35-year old righty reliever Grant Balfour has no intentions of losing his closer’s gig like he did early in 2012, before regaining it late in the year.  Balfour has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 0-0 with 9 saves, a 1.47 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  Balfour has given up 13 hits and 8 walks (too many) in his first 18 1/3 innings while whiffing 20 batters….which is impressive.  Balfour has now pitched in 155 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the A’s and he is 8-4 with 35 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.

The A’s have dealt 27-year old lefty swinging infielder Josh Horton to the Orioles for a player to be named later or cash considerations.  Horton played in 16 games in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 15 for 67 (.224 avg, .620 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs.  Horton has now played in 578 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 612 of 2,233 (.274 avg, .719 OPS) with 309 runs scored, 25 homers, 260 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.  This isn’t much of a loss for the A’s moving forward.

The A’s have designated 27-year old lefty swinging 1B Daric Barton for assignment to make room on the roster for outfielder Chris Young, who has been activated off the D.L.  Barton played in 8 games for the A’s this year and he was 3 for 21 (.143 avg, .503 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  Barton played in 492 games in his seven years with the A’s and he is 397 of 1,604 (.248 avg, .729 OPS) with 223 runs scored, 28 homers, 166 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.  The A’s should try to deal Barton so they don’t lose him on waivers for nothing.

UPDATE:  (5/22/2013) - Daric Barton has been outrighted to AAA.

25-year old lefty starting pitcher Brett Anderson is likely out until July now due to a stress fracture in his right foot.  Anderson has pitched in 6 games (5 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.  Anderson just can’t seem to be able to stay healthy and that is a shame because he is a darn good pitcher.  24-year old righty Dan Straily will continue to sub for Anderson, but he needs to start pitching better to keep the gig.  Straily has pitched in 5 games (all starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 7.27 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

The A’s have called up 37-year old lefty reliever Hideki Okajima.  Okajima pitched in 14 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 2.16 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP.  Okajima last pitched in the majors for the Red Sox back in 2011.  He has pitched in 261 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 17-8 with 6 saves, a 3.11 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

The A’s have designated 30-year old righty reliever Chris Resop for assignment.  Resop pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the A’s this year and he was 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP.  Resop has pitched in 235 games (0 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 10-12 with 2 saves, a 4.62 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.  The A’s should try to deal Resop, as he might not make it through waivers.

UPDATE:  (5/22/2013) - Chris Resop has cleared waivers and he has been outrighted to AAA-ball by the A’s.

Righty swinging outfielder David Henderson was a rock solid outfielder for the A’s.  His best season came back in 1988, when he finished 3rd in the A.L. MVP voting.  He played in 146 games for the A’s in 1988 and he was 154 of 507 (.304 avg, .887 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 24 homers, 94 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He also had a good year in 1991, when has was an A.L. All-Star.  Henderson played in 150 games for the A’s in 1991 and he was 158 of 572 (.276 avg, .811 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 25 homers, 85 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Henderson played in 702 games in his six years with the A’s and he was 672 of 2,553 (.263 avg, .769 OPS) with 366 runs scored, 104 homers, 377 RBIs and 19 stolen bases.

25-year old righty reliever Ryan Cook is looking nasty again for the A’s in 2013.  He has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  Cook gave up 11 hits and 7 walks in his first 17 innings this year while whiffing 22 batters, which is pretty darn impressive.  Cook has pitched in 87 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the A’s and he is 7-2 with 14 saves, a 1.99 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.

The A’s need to do the right thing and call up 25-year old righty swinging 2B Grant Green to replace Eric Sogard in the starting lineup.  Green came into this season as the A’s #8 prospect according to Baseball America and he has been solid in AAA-ball so far this year.  Green has played in 32 games in AAA-ball for the A’s so far this year and he is 42 for 139 (.302 avg, .817 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Green has now played in 420 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 531 of 1,760 (.302 avg, .810 OPS) with 284 runs scored, 48 homers, 246 RBIs and 32 stolen bases.  Green deserves his first shot in the majors in the near future for the A’s.

26-year old lefty swinging 2B Eric Sogard just isn’t cutting it offensively for the A’s so far in 2013.  Sogard has played in 29 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 18 for 81 (.222 avg, .564 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers, 2 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He has now played in 97 games in his first four years with the A’s and he is 52 of 260 (.200 avg, .547 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers, 13 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.  29-year old righty swinging Adam Rosales deserves to start over Sogard at 2B.  Rosales has played in 12 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 12 for 41 (.293 avg, .819 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.