The Oakland A’s have acquired 28-year old righty swinging 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff and 23-year old lefty swinging 2B Eric Sogard from the Padres for 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Scott Hairston and 23-year old righty swinging outfielder Aaron Cunningham. Kouzmanoff will be the starting 3B for the A’s in 2010 pushing Jake Fox to first base where he will battle Daric Barton for the starting job in spring training. Kouzmanoff played in 141 games for the Padres last season and he was 135 for 529 (.255 avg, .722 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 18 homers and 88 RBIs. He has now played in 456 games in his major league career and he is 442 for 1,693 (.261 avg, .743 OPS) with 182 runs scored, 62 homers and 257 RBIs. Look for Kouzmanoff’s power numbers to take off in 2010 now that half of his games won’t be played in the cavern called Petco Park. Sogard was the Padres’ #17 ranked prospect heading into the 2009 season according to Baseball America. He played in 117 games in AA-ball last season and he was 134 for 457 (.293 avg, .771 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 6 homers, 51 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has played in 304 games in his minor league career and he is 352 for 1,204 (.292 avg, .792 OPS) with 203 runs scored, 20 homers, 171 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Scott Hairston didn’t do much for the A’s after coming over in a trade with the Padres last season. He played in 60 games for the A’s last season and he was 55 for 233 (.236 avg, .653 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 7 homers, 35 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Aaron Cunningham was once one of the brighter prospects for the A’s but he looks overmatched at the major league level right now. Cunningham played in 23 games for the A’s last season and he was 8 for 53 (.151 avg, .456 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. He finishes his times with the A’s playing in 45 games in which he was 28 for 133 (.211 avg, .609 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers, 20 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. I like this trade for both teams but a tad more for the A’s. They got a player they like in Kouzmanoff for a couple of extra outfielders.

After last night when Mark McGwire pretty much admitted what most people already knew it painted him as a fraud. He played in 12 seasons with the A’s appearing in 1,329 games in which he was 1,157 of 4,448 (.260 avg, .931 OPS) with 773 runs scored, 363 homers and 941 RBIs. He is the all-time leader in homers for the A’s (which is a joke) and he is #4 in OPS, #10 in runs scored and #4 in RBIs. He was the Rookie of the Year in the American League in 1987 when he was 23 years old. He played in 151 games that season for the A’s and he was 161 for 557 (.289 avg, .987 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 49 homers and 118 RBIs. He led the league in both homers and RBIs as a rookie which is almost unheard of. He also led the American League in homers in 1996 with the A’s with 52 of them. McGwire was a 9-time All-Star with the A’s and he also won 1 Gold Glove. After all of his years of denials and lies McGwire should just admit that Jose Canseco was right about him.

Rickey Henderson was the best lead-off hitter I have ever seen, period. He had some of his best years with the A’s. He played 14 years for the A’s appearing in 1,704 games in which he was 1,768 of 6,140 (.288 avg, .839 OPS) with 1,270 runs scored, 167 homers, 648 RBIs and 867 stolen bases. Henderson stole over 100 bases in a season an amazing 3 times for the A’s. He scored over 100 runs seven times for the A’s twice leading the American League. He led the league in hits 1 time for the A’s and he led the league in steals 8 times for them. Henderson is #3 all-time in hits for the A’s, #1 in runs scored and #1 in stolen bases. Henderson won the MVP Award in the A.L. in 1990 with the A’s when he played in 136 games in which he was 159 for 489 (.325 avg, 1.016 OPS) with 119 runs scored, 28 homers, 61 RBIs and 65 stolen bases. 1982 was also a season that seemed to jump off the stat sheet for Henderson as he played in 149 games in which he was 143 for 536 (.267 avg, .780 OPS) with 119 runs scored, 10 homers, 51 RBIs and 130 stolen bases. I often wonder how much Rickey Henderson would have cost in a fantasy auction draft back in the day? Rickey Henderson is the all-time leader in major league history in both runs scored (2,295) and stolen bases (1,406). His is in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown N.Y. and he is the greatest leadoff hitter of all time.

The A’s have signed 30-year old lefty starter/reliever Lenny DiNardo to a minor league deal. DiNardo pitched in 5 games (all starts) for the Royals last season and he was 0-3 with a 10.12 ERA and a 2.63 WHIP. He has now pitched in 94 games (34 starts) in his major league career and he is 10-18 with 5 saves, a 5.36 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. The A’s will likely stash DiNardo in AAA and give him a call to the show if the need arises.

The A’s have designated 26-year old righty swinging 1B Tommy Everidge for assignment. He played in 24 games for the A’s last year and he was 19 for 85 (.224 avg, .667 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Everidge also played in 107 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 144 for 430 (.335 avg, .958 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 20 homers and 94 RBIs. It looks like Everidge will be playing for someone else in 2010.

UPDATE: The division rival Seattle Mariners have claimed Everidge off waivers and the A’s can’t be too happy about that.