The Oakland A’s have claimed outfielder Jeff Fiorentino off waivers from the Reds. The 24-year old lefty swinging Fiorentino last played in the majors in 2006 with the Orioles. He has now played in 32 games in his major league career and he is 21 for 83 (.253 avg, .663 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This was a nice pick up for the A’s as Fiorentino is a talented player.

Sure, the A’s have already traded Nick Swisher, Dan Haren, Marco Scutaro and Mark Kotsay but there’s going to be many more as the A’s have begun rebuilding. Expect teams to be calling GM Billy Beane about players like Eric Chavez, Dan Johnson, Mark Ellis, Rich Harden, Joe Blanton and Huston Street. Chavez, Street and Blanton could net the A’s the foundation that they need for a extended playoff run in the future if Beane gets a good return. If the trades turn out like the one the A’s and Cardinals made for Mark Mulder the A’s will be in great shape. But the trade of Tim Hudson was a disaster so Beane has been hit and miss in his trades. Still, the prospects for the A’s in 2008 appear to be very dim.

The Oakland A’s have brought back Kirk Saarloos after signing him to a minor league contract. Saarloos pitched in 34 games (3 starts) last season for the Reds and he was 1-5 with a 7.17 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Saarloos has now pitched in 157 games (72 starts) in his major league career and he is 28-30 with 2 saves, a 5.00 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Don’t expect much out of Saarloos who has not been a good pitcher in his major league career to date.

If Mark Kotsay passes his physical tomorrow he will become a member of the Atlanta Braves. In return, the A’s will receive 24-year old righty reliever Joey Devine. Devine was once thought highly enough in Atlanta that he was considered to be the stopper of the future…but it just didn’t pan out there. Devine pitched in 10 games last season for the Braves and he was 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Devine has now pitched in 25 games in his major league career and he is 1-1 with a 6.86 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP. The A’s continue to dismantle their team which can’t make the fan base to happy.

The Oakland Athletics have signed 33 year old righty swinging outfielder Emil Brown to a 1-year contract. Brown has led the Kansas City Royals in RBIs the last three seasons! Brown played in 113 games last season for the Royals and he was 94 for 366 (.257 avg, .647 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 homers, 62 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Brown has now played in 619 games in his major league career and he is 482 for 1,842 (.262 avg, .730 OPS) with 248 runs scored, 46 homers, 267 RBIs and 48 stolen bases. To make room on the roster for Brown the A’s have designated 25-year old outfielder Danny Putnam for assignment. Putnam played in his first 11 games of his major league career last season for the A’s and he was 6 for 28 (.214 avg, .611 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He also whiffed 11 times.

The Oakland A’s continue to dismantle their roster as they have traded Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Ryan Sweeney and pitchers Gio Gonzalez and Faustino De Los Santos. Sweeney is the most likely of these players to make an impact this year for the A’s. He played in 15 games last season for the White Sox and he was 9 for 45 (.200 avg, .598 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. He has now played in 33 games in his major league career and he is 17 for 80 (.213 avg, .538 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. 22-year old lefty starter Gio Gonzalez has been stuck in AA-ball for a little while but he was dominant there last season. He started 27 games in AA ball last season and he was 9-7 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He pitched 150 innings last season and he allowed 116 hits, walked 57 batters while whiffing 185. The real key to the deal in the future could be righty starter Faustino De Los Santos. De Los Santos pitched in 26 games (20 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 10-5 with a 2.65 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. De Los Santos pitched 122.1 innings last season and he only allowed 69 hits, walked 43 batters and whiffed 153.