The A’s have acquired 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Casper Wells from the Blue Jays for cash considerations.  Wells played in 93 games for the Mariners last year and he was 65 for 285 (.228 avg, .698 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 10 homers, 36 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  He has now played in 224 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 146 of 593 (.246 avg, .752 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 25 homers, 80 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  This was a good pickup for the A’s as Wells should be able to help them at some point off the bench in 2013.

UPDATE:  (4/28/2013) - The A’s have designated Casper Wells for assignment.  Wells played in 3 games for the A’s this year and he was 0 for 5 (.000 avg, .000 OPS).

UPDATE II:  (4/30/2013) - The A’s have dealt Casper Wells to the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations.

The Oakland A’s have acquired 28-year old lefty swinging C/OF Stephen Vogt from the Tampa Bay Rays for either a player to be named later or cash considerations.  Vogt played in 94 games in AAA-ball for the Rays last year and he was 95 for 349 (.272 avg, .774 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 9 homers, 43 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He also got his first taste of the majors for the Rays last year and it didn’t go too well.  Vogt played in 18 games for the Rays last year and he was 0 for 25 (.000 avg, .074 OPS) with 2 walks and 2 whiffs.

UPDATE:  (4/23/2013) - The A’s have sent cash to the Rays to complete this deal.

The A’s have designated 30-year old lefty starter/reliever Travis Blackley for assignment.  Blackley pitched in 24 games (15 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 36 games (23 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 7-7 with a 5.37 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.  The A’s should be o.k. in 2013 without Blackley, but he’s not going to be out of work too long!

UPDATE:  (4/4/2013) - The A’s have dealt Travis Blackley to the Houston Astros for 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jake Goebbert.  Goebbert played in 130 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Astros last year and he was 116 of 398 (.291 avg, .838 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 9 homers, 54 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  He has now played in 456 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 452 of 1,588 (.285 avg, .793 OPS) with 247 runs scored, 31 homers, 237 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.

The A’s have dealt 21-year old lefty starter/reliever Ian Krol to the Washington Nationals to complete the John Jaso deal.  Krol pitched in 29 games (15 starts) in A+AA-ball for the A’s last year and he was 2-9 with a 5.20 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.  He pitched in 64 games (47 starts) in his four years in the minors for the A’s and he was 12-14 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  The A’s should be o.k. moving forward without Krol.

The A’s have acquired 26-year old righty reliever Darren Byrd from the Milwaukee Brewers for 25-year old lefty swinging 3B Stephen Parker.  Byrd pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in AA-ball last year for the Brewers and he was 3-5 with 6 saves, a 2.59 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  Byrd has now pitched in 204 games (92 starts) in his first eight years in the minors and he is 36-43 with 8 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.  Parker played in 99 games in AAA-ball for the A’s last year and he was 84 of 328 (.256 avg, .717 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 7 homers, 47 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Byrd will probably start the 2013 season in AAA-ball for the A’s.

The Oakland A’s have acquired 28-yaer old switch-hitting infielder Jed Lowrie and 28-year old righty reliever Fernando Rodriguez from the Astros for 26-year old righty swinging 1B Chris Carter, 25-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Peacock and 21-year old righty swinging catcher Max Stassi.  Jed Lowrie could be a supersub or he could wind up starting at 2B or 3B for the A’s in 2013.  Lowrie played in 97 games for the Astros last year and he was 83 of 340 (.244 avg, .769 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 16 homers, 42 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  Lowrie has now played in 353 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 287 of 1,148 (.250 avg, .743 OPS) with 153 runs scored, 35 homers, 159 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.  Fernando Rodriguez pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Astros last year and he was 2-10 with a 5.37 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.  He whiffed 78 batters and he only gave up 68 hits in 70 1/3 innings for the Astros last year, which shows what kind of stuff he has.  But, he also walked 34 batters and that got him into a lot of trouble.  Rodriguez has now pitched in 119 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-13 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.  The A’s are hoping a change of scenery will help Rodriguez turn the corner.

Chris Carter is the guy the A’s will likely miss the most that they sent to Houston in this deal.  Carter played in 67 games for the A’s last year and he was 52 of 218 (.239 avg, .864 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 16 homers and 39 RBIs.  Carter played in 106 games in his three years with the A’s and he was 71 of 332 (.214 avg, .735 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 19 homers, 46 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Brad Peacock was one of the players the A’s got from the Nationals in the winter of 2011 in the deal that sent Gio Gonzalez to Washington.  He was a huge disappointment in 2012 for the A’s.  Peacock pitched in 28 games (25 starts) in AAA-ball for the A’s last year and he was 12-9 with a 6.01 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.  Max Stassi played in 84 games in A-ball for the A’s last year and he was 84 of 314 (.268 avg, .799 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 15 homers, 45 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

I like this deal for both teams.  I think Lowrie is really going to help the A’s in 2013 and Rodriguez could give them another live arm in the pen.  Peacock could be in the Astros’ starting rotation in 2013 and Chris Carter will likely be their starting DH.

The Oakland A’s have acquired 29-year old lefty swinging catcher John Jaso from the Mariners in a three team deal also involving the Washington Nationals. The A’s have sent 21-year old righty starting pitcher A.J. Cole, 24-year old righty starter/reliever Blake Treinen and a player to be named later to the Nationals for Jaso. The Nationals dealt outfielder Mike Morse to the Nationals to complete this deal.

Jaso played in 108 games for the Mariners last year and he was 81 of 294 (.276 avg, .850 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 10 homers, 50 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Jaso has now played in 311 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 227 of 889 (.255 avg, .754 OPS) with 126 runs scored, 20 homers, 121 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Jaso played in 43 games (39 starts) behind the plate for the Mariners last year and he didn’t have any errors, but he did have five passed balls. He also threw out 6 of 33 (18.2%) base runners trying to steal on him last year and Mariners’ pitchers had a 3.41 ERA with him behind the dish. Jaso will platoon with Derek Norris behind the plate in 2013.

A.J. Cole came to the A’s in the big Gio Gonzalez deal with the Nationals last winter. Cole pitched in 27 games (all starts) in his only year with the A’s in A-ball and he was 6-10 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Blake Treinen pitched in 24 games (15 starts) in A-ball for the A’s last year and he was 7-7 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He pitched in 45 games (15 starts) in his two years in the minors for the A’s and he was 8-8 with 2 saves, a 4.13 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The A’s gave up a lot of talent for a platoon catcher.

The A’s have acquired 21-year old righty swinging 3B Jefry Marte from the Mets for 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Collin Cowgill. Marte played in 129 games in AA-ball for the Mets last year and he was 116 of 462 (.251 avg, .687 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 9 homers, 58 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He has now played in 509 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 486 of 1,913 (.254 avg, .690 OPS) with 244 runs scored, 32 homers, 222 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Marte will likely start the 2013 season in AAA-ball for the A’s. Cowgill played in 38 games for the A’s last year and he was 28 of 104 (.269 avg, .654 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The A’s have a ton of depth in the outfield right now, so they shouldn’t miss Cowgill moving forward.

The A’s have acquired 27-year old righty reliever Sandy Rosario from the Red Sox for either a player to be named later or cash considerations. Rosario pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 0-0 with a 18.00 ERA and a 2.67 WHIP. He also pitched in 31 games (2 starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball for the Marlins in which he was 0-2 with 17 saves, a 1.99 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Rosario has now pitched in 10 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 15.26 ERA and a 3.26 WHIP. The A’s hope a change of scenery is just what the doctor ordered for Rosario. He will get a shot to win a bullpen job for the A’s next spring.

UPDATE: (12/1/2012) - The A’s have designated Sandy Rosario for assignment.

UPDATE II: (12/7/2012) - The A’s dealt 28-year old righty starting pitcher Graham Godfrey to the Red Sox to complete this deal. 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 pitched in 10 games (8 starts) in his two years with the A’s and he was 1-6 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.

The A’s have designated 27-year old righty swinging SS Brandon Hicks for assignment. Hicks played in 22 games for the A’s last year and he was 11 for 64 (.172 avg, .633 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers, 7 RBIs, 1 stolen base and an amazingly awful 31 whiffs. Hicks has now played in 55 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 12 for 90 (.133 avg, .493 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This isn’t much of a loss for the A’s as Hicks can’t hit.

UPDATE: (11/26/2012) - The A’s have dealt Brandon Hicks to the New York Mets for cash considerations.