Sullivan says that Harden’s injury history makes signing a long term deal with the Cubs unlikely, and considering the Cubs want to move Kosuke Fukudome to right field, it would likely result in a platoon situation for Johnson.

…Harden would be a tempting choice for the Mets…he does have ace-like stuff and the market for elite free agent pitchers drops off dramatically after him and John Lackey…his injury history is very alarming and the last thing this club needs is another player that isn’t durable, but if they can land Lackey, i wouldn’t mind the Mets taking a chance on Harden if they could get him on a lower base salary, loaded with incentives…it’s a tough call…

…Johnson is a guy i just can’t see being a fit for the Mets right now…i was one of those that wanted the Mets to bring him in last year when the Blue Jays released him, but that was a different Mets team with far fewer problems, at least on paper…he had an injury plagued 2009 but he is supposedly a great clubhouse presence…

Harden just completed the final year of a four year, $9 million contract he originally signed with the Athletics, and Johnson just finished a one year, $3 million contract.

For more on this and other Cubs news, check out the Chicago Tribune.

…hat tip to Chicago Cubs Online for the info..

Slusser on the possibility of the A’s trading RHP Rich Harden this season, as quoted by Blezinski…

“Yes. The only caveat is if the A’s do make a super strong showing in the first six weeks or so… The Yankees have already made some noises about him, and the Mets are likely to. The first club that makes a realistic offer (i.e., doesn’t want a big discount because of Harden’s injury history), he’s probably gone.”

…of course the Mets are rumored to be interested in harden, what A’s pitchers haven’t they been linked to…

…despite slusser’s comments, i don’t see how the Mets could pull off a deal for harden…the A’s would most certainly demand Fernando Martinez be included in any deal for harden, and frankly it hasn’t come to that, yet…

Harden, who is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in two starts this season, was scratched from scheduled start last night due to back soreness, but is expected to make his next start versus the Indians on Saturday.

The 25–year-old Harden will earn $4.5 million in 2008, after which his contract contains a $7 million team option for 2009.

Haren

In the last three seasons, since becoming a full-time starting pitcher, Haren has won 43 games with a 3.64 ERA while striking out 531 batters through 662 innings.

In a recent article for FOXSports.com, Ken Rosenthal writes that A’s GM Billy Beane could decide to trade Haren or Joe Blanton, which is similar to what Buster Olney wrote to his blog for ESPN.com last week.

According to Kernan, the Mets and Red Sox have already shown interest in Haren, who is 27 years old and under contract through 2010.

However, Olney writes that rival executives question whether the Mets have the young talent to make such a trade, adding that most view Mike Pelfrey and Phil Humber as low-end starters with only middle-relief potential.

In Olney’s best guess, the Mets will end up working out a deal with the A’s for Blanton, “but it won’t be easy.”

However, in a recent mailbag for MLB.com, A’s beat writer Mychael Urban suggested that, if the A’s are going to trade a starting pitcher, it will be RHP Rich Harden, not Blanton or Haren.

As Urban points out, Harden has missed roughly 60 percent of his starts over the last three seasons due to injury.

Of course, during his last 38 starts, Harden is 16–7 with a 2.95 ERA, having struck out 197 batters through 200 innings, while opponents have hit just .193 against him.

According to Olney, executives and scouts with other teams do not believe Mike Pelfrey or Phil Humber are close to being ready, considering the team’s immediate needs.

Meanwhile, Olney acknowledges that the Twins will listen to offers for Johan Santana, as will the Astros for Roy Oswalt; the A’s for Dan Haren and Joe Blanton; the Rays for Scott Kazmir; the Marlins for Dontrelle Willis; and the White Sox for Jon Garland.

However, Olney writes that rival executives question whether the Mets have the young talent to make such a trade, adding that most view Pelfrey and Humber as low-end starters with only middle-relief potential.

In Olney’s best guess, the Mets will end up working out a deal with the A’s for Blanton, “but it won’t be easy.”

During last year’s trade deadline, according to Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com, the Mets had ‘kicked around the idea’ of trading for Blanton, but the price was ‘too high.’

…the buzz in baseball has long been that the A’s continue to eye the Dodgers, who have a lot of young talent and are in need of a durable starting pitcher…

Meanwhile, at Gotham Baseball Magazine, Mark Healey has repeatedly written during the last year that if the Mets are to ever make a deal with the A’s it will only be for Rich Harden or Haren.

…if beane continues to ask for milledge, i agree…however, at some point, it’s becoming clear that if the Mets are actually going to acquire a pitcher, well, milledge is going to have to go and it may have to be for less than another team’s ace…

This past season for the A’s, Blanton was 14–10 with a 3.95 ERA through 34 starts, during which he allowed an average of just one walk per start.

He has made at least 32 starts in each of his last three seasons.

He is eligible for salary arbitration this off-season, and eligible for free agency after 2010.

“I feel that if we were to go with one of our young players in right field, be it a Lastings Milledge or a Carlos Gomez or Endy Chavez, who we control, I feel like if we need to go in that direction we could - or we could continue to look at the free-agent market.  Right now, I think it’s safe to say, given our position, our outfield, with the people we have under control right now, if we needed to go with those guys, I would feel comfortable with the outfield right now…That being said, there is no doubt that we will consider adding another veteran to the mix, if we find a veteran who can fit in and play that role.”

…ok, so, what is that role…in looking at the team’s potential lineup, to me, it would be a strong, right-handed, defensive outfielder, who hits for average, and who will bat towards the bottom of the order…frankly, i trust milledge to fill these shoes…i think it’s his time, and i believe he will step up…

…however, the Mets need another, established, young starting pitcher, who ideally is or will be an ace, and who can bridge the time-gap between Pedro Martinez to John Maine and Oliver Perez to the team’s youngest talent…pedro will be gone soon, and then what…maine and perez will not be this team’s ace…neither will Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber…the next ace will have to come from the outside, and not from the free-agent market - at least not this off-season…and, the Mets cannot wait another season to address this need, which is why i would push hard to trade milledge and either pelfrey or humber, among others, to land another team’s top pitcher…

…as i have said before, i like milledge and believe he will be a very good player one day…i’d love for him to mature and succeed with the Mets, and believe he can…however, it is a lot easier to find a right-fielder on the open market than it is to find quality pitching…in fact, with the way teams are re-signing their own talent these days, it’s becoming nearly impossible to bring in new, young, top-quality arms…therefore, if a right-fielder can help net such a pitcher it has to be done…

…so far this off-season, a variety of young pitchers have been rumored to be potentially available, such as Twins LHP Johan Santana, Indians RHP C.C. Sabathia, A’s RHP Rich Harden and RHP Joe Blanton, Giants LHP Noah Lowry, O’s LHP Erik Bedard and White Sox RHP Jon Garland, among others…though i have my doubts that santana will ever be traded, frankly…

…on the other hand, the Mets could keep milledge, and pelfrey and humber, and gamble on a free-agent pitcher like Bartolo Colon or Carlos Silva, who will certainly net at least a three-year deal, while hoping they can also sign a pitcher like santana, harden or sabathia next off-season or after…however, in limited discussions with people connected to the team, my sense is that a) few people believe that pelfrey and humber will contribute regularly in the way the team needs over the next few years, and so b) it is not worth sitting tight, knowing full well that the current trend in baseball is to lock up top pitchers before they get to the open market…so, if one can be had now, it has to happen now, otherwise it may never happen…

…in other words, knowing the Mets must at least field a dominant team over the next two years, if milledge is replaceable, he should be traded for a pitcher better than pelfrey, because there is no guarantee a better pitcher will be available on the open market next off-season…

As Urban points out, Harden has missed roughly 60 percent of his starts over the last three seasons due to injury.

Of course, during his last 38 starts, Harden is 16–7 with a 2.95 ERA, having struck out 197 batters through 200 innings, while opponents have hit just .193 against him.

…tough one…very tough, considering it will cost at least Lastings Milledge…i mean, this guy stinks of Mark Prior, or Kerry Wood, i.e., great when healthy, but never healthy…that being said, Rick Peterson drafted harden in 2000, while with the A’s, and say what you will about rick, but he and Ray Ramirez have seemingly done a very good job of keeping their young pitchers healthy, which is supposedly one of rick’s strong suits…

By the way, at Gotham Baseball Magazine, Mark Healey has repeatedly written that if the Mets were to ever make a deal with the A’s, including Milledge, it will only be for Rich Harden or Dan Haren, not Blanton.

Last May, on the MetsBlog Podcast, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney talked about Oakland potentially trading Harden during the season, saying…

“I think they absolutely could pull the trigger…Now you have this great, young, talented pitcher, Rich Harden, who when he takes the mound, he’s definitely dominant, but…they don’t know if they can depend on him and right now he probably has a value where you could get two really good young players for him – and that’s the direction Oakland is going.  I think if he gets five to seven good starts when he comes off the DL, and that will be in two weeks, and then I think, absolutely, they will put him out on the market and will try to get players who can help them with the rebuilding process, and I think that’s going to begin very soon.”

…of course, those comments were made in may, but i don’t know how the scenario changes just five months later, when more teams can be interested…

The 25–year-old Harden will earn $4.5 million in 2008, after which his contract contains a $7 million team option for 2009.