-handed bat, and we got one," Oakland outfielder Jack Cust said. "It's usually the other way around -- giving away a bigger-name guy for guys who aren't as established. It's definitely exciting going into the season."
A two-time All-Star and runner-up for the 2007 NL MVP award, Holliday is due to make $13.5 million next season. Whether he stays in Oakland past the 2009 season or even next year's All-Star break, nobody knows.
"I'm not worried about that. Oakland wanted me for a reason," Holliday said.
He has 128 homers and 483 RBI in five big league seasons. His best year was 2007, when he won the NL batting title with a .340 average. He also had 36 homers and a league-best 137 RBI in helping the Rockies reach the World Series. He finished second to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins for NL MVP.
