24-year old lefty starting pitcher Brett Anderson missed most of this season as he was rehabbing from elbow surgery. But, he has been electric in his first two starts this year for the A’s. He is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and a 0.57 WHIP so far for the A’s. He gave up only 6 hits and 2 walks in his first 14 innings this year while whiffing 11 batters. Anderson has now pitched in 64 games (all starts) in his first four years with the A’s and he is 23-23 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Anderson’s return came in a nick of time with the A’s duking it out for a playoff spot heading in September.

22-year old lefty swinging catcher Beau Taylor came into this season as the A’s #30 prospect according to Baseball America. Taylor has played in 84 games in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 88 for 305 (.289 avg, .746 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 3 homers and 44 RBIs. He has now played in 132 games in his first two years in the minors and he is 133 of 470 (.283 avg, .724 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 3 homers, 62 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Taylor looks like a decent prospect, but the A’s are going to bring him along at his own pace.

The A’s have claimed 29-year old righty swinging catcher Blake Lalli. Lalli played in 6 games for the Cubs earlier this year and he was 2 for 15 (.133 avg, .321 OPS) with 1 run scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. Lalli also played in 93 games in AAA-ball for the Cubs this year and he was 78 of 301 (.259 avg, .689 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 7 homers and 40 RBIs. Lalli will essentially replace Anthony Recker in AAA, as he was claimed by the Cubs earlier today off waivers.

UPDATE: The A’s actually acquired Blake Lalli in a deal with the Cubs for Anthony Recker.

The A’s have acquired 29-year old righty starter/reliever Jesse Chavez from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations. He pitched in 9 games (2 starts) earlier this year for the Blue Jays and he was 1-1 with a 8.44 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Chavez also has pitched in 19 games (17 starts) in AAA-ball for the Jays this year in which he was 8-5 with 1 save, a 3.98 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has now pitched in 152 games (2 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 7-11 with a 5.74 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

Major League Baseball has suspended 39-year old righty starting pitcher Bartolo Colon for the next 50 games (ending his season) for a positive test for Testosterone. Colon pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the A’s this year and he was 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. 25-year old Tyson Ross has been summoned to make Colon’s next start. Ross pitched in 12 games (all starts) for the A’s this year and he was 2-8 with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Getting Brett Anderson back last night will help lessen the blow of losing Colon. This is a shame as Colon really pitched well for the A’s this year, but he was cheating.

The A’s have signed 29-year old switch-hitting catcher Jason Jaramillo to a minor league deal. He played in 41 games in AAA-ball earlier this year for the Brewers in which he was 25 of 133 (.188 avg, .527 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He last played in the majors last year with the Pirates. Jaramillo has played in 119 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 79 of 336 (.235 avg, .621 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers, 38 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The A’s will stash him in AAA-ball for now.

The A’s have designated 28-year old righty starter/reliever Graham Godfrey for assignment. Godfrey pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 0-4 with a 6.43 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He has pitched in 10 games (8 starts) in his two years with the A’s and he is 1-6 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. The A’s will probably try to deal Godfrey instead of possibly losing him on waivers.

UPDATE: (8/29/2012) - Godfrey was cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AAA.

The A’s have placed 25-year old lefty reliever Jordan Norberto on the 15-day disabled list due to left shoulder tendinitis. Norberto has pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 4-1 with 1 save, a 2.77 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has given up 37 hits and 22 walks in 52 innings so far this year while whiffing 46 batters and those are pretty good numbers. The A’s hope Norberto only has to miss a couple of weeks as he has really pitched well for them this year.

The A’s have sent 25-year old switch-hitting 2B Jemile Weeks to AAA-ball. He played in 113 games for the A’s this year and he was 96 of 437 (.220 avg, .607 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 2 homers, 20 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Weeks deserved his demotion as he was a big time disappointment for the A’s in 2012. He played in 97 games as a rookie last year for the A’s in which he was 123 of 406 (.303 avg, .761 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 2 homers, 36 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if the A’s bring Weeks up when rosters expand on September 1st.

After last night’s acquisition of Stephen Drew, 28-year old switch-hitting Cliff Pennington will be sent to the bench…..and he deserves to sit there. Pennington has played in 92 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 62 of 313 (.198 avg, .549 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 3 homers, 18 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 492 games in his first five years with the A’s and he is 407 of 1,643 (.248 avg, .667 OPS) with 197 runs scored, 21 homers, 152 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. If Pennington would have just hit around .240 this year, the A’s wouldn’t have had to make a deal for his replacement.