All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday appears headed to the Oakland Athletics in a surprising move for a franchise known more for shedding stars than adding them.

Two people familiar with the proposed deal said yesterday the A's and the Colorado Rockies have reached a tentative agreement. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been finalized and details were still in the works.

It was unclear whom Colorado would get for the two-time All-Star. One of the people said reliever Huston Street, lefty starter Greg Smith and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez were among the players who had been discussed in recent days.

Holliday, MVP of the 2007 NL Championship Series, is due to make $13.5 million next season and then will be eligible to become a free agent.

He was scheduled to have a physical yesterday, one of the people said. The big-hitting left fielder unexpectedly dropped in on the general managers' meetings last week in Dana Point, Calif.

The tentative trade was earlier reported by SI.com and ESPN.com.

"Talks are continuing. They're very fluid and at this point, everything's speculation," Rockies spokesman Jay Alves said, speaking on behalf of general manager Dan O'Dowd.

The A's are known for making big trades, cutting payroll during a rebuilding process that general manager Billy Beane is committed to at all levels in the organization. Gonzalez and Smith were among the six players Oakland acquired last winter when it traded ace and All-Star Dan Haren to Arizona.

Oakland has watched Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada and the Big Three pitchers of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito depart for big money elsewhere.

The 28-year-old Holliday, playing half his games at Coors Field, has 128 homers and 483 RBIs in five big league seasons. His best year was 2007, when he won the NL batting title with a .340 average and had 36 homers and a league-best 137 RBIs in helping the Rockies reach the World Series. He was runner-up to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins for NL MVP.

ROOKIES OF YEAR

RAYS' LONGORIA, CUBS' SOTO RECEIVE HONORS

The rookie races were all but over by July, when Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria and the Chicago Cubs' Geovany Soto gave an All-Star glimpse of things to come.

Longoria won the American League Rookie of the Year award in a unanimous vote and Soto ran away with the NL honor yesterday, capping impressive seasons that included All-Star appearances for both players at Yankee Stadium.

Pretty rare stuff for a pair of first-timers — but these were no ordinary freshmen.

"I had a great year, bar none," Longoria said. "I know I have the ability to do more."

Following a season of breakthroughs for the AL champion Rays, Longoria became the first Tampa Bay player to win a national award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The power-hitting third baseman received all 28 first-place votes, making him the league's first unanimous rookie winner since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997.

Soto, the steady catcher with pop who helped the Cubs win the NL Central, got 31 of 32 first-place votes. The other went to Cincinnati's Joey Votto.

"It's kind of surreal. It really hasn't sunk in yet," Soto said on a conference call from Puerto Rico.

Called up from the minors in April, Longoria batted .272 with 27 homers and 85 RBIs despite missing five weeks after breaking his right wrist Aug. 7.

Chicago White Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez was the runner-up after receiving 18 second-place votes. Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury finished third.

Soto hit .285 with 23 homers, 35 doubles and 86 RBIs. He became the first catcher to win Rookie of the Year in either league since Mike Piazza of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1993.

The previous winner from the Cubs was pitcher Kerry Wood 10 years ago.

"I just didn't want to put extra pressure on myself. I just wanted to do my job as the team required," Soto said.

Balloting for BBWAA awards is conducted before the postseason. Votto garnered 21 second-place votes and 76 points to Soto's 158. Atlanta pitcher Jair Jurrjens came in third.

ELSEWHERE

Obituary: Preacher Roe, who began pitching in the Ozarks and became a four-time All-Star as a revered member of "The Boys of Summer" in Brooklyn, has died. Roe died Sunday in West Plains, Mo., said the funeral home handling the arrangements. His own Web site listed his age as 92 — other reference materials differed by a year or two. Roe went 127-84 in a 12-year career with the Dodgers, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

Marlins-Nationals deal: The agent for starting pitcher Scott Olsen and outfielder Josh Willingham said they are being traded from the Florida Marlins to the Washington Nationals. Agent Matt Sosnick said a news conference in the Washington area was being planned for today. ESPN.com reported, citing sources, that the Marlins would receive second baseman Emilio Bonifacio and two minor leaguers in the deal.

Padres: San Diego withdrew a $4 million offer to Trevor Hoffman, but the club has not said whether it will continue negotiating a deal with the all-time saves leader. Padres general manager Kevin Towers said last week he was trying to work out an agreement to keep the closer, but last night sent a text message to The Associated Press confirming "our offer was withdrawn."

Phillies: Left-handed reliever Scott Eyre signed a $2 million, one-year contract to remain with Philadelphia. Eyre was 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in 19 appearances for Philadelphia last season.

FREE AGENTS

Eligible players may file through Thursday (c-pending decision on club option for 2009):

AMERICAN LEAGUE

BALTIMORE (4) — Juan Castro, ss; Alex Cintron, ss; Kevin Millar, 1b; Jay Payton, of.

BOSTON (9) — Paul Byrd, rhp; Sean Casey, 1b; Bartolo Colon, rhp; Alex Cora, ss; Mark Kotsay, of; David Ross, c; Curt Schilling, rhp; Mike Timlin, rhp; Jason Varitek, c.

CHICAGO (6) — Orlando Cabrera, ss; Joe Crede, 3b; Ken Griffey Jr., of; Toby Hall, c; Horacio Ramirez, lhp; Juan Uribe, 3b.

CLEVELAND (4) — Brendan Donnelly, rhp; Scott Elarton, rhp; Sal Fasano, c; Juan Rincon, rhp.

DETROIT (6) — Kyle Farnsworth, rhp; Casey Fossum, lhp; Freddy Garcia, rhp; Todd Jones, rhp; Edgar Renteria, ss; Vance Wilson, c.

KANSAS CITY (1) — Mark Grudzielanek, 2b.

LOS ANGELES (6) — Garret Anderson, of; Jon Garland, rhp; Darren Oliver, lhp; Juan Rivera, of; Francisco Rodriguez, rhp; Mark Teixeira, 1b.

MINNESOTA (4) — Adam Everett, ss; Eddie Guardado, lhp; Nick Punto, ss; Dennys Reyes, lhp.

NEW YORK (9) — Bobby Abreu, of; Jason Giambi, 1b; Damaso Marte, lhp; Chad Moeller, c; Mike Mussina, rhp; Carl Pavano, rhp; Andy Pettitte, lhp; Sidney Ponson, rhp; Ivan Rodriguez, c.

OAKLAND (4) — Emil Brown, of; Alan Embree, lhp; Keith Foulke, rhp; Frank Thomas, dh.

SEATTLE (3) — Willie Bloomquist, of; Miguel Cairo, inf; Raul Ibanez, of.

TAMPA BAY (4) — Rocco Baldelli, dh; Cliff Floyd, dh; Eric Hinske, of; Trever Miller, lhp.

TEXAS (4) — Milton Bradley, dh; Jason Jennings, rhp; Ramon Vazquez, 3b; Jamey Wright, rhp.

TORONTO (3) — John Parrish, lhp; Brad Wilkerson, of; Gregg Zaun, c.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

ARIZONA (6) — Tony Clark, 1b; Juan Cruz, rhp; Adam Dunn, of; David Eckstein, ss; Orlando Hudson, 2b; Brandon Lyon, rhp.

ATLANTA (8) — Elmer Dessens, rhp; Tom Glavine, lhp; Mike Hampton, lhp; Jorge Julio, rhp; Greg Norton, of; Will Ohman, lhp; John Smoltz, rhp; Julian Tavarez, rhp.

CHICAGO (8) — Henry Blanco, c; Ryan Dempster, rhp; Jim Edmonds, of; Chad Fox, rhp; Bob Howry, rhp; Jon Lieber, rhp; Daryle Ward, 1b; Kerry Wood, rhp.

CINCINNATI (9) — Jeremy Affeldt, lhp; Paul Bako, c; Josh Fogg, rhp; Jerry Hairston Jr., of; Mike Lincoln, rhp; Kent Mercker, lhp; Corey Patterson, of; Javier Valentin, c; David Weathers, rhp.

COLORADO (6) — Brian Fuentes, lhp; Matt Herges, rhp; Livan Hernandez, rhp; Adam Melhuse, c; Scott Podsednik, of; Glendon Rusch, lhp.

FLORIDA (4) — Luis Gonzalez, of; Mark Hendrickson, lhp; Paul Lo Duca, c; Arthur Rhodes, lhp,

HOUSTON (5) — Brad Ausmus, c; Doug Brocail, rhp; LaTroy Hawkins, rhp; Mark Loretta, 2b; Randy Wolf, lhp.

LOS ANGELES (13) — Joe Beimel, lhp; Gary Bennett, c; Casey Blake, 3b; Rafael Furcal, ss; Nomar Garciaparra, ss; Jason Johnson, rhp; Jeff Kent, 2b; Derek Lowe, rhp; Greg Maddux, rhp; Chan Ho Park, rhp; Brad Penny, rhp; Manny Ramirez, of; Mark Sweeney, 1b.

MILWAUKEE (10) — Russell Branyan, 3b; Craig Counsell, 3b; Ray Durham, 2b; Eric Gagne, rhp; Gabe Kapler, of; Mike Lamb, 3b; Guillermo Mota, rhp; CC Sabathia, lhp; Ben Sheets, rhp; Brian Shouse, lhp.

NEW YORK (11) — Moises Alou, of; Tony Armas Jr., rhp; Luis Ayala, rhp; Damion Easley, 2b; Orlando Hernandez, rhp; Pedro Martinez, rhp; Ramon Martinez, 2b; Trot Nixon, of; Oliver Perez, lhp; Ricardo Rincon, lhp; Matt Wise, rhp.

PHILADELPHIA (4) — Pat Burrell, of; Tom Gordon, rhp; Jamie Moyer, lhp; Rudy Seanez, rhp.

PITTSBURGH (4) — Chris Gomez, 3b; Jason Michaels, of; Doug Mientkiewicz, 1b; Luis Rivas, ss..

ST. LOUIS (8) — Juan Encarnacion, of; Jason Isringhausen, rhp; Cesar Izturis, ss; Braden Looper, rhp; Felipe Lopez, 2b; Mark Mulder, lhp; Russ Springer, rhp; Ron Villone, lhp.

SAN DIEGO (2) — Trevor Hoffman, rhp; Mark Prior, rhp.

SAN FRANCISCO (2) — Rich Aurilia, 1b; Omar Vizquel, ss.

WASHINGTON (2) — Aaron Boone, 1b; Odalis Perez, lhp.