The A’s have signed 30-year old righty reliever Chris Schroder to a minor league deal. Schroder pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Nationals last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 62 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-5 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Signing Schroder was a good move for the A’s as he has flashed talent in his career. He could help out the A’s in the middle innings in 2009 if he can make the team out of spring training.

The Oakland A’s shocked experts when they added outfielder Matt Holliday last week in a trade with the Rockies and that might only be the beginning of a mini shopping spree. The A’s really could use a 1B that could also serve as a DH just in case Daric Barton finds his swing. That could lead to the A’s seeing if Jason Giambi might be interested in a return trip to the A’s. If the A’s look more for a DH than a 1B then Kevin Millar, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra and Moises Alou could be considered. The A’s also need a shortstop as GM Billy Beane has had quite enough of waiting for Bobby Crosby to play well. Rafael Furcal is at the top of the list for the A’s at shortstop but a lot of teams will be bidding on him. The A’s could also take a long look at Orlando Cabrera and Edgar Renteria. 3B is not a big need but the A’s will be interested in bringing in insurance at the position if Eric Chavez can’t go. Look for the A’s to kick the tires on Casey Blake and Joe Crede. They also might have an interest in Rich Aurilia or Aaron Boone if they opt to go the cheap route. The A’s will likely go bargain shopping for starting pitching likely look for players trying to rebound from injury or a sub par season. Brad Penny, Pedro Martinez, Freddy Garcia, Josh Fogg, Carl Pavano, Kip Wells and Jason Jennings fit into this category from the right side. Lefties they might consider would be Mike Hampton, Kenny Rogers, Odalis Perez and maybe even Mark Mulder. The A’s will also likely go the cheap route for a lefty reliever to replace Alan Embree. Trever Miller, Ron Villone and Ray King come immediately to mind. It will be nice to see the A’s possibly adding to the roster instead of trimming payroll like they usually do.

The A’s have claimed 25-year old righty swinging 2B Yung-Chi Chen off waivers from the Mariners. Chen played in 66 games in AAA last season and he was 62 for 249 (.249 avg, .638 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 3 homers, 25 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Chen was the Mariners’ #20 rated prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. This was a nice low risk/high reward move for the A’s.

The A’s have acquired 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Matt Holliday from the Rockies for Carlos Gonzalez, Greg Smith and Huston Street. The A’s gave up quite a bit to get a player who has not been dominant away from Coors Field in his career. Still, Holliday is by far the best hitter on the A’s right now and no one’s even close. So in that respect this trade makes a lot of sense for the A’s. Holliday played in 139 games for the Rockies last season and he was 173 for 539 (.321 avg, .947 OPS) with 107 runs scored, 25 homers, 88 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Holliday has now played in 698 games in his five year major league career and he is 848 for 2,656 (.319 avg, .938 OPS) with 479 runs scored, 128 homers, 483 RBIs and 66 stolen bases. The A’s will need to still add more offense if they are to contend in 2009 but getting Holliday was a good start.

23-year old lefty swinging Carlos Gonzalez and 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Greg Smith both came over last season from the D-Backs in the Dan Haren trade. Gonzalez played in 85 games for the A’s last season and he was 73 for 302 (.242 avg, .633 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 4 homers, 26 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The A’s no doubt weren’t impressed with Gonzalez’ plate discipline but he still has a decent upside. Greg Smith started 32 games as a rookie last season for the A’s and he was 7-16 with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He only allowed 169 hits in 190.1 innings last season but he had trouble with his control walking 87 batters. 25-year old right reliever Huston Street was essentially replaced as the closer last season by rookie Brad Ziegler. Joey Devine also pitched well enough last season late in games to make the A’s comfortable in letting Street go. Street pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 7-5 with 18 saves, a 3.73 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. In four years with the A’s, Street pitched in 247 games (0 starts) in which he was 21-12 with 94 saves, a 2.88 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.

In summation, this really looks like a trade that will help both teams and those are very rare in baseball today.

The Oakland A’s have lost 27-year old lefty Dan Meyer on waivers to the Marlins. Meyer pitched in 11 games (4 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-4 with a 7.48 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. Meyer has now pitched in 19 games (7 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-6 with a 7.63 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Meyer was a major bust for the A’s as he was supposed to be the key to the Tim Hudson trade of a couple of years ago.