The A’s have lost 27-year old righty swinging 3B Scott Sizemore for the 2012 season due to a torn left ACL. Sizemore played in 93 games for the A’s last year and he was 76 for 305 (.249 avg, .778 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 11 homers, 52 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Sizemore has now played in 158 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 122 of 511 (.239 avg, .711 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 14 homers, 70 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. This is a big blow to the A’s as Sizemore was going to be the starting 3B in 2012. Now the position is wide open.

26-year old lefty swinging Daric Barton enters spring training with a slight edge on the field. Barton played in 67 games for the A’s last year and he was 50 for 236 (.212 avg, .592 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 0 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 438 games in his first five yeas in the majors and he is 371 for 1,470 (.252 avg, .740 OPS) with 212 runs scored, 26 homers, 157 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Barton had 8 errors in 65 games at 1B for the A’s last year as he is a sub par defensive player. Barton doesn’t have the power that most teams look for at 1B, but he walks a lot which fits into the A’s style of play.

26-year old lefty swinging Brandon Allen played in 52 games for the D-Backs & A’s last year and he was 35 for 175 (.200 avg, .654 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 6 homers, 18 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Allen has now played in 106 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 68 for 324 (.210 avg, .680 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 11 homers and 38 RBIs. Allen has whiffed a stunning 128 times already in his major league career as he has been an all or nothing hitter to this point in his career. Allen had 4 errors in 51 games at 1B last season, so he’s an average defensive 1B at best.

25-year old righty swinging Chris Carter comes into this season as the A’s #7 prospect according to Baseball America. Carter played in 15 games for the A’s last year and he was 6 for 44 (.136 avg, .310 OPS) with 2 runs scored. He has now played in 39 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 19 for 114 (.167 avg, .480 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Carter has whiffed 41 times while only walking 9 times so far in his major league career as he has been a hacker. Carter had 1 error in 11 games at 1B for the A’s last year. Carter has the highest upside of this bunch if he can get his act together this spring.

27-year old lefty swinging Kila Ka’aihue played in 23 games for the Royals last year and he was 16 for 82 (.195 avg, .612 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. He has now played in 87 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 61 for 283 (.216 avg, .683 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 11 homers and 32 RBIs. Ka’aihue is a longshot in this competition.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2012: D-

28-year old righty swinging Kurt Suzuki will be the starting catcher for the A’s once again in 2012. He played in 134 games for the A’s last year and he was 109 for 460 (.237 avg, .686 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 14 homers, 44 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 628 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 586 for 2,268 (.258 avg, .706 OPS) with 264 runs scored, 56 homers, 284 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Suzuki played in 129 games behind the plate last year for the A’s and he had 7 errors and 5 passed balls. Suzuki only nailed 23 of 136 (16.9%) base stealers and A’s pitchers had a 3.78 ERA with Suzuki behind the plate.

29-year old switch-hitting Landon Powell is in camp as a non-roster player and he is likely one of the favorites to backup Kurt Suzuki in 2012. He played in 36 games for the A’s last year and he was 19 for 111 (.171 avg, .471 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 123 games in his first three years with the A’s and he is 75 for 363 (.207 avg, .612 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 45 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Powell played in 33 games behind the plate for the A’s last year and he had 2 errors and 1 passed ball. He did throw out 6 of 25 (24%) base stealers last year and A’s pitchers had a sparkling 2.70 ERA when Powell was catching.

28-year old righty swinging Anthony Recker finally got to the majors last year. He played in 5 games for the A’s last year and he was 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .569 OPS) with 3 runs scored. Recker also played in 99 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 99 for 345 (.287 avg, .889 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 16 homers, 48 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Recker played in 5 games behind the plate for the A’s last year and he had 1 error and 0 passed balls. He was also 0 for 5 (0%) throwing out base stealers and A’s pitchers had a 8.36 ERA with him behind the plate.

26-year old righty swinging Josh Donaldson played in 115 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 116 of 444 (.261 avg, .783 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 17 homers, 70 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He did play in 14 games in 2010 for the A’s and he was 5 for 32 (.156 avg, .487 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He is a longshot to make the A’s this spring.

23-year old righty swinging Derek Norris came to the A’s over the winter in the Gio Gonzalez deal with the Nationals. He played in 104 games in AA-ball for the Nationals last year and he was 70 for 334 (.210 avg, .813 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 20 homers, 46 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Norris has now played in 431 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 353 for 1,419 (.249 avg, .861 OPS) with 278 runs scored, 69 homers, 232 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. Norris could be the A’s starting catcher in the near future but he will likely start the 2012 season in the minors.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2012: C

The Oakland A’s have signed 39-year old righty swinging DH/OF Manny Ramirez to a minor league deal. Ramirez played in 5 games for the Tampa Bay Rays last year and he was 1 for 17 (.059 avg, .118 OPS) with 1 RBI before retiring due to a failed drug test for PEDs. Ramirez will have to sit out the A’s first fifty games due to his suspension for the failed drug test. Ramirez has now played in 2,302 games in his first 19 years in the majors and he is 2,574 for 8,244 (.312 avg, .996 OPS) with 1,544 runs scored, 555 homers, 1,831 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. Ramirez will likely be a part time DH when he returns to action likely in June.

The A’s have signed 26-year old righty swinging Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to a 4-year, $36 million dollar deal. Cespedes played in 90 games in Cuba last year and he hit .333 (1.091 OPS) with 33 homers and 99 RBIs. He will likely take over in CF from Day #1 for the A’s with Coco Crisp moving to LF. This was a shocking move by the A’s who have been cost cutting all winter until now. They are taking a high risk here as Cespedes is going to see a lot better pitching in the show than he did in Cuba. But, the A’s couldn’t resist Cespedes’ upside, which is huge. I like this move for the A’s.

The A’s are going to have a new look in the bullpen in 2012. Righties Tyson Ross and Graham Godfrey will likely pitch out of the bullpen if they miss out on rotation spots. Here is a look at the bullpen as of right now:

Closer: Grant Balfour: 34-year old righty Grant Balfour is going to get his first shot to be a full-time closer in 2012 for the A’s. He certainly has the stuff to succeed in his new role, if he can handle the pressure. Balfour pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 5-2 with 2 saves, a 2.47 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He has now pitched in 323 games (1 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 24-12 with 10 saves, a 3.57 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

Set-Up Man: 25-year old righty Fautino De Los Santos will likely get the first shot to be the set-up man for the A’s in 2012. He pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the A’s in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He only gave up 27 hits in 33 1/3 innings with 43 whiffs, as he has the stuff to excel in this role.

Righties: 28-year old Joey Devine will also pitch late in games for the A’s in 2012. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has now pitched in 68 games (0 starts) in his two years with the A’s and he is 7-2 with 1 save, a 1.57 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Devine has now pitched in 93 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 8-3 with 1 save, a 2.75 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. The A’s hope that Devine can stay healthy in 2012 as he is a darn good pitcher.

Ryan Cook: 24-year old Ryan Cook came to the A’s over the winter in the Trevor Cahill deal with the Diamondbacks. Cook pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA and a 2.48 WHIP. He also pitched in 48 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 1-5 with 19 saves, a 2.21 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. The A’s hope that Cook steps up for them this spring and wins a spot in the opening day bullpen.

Jim Miller: 29-year old Jim Miller pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last year and he was 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 65 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 8-5 with 24 saves, a 5.25 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Miller has now pitched in 14 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 1.84 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. The A’s are hoping that Miller can help them in 2012.

Neil Wagner: 28-year old Neil Wagner pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the A’s in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 0-0 with a 7.20 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Wagner also pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 3-4 with 6 saves, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He will make the A’s opening day bullpen with a good spring.

Lefties: 36-year old Brian Fuentes will be a backup plan at closer if Grant Balfour falters in 2012. He pitched in 67 games (0 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 2-8 with 12 saves, a 3.70 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Fuentes has now pitched in 618 games (0 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 24-41 with 199 saves, a 3.44 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. I look for Fuentes to pitch better than he did last year in 2012 for the A’s.

Jerry Blevins: 28-year old Jerry Blevins pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 0-0 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has now pitched in 151 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 3-5 with 1 save, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. I don’t think the A’s will jerk Blevins around like they did last year, as they need a replacement for Craig Breslow (he was traded to the Diamondbacks over the winter.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLPEN IN 2012: C