Baseball what-ifs are always fun. Here is one. What would have happened if Oakland hadn’t traded away pitcher Aaron Harang in 2003 for a half-season of outfielder José Guillén?
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Assuming he developed on the same trajectory and really came into his own by 2005-2006, he would have likely been right in the middle of an Oakland rotation of Dan Haren, Barry Zito, Joe Blanton, and Rich Harden. That would be a very impressive rotation. Not sure it really would have moved the needle too much, but he was certainly more valuable to the A’s than what José Guillén gave them.
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In real life, Harang turned into one of the game’s premier innings eaters. From 2004-2015, he averaged 180 innings. While he had a career 97 ERA+, he had some great seasons, including back-to-back 16-win seasons in 2006-2007.
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I will also always have a soft spot for him because of his 2006 campaign, since he was part of an excellent fantasy baseball rotation that also included Ted Lilly (15-8), Derek Lowe (12-14), Johan Santana (15-13), and Brandon Webb (18-10) that won my hyper-competitive fantasy baseball league. The only time I have won anything. I will continue to celebrate this achievement until I win another fantasy league.