Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez Could Be Headed To Colorado

Yesterday's news that the Colorado Rockies had dealt Matt Holliday to the Oakland Athletics came as a bit of a surprise.

While we were all well aware of the fact that the Rockies intended on moving Holliday, the Athletics never seemed like a fit, but it's not the first time Billy Beane has surprised anyone.

What added to the mystery was the fact that nobody was sure what the Rockies were going to get back in return. First reports of the trade had pitcher Greg Smith involved, and now according to SI.com, we may know who the other players who will be having their mail forwarded to Denver are.

The A's have acquired star outfielder Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies, SI.com has learned. Sources indicate outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, starting pitcher Greg Smith and reliever Huston Street are involved but the exact particulars of the trade are not yet known.

Of course, the real question behind this trade is still why the Athletics even want Holliday. He doesn't exactly fit the description of the type of player Beane looks for. While Holliday has an OBP of .423 in his career at Coors Field, his career OBP is only .348 outside of Denver, and he has 40 less home runs on the road (84 at Coors, 44 everywhere else).

Oh, and there's the fact that Matt is due for a big payday after the 2009 season, one that he has a snowball's chance in hell of getting from the Athletics. All of which makes me wonder if the only reason Beane traded for Holliday was so that he'd have a chance to move him at next year's trade deadline. It's a lot easier to get top prospects during the season because other GMs are more focused on right now than the future at that point.

It's the only thing I could think of that makes any sense because Holliday isn't going to turn the Athletics into the AL West favorite or a World Series contender.