The Oakland A’s selected 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ben Copeland in the Rule 5 Draft. Copeland was the #30 prospect in the Giants’ minor league system heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. He played in 124 games in AA + AAA ball last season and he was 126 for 455 (.277 avg, .764 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 5 homers, 46 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Copeland will compete for a reserve job in the A’s outfield in 2009.

The Oakland A’s have signed 27-year old righty starting pitcher Jerome Williams to a minor league deal. Williams pitched in 13 games (5 starts) in A + AAA ball last year and he was 2-3 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Williams has pitched in 76 games (71 starts) in his major league career and he is 23-29 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. This was a good low risk signing for the A’s as Williams has some upside.

The Oakland A’s have signed 29-year old righty reliever Kevin Cameron, 29-year old righty swinging 1B Tagg Bozied and 27-year old righty swinging Matt Carson to minor league deals. Cameron has the most upside of this group as he will have a really good shot of making the team out of spring training. Cameron pitched in 10 games (0 starts) with the Padres last season and he was 0-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Cameron has now pitched in 58 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-0 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He does have a issue with control which will have to be worked out soon as he has walked 42 batters in only 68 innings in his major league career. Tagg Bozied has been a career minor leaguer to this point but he could get a chance if Daric Barton continues to fail. Bozied played in 123 games in AAA ball last season and he was 130 for 425 (.306 avg, .951 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 26 homers, 80 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Matt Carson also has been a career minor leaguer and it will be a uphill battle for him getting to Oakland during the 2009 season. Carson played in 111 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 119 for 417 (.285 avg, .825 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 15 homers, 64 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Billy Beane is good at finding bargains in the free agent market so one or more of these guys could give the A’s surprising production in 2009.