Opinion: Trade Chavez?

The idea of trading the one player who, out of the myriad of other players whom have left the A's, was kept to a long-term contract may seem incredulous. This post is not meant to suggest what Beane would do, and not so much what I would like to see Beane do. It is meant to have fans discuss where they feel the future of the A's is going.

After thinking about the current A's overall situation, I propose this trade; it's a three-way trade where I think all parties have a fair piece of the pie. First off I want to talk about the other two teams' situations...

The Phillies are at the bottom of the NL East despite the emergence of right-handed pitcher Brett Myers. Jim Thome is out with a back injury and 3rd baseman David Bell has had problems with his back this year. Baseball America rated their top ten prospects in the beginning of the year and if one looks at the list, there is a a glaring absence: a 3rd bagger. As of right now, Placido Polanco is playing third as he won the arbitration game of chicken this past-offseason with a 4.6 Million dollar prize.

The Reds are in a horrible pitching situation as their top two pitching 2004/5 pitching acquisitions, Eric Milton and Ramon Ortiz, have been complete busts. Actually, bust is an understatement. As such, they currently have former A's pitcher Aaron Harrang as their best starter with none in the minors ready to make the leap as starters.

So I propose to you the reader, the following trade

The Phillies acquire Eric Chavez(cannot deny trade) for Brett Myers , Cole Hamels, and Placido Polanco

The Reds acquire Brett Myers and Joe Blanton for Adam Dunn

The A's acquire Adam Dunn, Cole Hamels, and Placido Polanco

Dunn is in his first year of arbitration so getting him as soon as possible allows the A's to allocated Chavez money to him for a long-term deal as well as replace Blanton with an equivalent, if not better, pitcher. Polanco buys the A's time as they look for a possible replacement for Chavez maybe even giving Polanco an extension.

The Phillies are able to shed Polanco's money from the payroll and are able to solidify third-base for 6 more years allowing them to focus their attention on other issues and are able to use Ryan Howard as bait for a pitcher to replace Myers. As for Chavez, he is able to relax in a lineup where he is not being counted on as the franchise player.

The wildcard here is the Reds; they have to make a decision on whether to try to pay Dunn money to keep him in Cincinnati despite the fact that he may not play on a contender or they can trade him for two pitchers who they wouldn't be able to compete for on the free-agent market. By getting these two pitchers, they can move Harang, lefties Brandon Claussen, and Eric Milton further down in their rotation giving them a much more solid 1-5 rotation.

All three teams are at a crossroad when it comes to the future of their respective franchises. The A's are trying to create a new image after the breakup of the Big Three, the Phillies are desperate turn their lackadaisical lineup into the contender they expected, and the Reds are able to start a new with a solid rotation and the money to allocate their top players Austin Kearns and Wily Mo Peña. It may be a crazy idea or it may just be the type of deal that works out for all parties.