Now that the Oakland Athletics have traded Rich Harden, Chad Gaudin, and Joe Blanton I don't think there's much doubt left that Billy Beane is probably going to try to ship his closer, Huston Street, to a contending team as well. At this point, it seems as though anything not nailed down and over the age of 23 in Oakland is a serious contender to be traded this July.The problem is, that while there are plenty of teams out there right now looking for some bullpen help, it seems the market for Street isn't what the Athletics thought it would be. Aside from the fact that Huston blew his second consecutive save on Sunday afternoon, some scouts are saying his velocity has dipped, and his dropped arm angle is causing his pitches to flatten out.
I'm not sure if this is keeping teams like the Brewers, White Sox, Mets, and Red Sox from looking at Street as a possibility, but it's probably going to diminish the return Oakland gets for him. Another problem for Beane and the Athletics is the fact that Colorado's Brian Fuentes has been pretty untouchable of late, and that hurts Street's value as well.
Still, of all the teams that need bullpen help, only one is going to land Fuentes, and after that Street will be the most desired reliever on the market. If I had to guess where he'd end up, I'd say Milwaukee (if they don't land Fuentes or another reliever first) just because they have such an abundance of prospects, definitely need help in the pen, and they've showed this season they're willing to pull the trigger on a deal.
