The A’s have signed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Anthony Lerew to a minor league deal. Lerew pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Royals last season and he was 1-4 with a 8.54 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. He has now pitched in 20 games (11 starts) in parts of five years in the majors and he is 1-7 with a 7.48 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Lerew will likely start the season in the minors and he will only get called up if he’s pitching well.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Trevor Cahill has finished 9th in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award. Cahill started 30 games for the A’s last season and he was 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now started 62 games in his first two years with the Oakland A’s and he is 28-21 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Cahill has a ton of talent and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit to see him winning a Cy Young Award or two in his major league career.

The A’s have traded 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Rajai Davis to the Blue Jays for 25-year old righty reliever Trystan Magnuson and 23-year righty reliever Danny Farquhar. Davis played in 143 games for the A’s last season and he was 149 of 525 (.284 avg, .697 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 5 homers, 52 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. He played in 369 games in his three years with the A’s and he was 319 of 1,111 (.287 avg, .721 OPS) with 159 runs scored, 11 homers, 119 RBIs and 116 stolen bases.

Danny Farquhar came into last season as the Blue Jays’ #14 prospect according to Baseball America. Farquhar pitched in 53 games (0 starts) in AA-ball last season and he was 4-3 with 17 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has now pitched in 122 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 8-9 with 39 saves, a 2.62 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Farquhar has only allowed 111 hits in 171 2/3 innings in the minors while whiffing 184 batters showing that he is pretty nasty. Trystan Magnuson was the #22 rated prospect in the Blue Jays’ system coming into last season according to Baseball America. Magnuson pitched in 46 games (0 starts) in AA-ball last season and he was 3-0 with 5 saves, a 2.58 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has pitched in 113 games (24 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 8-10 with 6 saves, a 3.53 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. A’s GM Billy Beane made the Blue Jays pay a heavy price for Davis, who the A’s didn’t really need anymore after acquiring David DeJesus.

The A’s have signed 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Jai Miller to a minor league deal. Miller played in 20 games for the Royals last season and he was 13 of 55 (.236 avg, .645 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Miller has now played in 21 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 13 of 56 (.232 avg, .634 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Miller’s biggest issue in the majors is his bat appears to have a hole in it as he has whiffed 24 times already this year. I don’t see him doing much with the A’s this year.

The A’s have claimed 27-year old righty swinging 3B Edwin Encarnacion off waivers from the Blue Jays. Encarnacion played in 96 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 81 of 332 (.244 avg, .787 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 21 homers and 51 RBIs. He has now played in 652 games in six years in the majors and he is 580 of 2,250 (.258 avg, .790 OPS) with 308 runs scored, 100 homers, 337 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. This was a good move for the A’s who are trying to improve the offense for 2011 and adding Encarnacion & David DeJesus is a good start.

UPDATE: (12/2/2010) - The A’s have decided not to tender a contract to Edwin Encarnacion making him a free agent.

The Oakland A’s have acquired 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder David DeJesus from the Royals for 24-year old righty starting pitcher Vin Mazzaro and 22-year old lefty starting pitcher Justin Marks.  DeJesus will slide right into the starting outfield for the A’s in 2011.  He played in 91 games for the Royals last season and he was 112 of 352 (.318 avg,  .827 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 5 homers, 37 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  DeJesus has now played in 876 games in 8 years in the majors and he is 971 of 3,355 (.289 avg, .787 OPS) with 501 runs scored, 61 homers, 390 RBIs and 47 stolen bases.  DeJesus gives the A’s a solid hitter to bat near the top of the lineup in 2011.  Vin Mazzaro pitched in 24 games (18 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 6-8 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.  He pitched in 41 games (35 starts) in his two years with the A’s and he was 10-17 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.  Despite having talent, Mazzaro wasn’t able to put it all together in Oakland so a change of scenery might do him some good.  Justin Marks was the A’s #27 prospect heading into 2010 according to Baseball America.  He pitched in 25 games (24 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 6-13 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  He whiffed 136 batters in only 129 1/3 innings last season which gives the Royals hope that he will develop into a solid pitcher.  Marks pitched in 26 games (25 starts) in his two years in the minors for the A’s and he was 6-14 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  I really like this deal from the A’s side of things as DeJesus should give them a nice spark at the top of the batting order in 2011.

The A’s have re-signed 27-year old lefty starter/reliever Travis Blackley to a minor league deal. Blackley pitched in 23 games (7 starts) in A+AAA-ball last year and he was 2-2 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. He has also pitched in 8 games (all starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 1-3 with a 9.35 ERA and a 2.08 WHIP. Keeping Blackley around was smart for the A’s because you can never have too many lefties in the organization.

The A’s have signed 32-year old righty reliever Willie Eyre. Eyre pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 5-4 with 2 saves, a 3.50 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Eyre has pitched in parts of 3 years in the majors appearing in 92 games (2 starts) in which he is 5-6 with 1 save, a 5.14 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. It never hurts to take a chance on a pitcher like Eyre who has a pretty good arm.

The Oakland A’s have picked up 33-year old righty swinging 2B Mark Ellis’ option for 2011 valued at $6 million bucks. Ellis played in 124 games for the A’s last season and he was 127 of 436 (.291 avg, .739 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 5 homers, 49 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 994 games in his 8 years with the A’s and he is 968 of 3,611 (.268 avg, .740 OPS) with 512 runs scored, 85 homers, 418 RBIs and 55 stolen bases. This was a smart move for the A’s as Ellis is a solid player when healthy.

The A’s have picked up 30-year old switch hitting outfielder Coco Crisp’s option for 2011 valued at $5.75 million bucks. Crisp played in 75 games for the A’s last night and he was 81 of 290 (.279 avg, .779 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 8 homers, 38 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. He has now played 9 years in the majors and he is 941 of 3,396 (.277 avg, .742 OPS) with 514 runs scored, 67 homers, 365 RBIs and 169 stolen bases. Crisp played really well for the A’s when healthy so I think this was a smart move for the team.