The A’s have signed 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Gabe Gross to a 1-year deal. Gross played in 115 games for the Rays last season and he was 64 for 282 (.227 avg, .681 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 6 homers, 36 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 552 games in his major league career and he is 296 for 1,239 (.239 avg, .736 OPS) with 176 runs scored, 39 homers, 161 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Gross will be coming off the bench in 2010 and the A’s front office must have been seeing something I have not because he is not much of a player.

Lefty starting pitcher Vida Blue was easily one of the best pitchers in team history. He pitched 9 years for the A’s appearing in 273 games (262 starts) in which he was 124-86 with 2 saves, a 2.95 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Blue’s best season came at the age of 21 in 1971. In 1971, Blue pitched in 39 games (all starts) for the A’s and he was 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP winning him the Cy Young Award. He threw 24 complete games in 1971, eight of which were shutouts. He only allowed 209 hits in 312 innings that season while whiffing 301 batters showing just how nasty he really was. Vida Blue is #6 all-time in A’s history in games started (262), #8 in wins (124), #8 in WHIP (1.17), #9 in complete games (105), tied for fifth in shutouts (28), #6 in strikeouts (1,315) and he is #7 in innings pitched (1,945 2/3). Blue was a great pitcher for the A’s.

The Oakland A’s will let 24-year old lefty swinging Daric Barton and 27-year old righty swinging Jake Fox duke it out for the starting job this spring. They could also wind up in a platoon if neither one takes the bull by the horns in spring training. Barton played in 54 games for the A’s last season and he was 43 for 160 (.269 avg, .785 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. He doesn’t really have the power to handle 1B on a full time basis in my opinion. He is a solid defenisve player at 1B as he only made 1 error in 51 games there last year. His glove is his best edge over Fox.

Jake Fox played in 82 games for the Cubs last season and he was 56 for 216 (.259 avg, .779 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 11 homers and 44 RBIs. Fox has more power than Daric Barton and that is his best asset that weighs in his favor in this competition. Fox made 2 errors in only 7 games at 1B last season so he will have to take a ton of grounders this spring. I have a feeling that I think they are going to platoon.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: D+

The A’s have signed 31-year old righty starting pitcher Ben Sheets to a 1-year, $10 million dollar deal with incentives. Sheets missed all of last season while recovering from major surgery. He last pitched in the majors in 2008 with the Brewers when he started 31 games and went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Sheets has now pitched in 221 games (all starts) in his major league career and he is 86-83 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. This is a huge risk for the A’s but if Sheets is healthy it is worth taking it.

26-year old righty swinging catcher Kurt Suzuki is turning into one of the better all-around catchers in baseball. He played in 147 games for the A’s last season and he was 156 for 570 (.274 avg, .734 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 15 homers, 88 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Suzuki only had 5 errors and 3 passed balls last season in 135 games behind the plate for the A’s. Suzuki only threw out 17% of the runners trying to steal on him last season but A’s pitchers had a 4.24 ERA with him behind the plate. There is more upside in Suzuki so 2010 could be his real breakout year.

27-year old switch-hitting Landon Powell will back up Suzuki again in 2010. He played in 46 games for the A’s last season and he was 32 for 140 (.229 avg, .726 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 7 homers and 30 RBIs. Powell had 3 errors and 2 passed balls in only 36 games behind the plate last season. Powell threw out 45% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and A’s pitchers had a 4.50 ERA with him behind the plate. Powell’s random power and excellent throwing arm will make him a asset again in 2010 for the A’s.