24-year old righty swinging Kurt Suzuki will be the starting catcher for the A’s this season. He has been one of their better prospects since the A’s drafted him and he will get every opportunity to show what he can do. Suzuki played in 68 games for the A’s last year and he was 53 for 213 (.249 avg, .735 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 7 homers and 39 RBIs. Suzuki threw out 19% of the runners that tried to steal on him last season with the A’s but pitchers had a 5.31 ERA with him behind the plate. Look for him to have a decent season in 2008.

27-year old switch hitter Rob Bowen will be the backup for Suzuki in 2008. Bowen played in 61 games last season for the Cubs, Padres and A’s and he was 36 for 156 (.231 avg) with 21 runs scored, 4 homers and 18 RBIs. Bowen only threw out 10.5% of the runners that tried to steal last year but pitchers had a 4.19 ERA when throwing to him. The less he plays the better for the A’s.

32-year old Matt LeCroy was signed as a free agent last week. LeCroy played in 7 games last season for the Twins and he was 3 for 20 (.150 avg, .350 OPS) with 1 run scored. He was 0 for 8 throwing out baserunners trying to steal on him and he will be a liability if the A’s need him behind the plate.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON: C-

The Oakland A’s have signed 32-year old righty hitting C/1B Matt LeCroy to a minor league contract. LeCroy played in 7 games last season for the Twins and he was 3 for 20 (.150 avg, .350 OPS) with 1 run scored. He has now played in 476 games in his major league career and he is 361 for 1,388 (.260 avg, .766 OPS) with 146 runs scored, 60 homers and 218 RBIs. This was a decent signing for the A’s as LeCroy still has a little thunder left in his stick.

The A’s have been dumping players left and right this off season and there will be more to come. Dan Johnson, Eric Chavez, Joe Blanton, Rich Harden, Huston Street and Alan Embree are still on the block and likely to be moved before Opening Day. You know it’s bad when the A’s are raiding the Royals for bats but that’s what they’ve done this off-season bringing in outfielder Emil Brown and 1B/DH Mike Sweeney. Ryan Sweeney, Carlos Gonzalez and Jeff Fiorentino have been brought to Oakland in trades and they will compete with Chris Denorfia for the starting job in center field for the A’s in 2008. The trades of Marco Scutaro and Dan Haren brought in some talented arms to compete for future jobs in the rotation but none of them are likely to be ready for the 2008 season. But, lefty Gio Gonzalez who was acquired from the White Sox in the Nick Swisher trade could win a spot in the A’s rotation out of spring training and he has a nice upside. Kirk Saarloos and Keith Foulke were brought back by the A’s to give the pitching staff some experience.

OFF SEASON GRADE FOR THE FRONT OFFICE: D-

The A’s have signed DH/1B Mike Sweeney to a 1-year contract. Sweeney will likely find a lot of at bats for the A’s as long as he stays healthy and productive. The 34-year old righty swinging Sweeney played in 74 games last season for the Royals and he was 69 for 265 (.260 avg, .719 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 7 homers and 38 RBIs. Sweeney has now played in 1,282 games in his major league career and he is 1,398 for 4,669 (.299 avg, .861 OPS) with 700 runs scored, 197 homers and 837 RBIs. This was an excellent signing for the A’s as the price was right.

The A’s have signed 35-year old righty Keith Foulke to a minor league contract. Foulke missed all of last season with a sore right elbow and he last pitched in the majors in 2006 with the Red Sox. Foulke has pitched in 588 games (8 starts) in his major league career and he is 41-34 with 190 saves, a 3.30 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. This was a nice low risk/high reward signing for the A’s who are going to be running on the cheap this season.