The Oakland A’s traded Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill over the winter, so they are going young for the most part in the rotation for 2012. They better home some of the young pitching that got back for Gonzalez & Cahill are ready to rock in 2012, or it’s going to be a very long season on the Oakland side of the bay. Here is a look at the A’s rotation right now:

#1: Brandon McCarthy: 28-year old righty Brandon McCarthy is going to be the A’s “ace” when the 2012 season starts. He pitched in 25 games (all starts) for the A’s last year and he was 9-9 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. McCarthy finally started to live up to his ability in 2012, but he’s very, very injury prone…..so the A’s better be ready for when he misses a start or five. He has now pitched in 135 games (81 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 29-33 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.

#2: Bartolo Colon: 38-year old righty Bartolo Colon found the fountain of youth last year for the Yankees. Colon pitched in 29 games (26 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has now pitched in 357 games (351 starts) in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 161-113 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Like McCarthy, Colon has been injury prone late in his career, so the A’s will have to watch his workload closely.

#3: Dallas Braden: 28-year old lefty Dallas Braden will have a spot in the rotation as long as he is healthy. Braden only pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the A’s last year and he was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 94 games (79 starts) in his first five years with the A’s and he is 26-36 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

#4 and #5: Jarrod Parker: 23-year old righty Jarrod Parker will be one of the favorites to win one of the last two spots in the A’s rotation when the 2012 season starts. He only pitched in 1 game (it was a start and his major league debut last year) and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. Parker also pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 11-8 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Parker has a huge upside.

Brad Peacock: 23-year old righty Brad Peacock was part of the return for Gio Gonzalez. He pitched in 3 games (2 starts) in his first taste of the majors with the Nationals last year and he was 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He also pitched in 25 games (23 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 15-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Peacock is more polished than Jarrod Parker, so he might be able to beat him out for a rotation spot in 2012.

Tom Milone: 24-year old lefty Tom Milone also came over in the deal with the Nationals over the winter. He pitched in 5 games (all starts) in his first taste of the majors last year for the Nationals and he was 1-0 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Milone also pitched in 24 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 12-6 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Milone will have a good shot of winning a job in the starting rotation this spring and it will improve if Dallas Braden isn’t ready to start the year.

Tyson Ross: 24-year old righty Tyson Ross pitched really well for the A’s last year. He pitched in 9 games (6 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 3-3 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Ross has now pitched in 35 games (8 starts) in his first two years with the A’s and he is 4-7 with 1 save, a 4.18 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. If Ross doesn’t make the starting rotation, he will likely win a job in the bullpen for 2012.

Graham Godfrey: 27-year old righty Graham Godfrey finally broke into the majors last year for the A’s. He pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 1-2 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Godfrey also pitched in 20 games (19 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 14-3 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Godfrey will be a longshot to get a rotation spot this spring.

Brett Anderson: 23-year old lefty Brett Anderson will be out until at least August as he recovers from elbow surgery. Anderson pitched in 13 games (all starts) for the A’s last year and he was 3-6 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has now pitched in 62 games (all starts) for the A’s in his first three years with the team and he is 21-23 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Anderson is one of the better young lefty starting pitchers in baseball, so the A’s aren’t going to rush him back because they don’t want himself to get hurt again.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STARTING ROTATION IN 2012: C-

The A’s have designated 24-year old lefty swinging 2B Adrian Cardenas for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Jonny Gomes. Cardenas played in 127 games in AAA-ball last year for the A’s and he was 154 for 491 (.314 avg, .791 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 5 homers, 51 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 643 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 749 for 2,475 (.303 avg, .780 OPS) with 374 runs scored, 29 homers, 323 RBIs and 77 stolen bases. GM Billy Beane will likely try to deal Cardenas as it’s pretty unlikely that he will clear waivers.

UPDATE: (2/6/2012) - The Cubs have claimed Adrian Cardenas off waivers.

The A’s have signed 31-year old righty swinging outfielder Jonny Gomes to a 1-year deal. Gomes played in 120 games for the Reds & Nationals last year and he was 65 of 311 (.209 avg, .714 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 14 homers, 43 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 781 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 573 of 2,367 (.242 avg, .780 OPS) with 343 runs scored, 118 homers, 364 RBIs and 45 stolen bases. He has whiffed 726 times already in his career, so he has some holes in his swing. That being said, he still has big time power. Look for him to either platoon in LF with Seth Smith or in RF with Josh Reddick in 2012. This was a good signing for the A’s.

The Oakland A’s have acquired 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Seth Smith from the Rockies for 28-year old righty starting pitcher Guillermo Moscoso and 27-year old lefty starter/reliever Josh Outman. Smith played in 147 games for the Rockies last year and he was 135 of 476 (.284 avg, .830 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 15 homers, 59 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has now played in 487 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 354 of 1,285 (.275 avg, .833 OPS) with 200 runs scored, 51 homers, 181 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Smith will likely split time in LF and DH, starting against all righty pitchers and taking a break against lefties.

Guillermo Moscoso pitched in 23 games (21 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 8-10 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He only gave up 102 hits in 128 innings last year as he was missing a lot of bats. Josh Outman pitched in 13 games (9 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 3-5 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He pitched in 33 games (25 starts) in his three years with the A’s and he was 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

I have a feeling that this was a deal where GM Billy Beane tried to get the most he could for Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman as he was selling high. I like this deal for the A’s as Smith will give them a good lefty stick against righties.

The Oakland A’s have already dumped Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey already this winter as they don’t have much interest in winning more than 62 games in 2012 as long as they make a few bucks. I feel so sorry for A’s fans as the team is dealing players way before they can become free agents. Here is a look at the players that they have brought in so far this winter:

In the field: The A’s will likely have new starters in LF and RF. They are likely to be Collin Cowgill in LF (part of the return for Trevor Cahill) and Josh Reddick in RF (part of the return for Andrew Bailey). The A’s have also brought in 1B/DH Kila Ka’aihue and catcher Derek Norris, but they are longshots to make the team in 2012….at least when the season starts. They could help at some point next year.

On the mound: The A’s signed veteran righty Bartolo Colon to a 1-year deal. He will likely mentor the very likely kiddie corps that will fill out the starting rotation in 2012. Righties Jarrod Parker, Brad Peacock and lefty Tom Milone will compete for jobs in the starting rotation and they all have nice upsides. Righty reliever Ryan Cook will have a decent shot of winning a job in the A’s pen next year.

Overall: The A’s are likely going to be a glorified AAA-team in 2012.

The A’s have signed 38-year old righty starting pitcher Bartolo Colon to a 1-year deal. Colon pitched in 29 games (26 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Colon has now pitched in 357 games (351 starts) in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 161-113 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Colon will certainly be in the A’s rotation in 2012 and I like this signing for them.

The A’s have signed 26-year old lefty reliever Fabio Castro to a minor league deal. Castro pitched in 24 games (12 starts) in AAA-ball for the Mariners last year and he was 5-4 with 1 save, a 3.63 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2007 with the Phillies. He has now pitched in 30 games (1 start) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 3.30 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Castro will get a shot to win a job in the A’s pen this spring.

The A’s have signed 30-year old righty reliever Merkin Valdez to a minor league deal. Valdez pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. He also pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 5-2 with 8 saves, a 3.29 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Valdez has now pitched in 74 games (1 start) in his first five years in the majors and he is 3-1 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. Valdez will be a longshot to win a job in the A’s bullpen this spring.

The A’s have signed 27-year old righty reliever Travis Schlichting to a minor league deal. He pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 5-3 with 4 saves, a 7.10 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Schlichting last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Dodgers. He has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Schlichting will be a longshot to win a job in the A’s pen this spring.

The A’s have re-signed 32-year old switch-hitting CF Coco Crisp to a 2-year, $14 million dollar deal with a club option for 2014. Crisp played in 136 games for the A’s last year and he was 140 of 531 (.264 avg, .693 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 8 homers, 54 RBIs and a league leading 49 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,043 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,081 of 3,927 (.275 avg, .735 OPS) with 583 runs scored, 75 homers, 419 RBIs and 218 stolen bases. This was a good, yet surprising move by the A’s…..who have been dumping salary until this point.