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The Oakland A’s release Mike Ekstrom

joelapinski — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:40:10 +0000

The A’s have released 29-year old righty reliever Mike Ekstrom. Ekstrom pitched in 21 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 1-1 with 3 saves, a 5.10 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He has pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 0-3 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. This is not much of a loss moving forward for the A’s.

Josh Donaldson is having a big time year for the Oakland A’s in 2013

joelapinski — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:38:22 +0000

27-year old righty swinging 3B Josh Donaldson is having a true breakout season for the A’s in 2013. He has played in 67 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 78 for 252 (.310 avg, .877 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 9 homers, 42 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Donaldson is leading the A’s in RBIs so far this year and he is second on the team in both runs scored and homers. He has really excelled with the bat on the road for the A’s so far in 2013. Donaldson has played in 36 games away from Oakland so far this year and he is 45 of 136 (.331 avg, .913 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 6 homers, 26 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The A’s need Donaldson to keep swinging a hot bat.

Jarrod Parker has been electric latey for the Oakland A’s

joelapinski — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:44:32 +0000

24-year old righty starting pitcher Jarrod Parker had a solid year in 2012 as a rookie, but he had a rough time in April. He appears to be back on the right track now. Since May 1st, Parker has started 7 games in which he is 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Parker has now pitched in 13 games (all starts) so far this year for the A’s and he is 5-6 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. The A’s need Parker to keep up the good work moving forward.

The Oakland A’s acquire 3B/OF Vincent Catricala from the Mariners

joelapinski — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 20:54:35 +0000

The A’s have acquired 24-year old righty swinging 3B/OF Vincent Catricala from the Seattle Mariners for either a player to be named later or cash. He played in 48 games in AA-ball for the Mariners this year and he was 44 of 174 (.253 avg, .669 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 3 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Catricala has now played in 497 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 548 of 1,873 (.293 avg, .837 OPS) with 305 runs scored, 63 homers, 306 RBIs and 36 stolen bases.

Anthony Aliotti is raking in AA-ball for the Oakland A’s

joelapinski — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 13:42:21 +0000

25-year old lefty swinging 1B Anthony Aliotti is raking in AA-ball for the A’s so far this year. He has played in 61 games in AA-ball for the A’s so far this year and he is 81 of 230 (.352 avg, 1.012 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 9 homers, 39 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 504 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 525 of 1,838 (.286 avg, .800 OPS) with 271 runs scored, 35 homers, 283 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Aliotti will likely get promoted to AAA-ball by the A’s in the near future.

Seth Smith is swinging a productive bat for the Oakland A’s in 2013

joelapinski — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:17:16 +0000

30-year old lefty swinging OF/DH Seth Smith has been solid with the bat so far in 2013. Smith has played in 48 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 49 for 176 (.278 avg, .799 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 5 homers and 24 RBIs. Smith has now played in 173 games in his first two years with the A’s and he is 141 of 559 (.252 avg, .768 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 19 homers, 76 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The A’s hope that Smith keeps up the good work with the bat moving forward.

Brandon Moss is having a rough time in May with the bat for the Oakland A’s

joelapinski — Mon, 27 May 2013 13:26:29 +0000

29-year old lefty swinging 1B Brandon Moss started out the 2013 season like a ball of fire. But, he has run into hard times so far in May for the A’s. He has played in 22 games for the A’s so far in May and he is 11 for 64 (.172 avg, .655 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 7 RBIs. Moss has now played in 46 games overall this year for the A’s and he is 37 for 152 (.243 avg, .783 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 7 homers, 26 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Moss is coming off a very solid year in 2012 for the A’s. He played in 84 games for the A’s last year and he was 77 for 265 (.291 avg, .954 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 21 homers, 52 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Moss is looking like GM Billy Beane’s latest late bloomer, but the A’s need him to get back on the right track with the bat in the near future.

Grant Balfour is off to a good start in 2013 for the Oakland A’s

joelapinski — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:27:08 +0000

35-year old righty reliever Grant Balfour has no intentions of losing his closer’s gig like he did early in 2012, before regaining it late in the year. Balfour has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 0-0 with 9 saves, a 1.47 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Balfour has given up 13 hits and 8 walks (too many) in his first 18 1/3 innings while whiffing 20 batters….which is impressive. Balfour has now pitched in 155 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the A’s and he is 8-4 with 35 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.

The Oakland A’s deal infielder Josh Horton to the Orioles

joelapinski — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:01:42 +0000

The A’s have dealt 27-year old lefty swinging infielder Josh Horton to the Orioles for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Horton played in 16 games in AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 15 for 67 (.224 avg, .620 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs. Horton has now played in 578 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 612 of 2,233 (.274 avg, .719 OPS) with 309 runs scored, 25 homers, 260 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. This isn’t much of a loss for the A’s moving forward.

The Oakland A’s DFA Daric Barton

joelapinski — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:20:41 +0000

The A’s have designated 27-year old lefty swinging 1B Daric Barton for assignment to make room on the roster for outfielder Chris Young, who has been activated off the D.L. Barton played in 8 games for the A’s this year and he was 3 for 21 (.143 avg, .503 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Barton played in 492 games in his seven years with the A’s and he is 397 of 1,604 (.248 avg, .729 OPS) with 223 runs scored, 28 homers, 166 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The A’s should try to deal Barton so they don’t lose him on waivers for nothing.

UPDATE: (5/22/2013) - Daric Barton has been outrighted to AAA.