Cubs Get Harden

Cubs get: Rich Harden, Chad Gaudin
As get: Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Erik Patterson, Josh Donaldson

Well done by Jim Hendry to pick up a potential front line starter in response to the Brewers acquisition of CC Sabathia. Harden is a gigantic improvement over Ted Lily as a member of a playoff rotation. Can Harden stay healthy in Chicago? Maybe, but everyone knows the Cubs history with starting pitchers.

(Edit: I confused 22 year old Sean Gallagher with 25 year old Sean Marshall. That makes the deal look better as Galllagher will probably improve a lot in those 3 years. If he pans out, and the Athletics rarely miss on these deals, it could be a fair trade.)

I don't like the fact that the As continue to crap out on their fans once the tradeline rolls around, however if they feel good about Gallagher it is defensible. The rest of the guys however are only bench players. It's risky to trade an ace with a year left for a prospect who might become an ace, but Harden is an injury risk in his own right. Decent deal for Oakland, great one for the Cubs.