Oakland Athletics reportedly closing in on Tyler Clippard trade

The Oakland Athletics officially established themselves as sellers last week when they sent starter Scott Kazmir to the Houston Astros. According to reports, they could continue moving big-league pieces as soon as Monday.

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Susan Slugger of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Athletics are closing in on a deal to move reliever Tyler Clippard. The other club involved hasn’t been specifically identified to this point, but the Nationals, Yankees, Blue Jays, Astros and Mets are all known to be looking for relief help. Washington and Houston both serve as intriguing fits, as Clippard pitched seven seasons with the Nationals and the Astros were in play to acquire the A’s closer last winter when Washington made him available. Clippard also came up in the Yankees system before being dealt to the Nationals for Jonathan Albaladejo in December of 2007.

Blown saves in each of his last two outings won’t due Clippard any favors, but he’s nonetheless been solid out of the pen for Oakland this season. The 30-year-old has a 2.79 ERA across 37 appearances, and has 17 saves to go with his four blown saves on the year. Prior to giving up runs in each of his past two appearances, Clippard had pitched six straight scoreless appearances and converted eight consecutive save opportunities.

Any of the aforementioned clubs have the minor-league talent to pry Clippard from Oakland. The question is whether they’ll be willing to move said talent, especially with teams like Toronto and both New York clubs eyeing higher-profile talent that will require multiple top prospects to obtain. But regardless of who the suitor is, it appears Clippard will be on the move sooner rather than later.

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