The A’s have signed 29-year old lefty reliever Justin Hampson to a minor league deal. Hampson pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Padres last season and he was 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has now pitched in 79 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This was a good move for the A’s as Hampson will likely help tham at some point this season.

Eric Chavez has been placed on the D.L with a herniated disc. He believes that this could be a career ending injury and it would be sad to see him go out like that. Chavez has played in only 8 games this season for the A’s and he was 3 for 30 (.100 avg, .262 OPS) with 1 RBI. Chavez has played in parts of 12 seasons with the A’s covering 1,287 games in which he is 1,250 for 4,672 (.268 avg, .827 OPS) with 720 runs scored, 229 homers, 777 RBIs and 47 stolen bases.

UPDATE: Eric Chavez will miss the rest of the season due to back surgery.

Veteran 2B Adam Kennedy has been outstanding since coming over from the Rays in a trade earlier this month. He has played in 11 games for the A’s this year and he is 17 for 44 (.386 avg, .961 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Kennedy has also been solid on defense giving the whole team a jolt with his all around effort. It’s quite possible that Kennedy will make it hard for Mark Ellis to regain his starting job when he is elgible to come off the disabled list sometime in late June.

The Oakland A’s have placed righty reliever Santiago Casilla on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right knee. He has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the A’s this season and he is 0-1 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. Casilla has been really tough on hitters this season allowing only 3 hits in 11 1/3 innings for the A’s this season. The A’s will miss Casilla but they have enough depth in the bullpen to tread water until he’s ready to return to action.

The A’s have placed Mark Ellis, Eric Chavez and Nomar Garciaparra on the 15-day disabled list. Ellis has a strained left calf. He has played in 18 games this season for the A’s and he is 13 for 63 (.206 avg, .503 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The A’s will likely replace Ellis with Eric Patterson who has been recalled from AAA. Patterson has played in 19 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 23 for 70 (.329 avg, .983 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 6 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Eric Chavez has a strained right forearm. He has played in 8 games for the A’s this season in which he is 3 for 30 (.100 avg, .262 OPS) with 1 RBI. Nomar Garciaparra has played in 12 games for the A’s so far this season and he is 9 for 39 (.231 avg, .595 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. A strained right calf is what is keeping Garciaparra out of action. Bobby Crosby and Jack Hannahan will likely platoon at 3B until Chavez or Garciaparra are ready to return to action. Crosby has played in 11 games this season for the A’s and he is 7 for 32 (.219 avg, .578 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 4 RBIs. Hannahan was off to a terrible start in AAA ball playing in 13 games in which he was 8 for 51 (.157 avg, .498 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. He has also played in 5 games for the A’s this season and he is 1 for 6 (.167 avg) with a solo homer. The A’s have also recalled infielder Gregario Petit from AAA. He has played in 19 games in AAA-ball this season in which he is 17 for 71 (.239 avg, .608 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. These injuries will further deplete a Athletics’ offense that was already having trouble putting up runs on the scoreboard.

The A’s have re-signed righty reliever Andrew Brown to a minor league deal. Brown pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Brown has pitched in 73 games (0 starts) in his three year major league career and he is 4-3 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Brown will be out until at least the All Star Break as he continues to rehab from off season surgery. This was a good move for the A’s.