The A’s have acquired 26-year old righty reliever Neil Wagner from the Indians for cash. Wagner has pitched in 14 games (0 starts) in AA-ball so far this season and he is 1-1 with 4 saves, a 5.74 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. He has pitched 5 years in the minors in his career working in 184 games (0 starts) in which he is 6-17 with 37 saves, a 3.47 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Wagner has only allowed 216 hits in 249 innings pitched with 294 whiffs so he has good stuff. This was a pitcher work taking a small risk on as he appears to have a decent upside.

23-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Chris Carter is the A’s #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He was the prize of the Dan Haren trade with the D-Backs a couple of years ago. He has played in 32 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 30 of 122 (.246 avg, .822 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 8 homers and 29 RBIs. Carter has now played in 580 games in his six years in the minors and he is 623 of 2,169 (.287 avg, .920 OPS) with 396 runs scored, 126 homers, 442 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. The A’s are struggling on offense right now so don’t be surprised if they call up both Chris Carter and Jack Cust in the very near future.

Yesterday 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Dallas Braden was perfect against the Tampa Bay Rays as the A’s won 4-0. This was only the 19th perfect game in major league history. Braden did it by pounding the strike zone as 77 of his 109 pitches were strikes. He whiffed 6 batters in his complete game so he needed help from the defense. Braden has been pitching solid baseball this season for the A’s and they hope he keeps up the good work. He has started 7 games for the A’s this season and he is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. The most amazing thing about Braden this season has been his control as he has only walked 7 batters in 46 innings this season.

The A’s have placed 32-year old righty starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer on the 15-day disabled list with a case of left hip inflammation. He has started 5 games this season for the A’s in which he is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. This is a big blow to the A’s as Duchscherer was really pitching well so far this season. The A’s have called up 29-year old righty reliever Edwar Ramirez to replace Duchscherer on the active roster. Ramirez pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the A’s earlier this season in which he was 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

UPDATE: (5/17/2010) - Reports out of Oakland say that Duchscherer might need more surgery on his hip which could cause him to miss the rest of the season.

27-year old righty swinging infielder Adam Rosales has done a great job filling in for the injured Mark Ellis this season. Rosales has played in 24 games for the A’s so far this season and he is 22 of 77 (.286 avg, .736 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. Rosales has one weakness as a hitter as he has whiffed 23 times already this season for the A’s. If he keeps hitting the ball well I have little doubt that the A’s will find a way to get him some at bats even after Ellis returns to action.

31-year old lefty swinging OF/DH Jack Cust was very upset to get demoted to AAA at the start of spring training. He started out slowly but he is coming on strong as of late. Cust has played in 21 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 19 of 70 (.271 avg, .906 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. Cust has walked 17 times while whiffing 16 times in AAA showing that he has kept his good eye. From 2007-2009 Cust scored 226 runs, he hit 84 homers and he knocked in 229 runs. If the offense sputters at some point for the A’s and Cust is swinging the bat well I have little doubt that they will call him back up.