Righty starting pitcher Dave Stewart won 20 or more games for four straight seasons for the A’s from 1987-1990, but, he didn’t win any Cy Young Awards for them and he was only an American League All-Star 1 time in those years! Stewart pitched in 257 games (245 starts) in his 8 years with the A’s and he was 119-78 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. His best season with the A’s came in 1990 when he finished 3rd in the Cy Young Award Voting and 8th in the voting for MVP. Stewart pitched in 36 games (all starts) for the A’s in 1990 and he was 22-11 with a 2.56 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Stewart is #8 in A’s history in games started with 245 of them. He is also #10 in innings pitched (1,717 1/3) and #7 in strikeouts (1,152) in A’s history.

The A’s have sent 25-year old righty starting pitcher Tyson Ross to AAA. Ross has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the A’s this year and he is 2-6 with a 5.94 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. Ross gave up a stunningly bad 65 hits in his first 47 innings this year for the A’s. He has now pitched in 44 games (17 starts) in his first three years with the A’s and he is 6-13 with 1 save, a 4.86 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The A’s hope that Ross gets straightened out in AAA, so that he can return to them at some point in 2012.

The A’s have lost 28-year old righty reliever Neil Wagner. Wagner pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 1-1 with 1 save, a 5.49 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He did appear in 6 games (0 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 0-0 with a 7.20 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. The A’s should be o.k. without Wagner as the are well equipped in the bullpen.

35-year old righty swinging 3B Brandon Inge is likely to return to action tomorrow. He has played in 2 games in AAA-ball on his rehab assignment and he is 6 for 7 (.857 avg, 2.875 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs. Inge has played in 11 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 10 for 44 (.227 avg, .845 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 4 homers and 17 RBIs. Inge’s arrival will likely cause the A’s to send Josh Donaldson back to AAA.

The long term plans likely call for Derek Norris to be the A’s starting catcher. But, the A’s need 28-year old righty swinging catcher Kurt Suzuki to start stepping up with the bat. Suzuki has played in 38 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 30 for 136 (.221 avg, .531 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Suzuki has whiffed 26 times while only walking 4 times so far this year, as he is swinging at almost everything. Suzuki is going to have very limited trade value if he doesn’t start hitting soon, plus he’s not helping the A’s much right now.

I know, it’s too early to start talking about the A’s dealing a lot of their veteran players for youngsters, but at some point this year that will likely happen. Right off the bat, the Rays are in dire need of a catcher so trading them Kurt Suzuki and cash makes sense. A package revolving around righty starting pitcher Chris Archer, righty reliever Josh Lueke and SS Tim Beckham probably gets the job done. The Nationals really need a CF badly. I would offer the Nationals Coco Crisp, Adam Rosales and Daric Barton for infielder Steve Lombardozzi, 1B Tyler Moore and righty reliever Ryan Mattheus. The Pittsburgh Pirates need hitting if they are going to stay in contention this year, so I would deal them Jonny Gomes, Seth Smith and Kila Ka’aihue for 1B Matt Curry, 1B/3B Matt Hague, OF Alex Presley and IF/OF Yamaico Navarro. A trade with the Dodgers sending them Brian Fuentes and cash could bring back a return of infielder Justin Sellers and righty starting pitcher John Ely. The Phillies could use some bullpen help (like Grant Balfour) and they could deal an outfielder (John Mayberry) to get him. The A’s are going to be sellers again this year, but the haul is likely to be a good one.

25-year old lefty swinging RF Josh Reddick has been outstanding for the A’s so far this year. He has played in 41 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 44 for 163 (.270 avg, .860 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 11 homers, 24 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Reddick is leading the A’s in runs scored, homers and RBIs so far this year, with little protection in the lineup. The trade with the Red Sox over the winter that brought Reddick over from the A’s for Andrew Bailey is starting to look like a steal for them.

The A’s have placed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 18th due to a strained right shoulder. McCarthy has started 9 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The A’s have called up 30-year old righty reliever to Jim Miller to replace McCarthy on the active roster. Miller pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the A’s earlier this year and he was 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. No word yet on McCarthy’s replacement in the starting rotation, but the two most likely candidates will be righties Brad Peacock and Graham Godfrey. The A’s hope McCarthy gets well soon, as he has been their best starting pitcher so far this year.

The A’s have placed 35-year old righty swinging 3B Brandon Inge on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 13th due to a groin strain. Inge has played in 11 games so far this year for the A’s and he is 10 for 44 (.227 avg, .845 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 4 homers and 17 RBIs. The A’s have called up 28-year old righty swinging infielder Adam Rosales to replace Inge on the active roster. Rosales has played in 36 games in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 36 for 130 (.277 avg, .753 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers, 19 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He got into last night’s game as a defensive replacement for the A’s. In his first two years with the A’s, Rosales is 75 for 316 (.237 avg, .651 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 9 homers, 39 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Rosales will likely share time with rookie Josh Donaldson at 3B until Inge is ready to return to action.

The A’s have claimed 29-year old lefty reliever/starter Travis Blackley off waivers from the San Francisco Giants. Blackley pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Giants earlier this year and he was 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Blackley has pitched in 12 games (8 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 1-3 with a 9.30 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. I’m not quite so sure what A’s GM Billy Beane sees in Blackley. In his defense though, Blackley did pitch well in AAA for the Giants this year. He pitched in 4 games (3 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 3-0 with 1 save, a 0.39 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP.