The A’s have lost 25-year old relief pitcher Joey Devine for the entire 2009 season due to Tommy John Surgery. This is a shame as Devine was awesome last season for the A’s working in 42 games (0 starts) in which he was 6-1 with 1 save, a 0.59 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. This just solidifies Brad Ziegler as the closer for the 2009 season. Ziegler has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) this season for the A’s and he is 0-0 with 3 saves, a 2.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

The A’s knew they were going into the season with a very young pitching staff but two of the rookies are really stepping up so far. 21-year old righty starting pitcher Trevor Cahill was the A’s #2 rated prospect heading into the season according to Baseball America and he’s showing why so far. Cahill has started two games for the A’s this season and he is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has only allowed 7 hits in 12 innings this season for the A’s but he has had some control issues walking 8 batters already. If he tightens up his control look out! 24-year old righty reliever Andrew Bailey was a starting pitcher in the minors until halfway through last season and he looks really sharp. Bailey has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this season and he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.23 WHIP. Bailey has only allowed 1 hit in 4 1/3 innings this season for the A’s and he hasn’t walked any batters while whiffing 5. The A’s hope both of the kids keep up the good work as they both have the talent to keep rolling along.

The A’s have claimed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Dan Giese off waivers from the New York Yankees. Giese pitched in 20 games (3 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 1-3 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has now pitched in 28 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-5 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. This was a good move for the A’s who have a pretty thin but talented starting rotation. They will likely give Giese a chance to pitch with them at some point this season. To make room on the 40-man roster for Giese the A’s have decided to designated righty reliever Chris Schroder for assignment.

The A’s have designated 26-year old righty swinging 3B Jeff Baisley for assignment. Baisley played in 14 games for the A’s last season and he was 11 for 43 (.256 avg, .598 OPS) with 1 run scored and 5 RBIs. The A’s would probably like to keep Baisley around but some team will likely claim him off waivers.

The A’s have acquired 26-year old righty reliever Rocky Roquet from the Cubs for a player to be named later. Roquet pitched in 46 games (0 starts) in A+AA ball last season in which he was 4-2 with 3 saves, a 3.36 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He allowed only 47 hits in 59 innings in the minors last season while striking out 63 batters. This was a nice pickup for the A’s as Roquet could help them later in the season.