Oakland A's quietly improved this off-season

The MLB off-season in the Bay Area has been all about the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.  Meanwhile, the Oakland A’s have been in the background quietly getting better.  They have taken a roster that was comparable to many AAA farm teams and brought in some experienced hitters in hopes of generating the same kind of success as their across the bay rivals.  The A’s front office has been open to spending money for the first time in a longtime as was shown by their chase for Adrian Beltre.

Let’s look at their moves so far this offseason:

David DeJesus (11/10/2010)…. The A’s traded RHP Vin Mazzaro and LHP Justin Marks to the Kansas City Royals for David DeJesus.  DeJesus will likely be the starter in right field on opening day and also could DH occasionally. 

Edwin Encarnacion (11/12/2010)…. Edwin Encarnacion was claimed by the A’s off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays in November.  Encarnacion has been a big disappointment in the league.  He was expected to be a star in Cincinnati and never panned out before being traded to the Blue Jays.  In 2010 he hit .244 with 21 homeruns but that was not good enough for even the Blue Jays to keep him. 

In early December, Encarnacion was not tendered a contract along with Jack Cust and Travis Buck.  Encarnacion’s time with the A’s was about three weeks.  I wonder if the A’s ever even paid him??

Rajai Davis (11/17/2010)…. Davis was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Daniel Farquhar and Trystan Magnuson.  This deal basically came down to Billy Beane just trying to get anything he could for Davis.  With the addition of Hideki Matsui and Josh Willingham, there was no room for Davis on the roster.

Ryan Sweeney (12/3/2010)…. Ryan Sweeney agreed to a one-year deal with the A’s.  By agreeing to this deal the A’s and Ryan Sweeney were able to avoid arbitration.  Sweeney is expected to be the fourth outfielder for the A’s behind David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, and Coco Crisp.

Brandon McCarthy (12/13/2010)…. The A’s signed former Texas Rangers pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, to a one-year deal.  McCarthy spent last season in the Rangers triple-A organization.  He is expected to compete for one of the starting pitching spots in the rotation.

Joey Devine (12/13/2010)…. The A’s avoided arbitration with Joey Devine by signing him to a one-year deal.

Hideki Matsui (12/14/2010)…. Former New York Yankees designated hitter, Hideki Matsui, signed a one-year deal with Oakland.  Matsui is expected to be the DH primarily.

Josh Willingham (12/16/2010)…. The A’s traded RHP Henry Rodriguez and outfielder Corey Brown to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Josh Willingham.  Willingham is a big improvement over Rajai Davis in the outfield and will bring homerun power to Oakland. 

Philip Humber (12/17/2010)…. The A’s claimed RHP Philip Humber off of waivers from the Kansas City Royals.

Humber was later designated for assignment after the A’s acquired Guillermo Moscoso from the Rangers.

Rich Harden (12/21/2010)…. The A’s signed former A’s pitcher Rich Harden to a one-year deal.  Harden was with the Texas Rangers last year and went 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA in 18 starts.  The oft-injured pitcher will fight Brandon McCarthy for the final spot in the rotation.

Guillermo Moscoso (1/8/2011)…. The A’s traded minor league pitcher Ryan Kelly to the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso. 

Brad Ziegler (1/15/2011)…. The A’s and Brad Ziegler agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. 

Grant Balfour (1/18/2011)…. The A’s signed Grant Balfour to a two-year deal with a club option for 2013.  Balfour pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays last season and was 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA.  Balfour will be a nice addition to an already good bullpen.

The A’s also agreed to terms with Dallas Braden, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Conor Jackson, and Josh Willingham.  They also designated Clayton Mortensen for assignment.

Brian Fuentes (1/19/2011)…. The A’s signed reliever Brian Fuentes to a two-year, $10.5 million deal.  Fuentes will likely be the main setup man for Andrew Bailey.

It’s clear that Billy Beane has been very busy this off-season in completely upgrading the roster.  With all of these moves, I expect the A’s to compete with the Texas Rangers for the AL West division title.  Although, they are not big names that he brought in neither were the players that Brian Sabean brought in that helped the Giants get to the World Series.