What you see is what you get with veteran outfielder Jack Cust. The lefty swinging Cust hits with power and he whiffs and walks alot. He has played in 94 games this season for the A’s and he is 78 for 336 (.232 avg, .740 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 16 homers and 50 RBIs. Don’t look for him to hit for much of an average this season as he has whiffed 110 times already this season. But, he also has walked 49 times this season which helps out his on base %. Cust is still an asset to the A’s despite not making much contact at the plate.

Outfielder Rajai Davis will likely see a bump in his playing time due to the Matt Holliday trade. Davis brings speed as his biggest asset and he can be a force if he gets on base enough. He has played in 61 games for the A’s this season and he is 33 for 129 (.256 avg, .697 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The A’s really don’t have anyone to replace Holliday’s numbers but Davis could give the lineup a different look.

The A’s have traded 29-year old righty swinging OF Matt Holliday to the Cardinals for 22-year old lefty swinging 3B Brett Wallace, 21-year old lefty swinging outfielder Shane Peterson and 24-year old righty starting pitcher Clayton Mortensen. Holliday played in 93 games for the A’s this season and he was 99 for 346 (.286 avg, .831 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The A’s will miss Holliday’s bat this season as he was starting to heat up but they got a nice return for him. Brett Wallace was the #2 rated prospect in the Cardinals’ minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America. Wallace has played in 94 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 101 for 350 (.289 avg, .797 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers and 35 RBIs. If the A’s are able to trade either Mark Ellis or Adam Kennedy soon they would likely bring Wallace up to start at 3B. Clayton Mortensen as the #6 rated prospect in the Cardinals’ system heading into this season according to Baseball America. Mortensen has pitched in 17 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 7-6 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He also made his major league debut in relief for the Cardinals this season and he was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. If the need arises in the starting rotation the A’s might give Mortensen a chance this season. Shane Peterson has played in 94 games in A+AA ball this season and he was 106 for 359 (.295 avg, .784 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 7 homers, 46 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Under the circumstances this was a good trade for the A’s.

The A’s have signed 28-year old righty reliever Dewon Day to a minor league deal. He has pitched in 23 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball so far this season and he is 3-1 with 1 save, a 5.22 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. Day has allowed 37 hits already this season in 29 1/3 innings and he has walked 18 batters. He will need to start missing bats and throwing more strikes if he has any hopes of pitching in Oakland this season. Day pitched in 13 games (0 starts) in 2007 with the White Sox in which he was 0-1 with a 11.25 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP. Don’t expect much out of Day.

The A’s have traded 23-year old righty starting pitcher Sean Gallagher to the Padres as the player to be named later to complete the Scott Hairston trade. Gallagher pitched in 6 games (2 starts) for the A’s this season and he was 1-2 with a 8.16 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP. In parts of two seasons with the A’s, Gallagher pitched in 17 games (13 starts) in which he was 3-5 with a 6.34 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. The A’s probably soured on Gallagher because of his control as he walked 43 batters in only 71 innings for the A’s. Gallagher is the key to this trade because if he pitches well it will tilt to S.D. but if he continues to stink it up the trade was a steal for the A’s.

The Oakland A’s have sent 29-year old lefty swinging 3B Jack Hannahan to the Mariners for 23-year old righty starter/reliever Justin Souza. Hannahan played in 52 games for the A’s this season and he was 23 for 119 (.193 avg, .581 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. Souza has pitched in 20 games (14 starts) in AA-ball so far this season and he is 6-6 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. The A’s took advantage of the Mariners’ injury situation at 3B and got a solid arm for a player who can’t hit.

Despite trading for Scott Hairston last week the A’s still appear to be sellers at the trade deadline. They lost the big gamble on Matt Holliday as he won’t bring as big of a return as what the A’s gave up to get him. The A’s will likely make both Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera available for a decent prospect or two. The A’s are also disappointed with outfielder Travis Buck and they might make him available this month. Bobby Crosby and Nomar Garciaparra will both likely be available also for fringe type prospects. Billy Beane loves to rebuild (or reload) his team so he should have some fun this month. The A’s like the young pitching they have so they will likely focus on getting young position players in return for what they have to deal.

The A’s have designated 25-year old lefty starting pitcher Dana Eveland for assignment. He has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) for the A’s this season and he is 1-3 with a 8.00 ERA and a 2.44 WHIP. In two years with the A’s, Eveland has pitched in 36 games (35 starts) in which he is 10-12 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. The A’s are hoping that Eveland will stay with them when he clears waivers.

The Oakland A’s will likely give 26-year old lefty reliever Jay Marshall another chance soon if he keeps pitching like he is right now. He has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he is 3-1 with 3 saves, a 1.83 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.

21-year old lefty Brett Anderson was the A’s #1 prospect heading into this season while 21-year old righty Trevor Cahill was #2. The A’s have put both of these guys in the rotation since Day #1 this season and the learning curve has been tough so far. Anderson has started 14 games this season for the A’s and he is 4-7 with a 5.45 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He hasn’t been missing many bats yet as he has allowed 90 hits (13 of which were homers) in only 74 1/3 innings. Cahill has been a lot better for the A’s so far but he is not very consistent. He has started 17 games for the A’s this season and he is 5-7 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has had trouble with his control (38 walks) and the long ball (16 homers) in only 93 innings. Still, both of these guys should be fixtures in the A’s rotation if they learn from the mistakes they made this season because they both have good stuff.