The Matt Holliday trade that still hasn’t happened is such a given that Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown is already speculating how long Holliday will wear an Oakland uniform.

It’s certainly an unexpected deal by Billy Beane, the ever-inventive general manager of the low-budget A’s, who has made a successful career of dealing costly veterans for kids and still keeping the franchise competitive. Trading the likes of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Mark Kotsay, Nick Swisher, Dan Haren and Rich Harden in the last four years caught up to the A’s, who have endured back-to-back losing seasons after a 93-win campaign in 2006.

Now Beane is on the verge of picking up Holliday for closer Huston Street and two unproven prospects. The last time the long-time GM made a similar deal was in December 2005, when he acquired Milton Bradley from the Dodgers in a trade that shipped top hitting talent Andre Ethier south to Los Angeles. Wouldn’t Ethier look good in Oakland’s outfield now?

In this week’s trade, the two players heading to Colorado with Street are lefty Greg Smith and tools-rich outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Both came to Oakland in the Dan Haren deal with Arizona just 11 months ago. All of 22 last summer, Gonzalez showed flashes of his talent with Oakland, but his lack of plate discipline in 85 games (13 walks and 81 strikeouts in 316 PA) suggests he’s got a ways to go and maybe the A’s now have doubts he’ll figure it out. Smith also had a challenging rookie campaign in 2008, and his lack of an out pitch and his flyball tendencies will face a bigger test in Denver.

Meanwhile, Holliday has a year remaining on his contract and is due $13.5 million in 2009. Coming off his MVP-caliber season a year ago, Holliday reportedly turned down a Rockies offer of four guaranteed years for $65 million. And now he moves to Oakland.

Unless the A’s compete into the second half next season, columnist Brown noted Tuesday that Beane is likely to move Holliday by the trade deadline and “chances are will get his Gonzalez/Smith/Street back, something a lot like it.”

The A’s will be paying at least half of Holliday’s 2009 salary. Perhaps Beane believes he can assemble an American League West contender for next summer. He would be adding a dependable run producer to a team that often failed to back up a solid pitching performance with offensive support. According to Brown, an A's bid for Rafael Furcal may be in the works as well.

The question that is likely to linger well into the 2009 season is whether Holliday is a Coors Field mirage. He leaves arguably the most hitter-friendly park in the majors for a new home that is far more friendly to pitchers. And he’ll be adjusting to a new league of pitchers in what could be a short stint in Oakland.

It’s true that Holiday has posted markedly better hitting percentages in Denver than other venues, but he’s still put up solid road numbers. Keep in mind that a fair share of his road games has been played at Dodger Stadium, AT&T Park and Petco Park, all NL West stops that can make pitchers feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Here are Holliday’s home-road hitting percentages over the last three seasons, as well as those numbers for the entire Rockies club.

Rockies. . . . . . . . . .2006. . . . . . . . . . . .2007. . . . . . . . . . . .2008

Team at home. . . .294/.366/.459. . . . .298/.372/.480. . . . .278/.350/.454
Holliday home. . . .373/.440/.692. . . . .376/.435/.722. . . . .332/.413/.584

Team on road. . . .247/.316/.408. . . . .261/.336/.395. . . . .249/.322/.377
Holliday road . . . .280/.333/.485. . . . .301/.374/.485. . . . .308/.405/.486

What a 2007 season Holliday delivered for the National League champions, particularly at Coors Field. He recorded 28 doubles, 25 home runs and 82 RBIs in 82 home contests.

Holliday has been a critical part of Colorado’s run production, and the A’s hope he’ll take on a similar role for an inexperienced Oakland lineup. If Holliday can help the young team play meaningful games in the second half, or assist the kids in stepping up their run production, the short-term investment in the All-Star left fielder might be well worth it.