STATE OF THE A's

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UPDATE 1/28/10 - 2:40 PM PST
The A's were expected to go into 2010 with second-year starters Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill leading the rotation. As it turns out, GM Billy Beane had other plans, signing former Milwaukee Brewers ace Ben Sheets to a one-year, $10M deal. With a clean bill of health, the 31 year-old should enter 2010 as the staff ace with the talented duo of Anderson and Cahill behind him and some combination of Justin Duchscherer, Dallas Braden, Vin Mazzaro, and Gio Gonzalez filling out the back end of the rotation.

A four-time NL All-Star, Sheets missed all of 2009 while recovering from elbow surgery but went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts for the Brew Crew in 2008. After making 34 starts and pitching at least 216 innings in three consecutive seasons from 2002-2004, Sheets averaged just 24 starts over his next four seasons because of various injuries before missing all of last season. If he can stay healthy, the A's have a chance to compete in a very tough AL West.

UPDATE 1/16/10 - 8:39 AM PST
After signing Coco Crisp and bringing back Jack Cust in recent weeks, the A's had created a bit of an overload in the outfield. Now they've cleared things up a bit, trading outfielders Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham to the Padres for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and minor league second baseman Eric Sogard. By trading Hairston, the team could possibly use Cust in the outfield more often with Jake Fox getting AB's as the DH.

With Eric Chavez unlikely to be a full-time player again (he recently said he is pain-free and would like to play 3-4 days a week in 2010), the A's have been shopping for a third baseman this winter and were reportedly one of the finalists for Adrian Beltre before he signed with the Red Sox.

Kouzmanoff, who hit 59 HR's with 246 RBI's in three seasons with the Padres, set a NL single-season record last season with a .990 fielding percentage as he committed just three errors the entire season. On the down side, the 28 year-old has one of the ugliest career OBP's (.308) and BB/K ratio's (87/351) you'll ever see. However, his 2nd half numbers of '09 (.274 BA, 6 HR, 41 RBI, 17 BB, 34 K) weren't bad at all so maybe he's turned the corner.

UPDATE 1/12/10 - 11:43 AM PST
The acquisition of Jake Fox in early December appeared to be the end of Jack Cust's career with the A's but that apparently wasn't the case. The 30 year-old was brought back on a one-year, $2.65M deal to presumably be the team's DH, which was the spot that many believed Fox would fill.
For now, there doesn't appear to be a clear path to the starting lineup for the 27 year-old Fox although he is likely to get AB's at 1B, DH, or maybe even 3B, against LHP's.

As for Cust, he is coming off of his least productive season (.773 OPS) with Oakland after impressive seasons in 07-08 (.912 OPS in '07, .851 OPS in '08), his first two seasons with the club. His signing is also likely to take AB's away from either Rajai Davis and Scott Hairston.

UPDATE 12/24/09 - 11:35 AM PST
The signing of CF Coco Crisp leaves the starting outfield unsettled with Rajai Davis and Scott Hairston likely to battle over the starting LF spot. Both players have played very well in spurts during their career but are unproven as full-time starters over a full season.

Another question mark is at 3B, especially now that one possible candidate, Brett Wallace, has been traded to the Blue Jays. Jake Fox can play the position but he's likely to replace the non-tendered Jack Cust as the team's DH with Eric Chavez and Dallas McPherson the leading candidates for the starting job. That position battle will likely come down to the health of Chavez, who has just 460 AB's over the last three seasons.

In another move, RHP Justin Duchscherer has agreed on a one-year deal, reportedly worth as much as $5.5M if incentives are reached. Bringing back the 32 year-old righty, who was 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA in 22 starts in 2008, likely allows the team to keep a youngster like Vin Mazzaro in the minors for some more seasoning.

UPDATE 12/4/09 - 1:21 PM PST
In a move that could signal the end of Jack Cust's time with the team, the A's traded for Cubs slugger Jake Fox and infielder Aaron Miles. The 27 year-old Fox, who can play 1B, 3B, OF, and catcher, is probably best suited for DH. The right-handed batter absolutely destroyed AAA (.409 BA, 17 HR, 53 RBI in 45 games) before settling in with the Cubs, where he hit .259 with 11 HR's and 44 RBI's in 216 AB's. Miles, 32, will compete for the back up job behind Mark Ellis and Cliff Pennington up the middle. The switch-hitter is a career .282 hitter but he struggled in '09, hitting just .185 in 157 AB's. The A's also received cash considerations from the Cubs to help pay Miles' $2.7M salary for 2010.

In exchange, the A's gave up reliever Jeff Gray (3.76 ERA, 26.1 IP, 30 H, 4 BB, 19 K), who pitched well in 24 games last season. The team has some depth with right-handers Jonathan Meloan and Clayton Mortensen capable of stepping in and former closer Joey Devine on his way back from Tommy John surgery so they shouldn't miss him too much. In addition, the team gave up minor league pitcher Ronny Morla (4.86 ERA; 63 IP, 70 H, 24 BB, 73 K in short-season Vancouver) and 1B/OF Matthew Spencer (.289/.345/.488 in 488 AB's between HiA and AA).

UPDATE 11/8/09 - 10:33 PM PST
LINEUP - Ryan Sweeney and Kurt Suzuki have proven that they are solid major league hitters but the team is still waiting on youngsters Daric Barton, Travis Buck, and Aaron Cunningham to come around. Only Barton is a projected starter in 2010 as Rajai Davis, who is coming off of a breakout season at age 28, and mid-season acquisition, Scott Hairston, should get the majority of playing time in the outfield to start the season. The biggest question mark is at 3B, where oft-injured Eric Chavez is still under contract and may or may not be healthy enough for 2010 and 23 year-old Brett Wallace, the team's top hitting prospect after being acquired in the Matt Holliday deal, might not be quite ready yet.

ROTATION - Twenty-one year-olds Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill more than held their own during their rookie seasons and they will only get better. Gio Gonzalez, 24, who showed flashes during the 2nd half of the season, and Vin Mazzaro, 23, will be in the mix again for 2010. Dallas Braden, the veteran of the group at age 26, had a 3.13 ERA in the 1st half of the season but didn't pitch after July 31st because of a rash on his foot. Clayton Mortensen and Dana Eveland will also be in the mix. Look for the team to bring in at least one veteran to compete for a rotation spot.

BULLPEN - Andrew Bailey came out of nowhere to have an unbelievable season for the A's, saving 26 games and allowing just 49 hits and striking out 91 in 83.1 IP. Michael Wuertz, Brad Ziegler, and Craig Breslow each had solid seasons. Jeff Gray and Brad Kilby both looked very good down the stretch. The team probably doesn't need much help in the bullpen and could have reinforcements at some point during the season if Joey Devine and Josh Outman return from Tommy John surgery.