32-year old righty swinging Mark Ellis is the kind of player every team likes to have on the roster. He gets dirty and hustles both in the field and when he is batting. His problem is just staying healthy as he has only played in more than 124 games twice in his 7 years with the A’s. Ellis played in 105 games for the Athletics last season and he was 99 for 377 (.263 avg, .708 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 10 homers, 61 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Ellis has average range in the field but he only made 5 errors in 105 games at 2B for the A’s last season. Look for him to have another solid season for the A’s as long as he can stay away from the D.L.

26-year old lefty swinging Eric Patterson looked really solid for the A’s last season and he will likely be Ellis’ backup in 2010. He played in 39 games for the A’s last season and he was 27 for 94 (.287 avg, .767 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Patterson has all of the ability to keep hitting like he did last season as long as he remains focused at the job on hand. He made 1 error in only 5 games at 2B for the A’s last season but he showed good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: B-

The A’s have designated 25-year old SS/2B Gregorio Petit for assignment. He played in 11 games for the A’s last season and he was 7 for 31 (.226 avg, .484 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Petit has played in 25 games in his career with the A’s and he is 15 for 54 (.278 avg, .637 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 1 RBI. The A’s won’t miss Petit too much as they are in good shape in the infield.

The A’s have claimed 26-year old righty swinging infielder Steve Tolleson on waivers from the Twins. He played in 130 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 134 for 503 (.266 avg, .720 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 8 homers, 40 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Tolleson has now played in 500 games in his minor league career and he is 505 for 1,827 (.276 avg, .768 OPS) with 288 runs scored, 33 homers, 183 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. He can play pretty much anywhere in the infield so he might have a decent chance of winning a bench role for the A’s in 2010.

The A’s have designated 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Dana Eveland for assignment. He pitched in 13 games (9 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 2-4 with a 7.16 ERA and a 2.18 WHIP. Eveland pitched in 42 games (38 starts) for the A’s in his two years there and he is 11-13 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. This is no loss for the A’s as Eveland’s best asset is that he is left-handed but he is not a good pitcher.

UPDATE: The A’s have traded Eveland to the Blue Jays for either cash or a player to be named later.

The A’s have traded 33-year old switch-hitting infielder Aaron Miles and either a player to be named later or cash to the Reds for 26-year old righty swinging 3B Adam Rosales and 28-year old righty swinging outfieler Willy Taveras. Miles was acquired from the Cubs earlier this off-season so he is no loss to the team. Rosales was the key to this deal for the A’s. He played in 87 games for the Reds last season and he was 49 for 230 (.213 avg, .620 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers and 19 RBIs. Rosales has now played in 105 games in his major league career and he is 55 for 259 (.212 avg, .605 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Willy Taveras played in 102 games for the Reds last season and he was 97 for 404 (.240 avg, .559 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 1 homer, 15 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Taveras has now played in 643 games in his major league career and he is 655 for 2,377 (.276 avg, .649 OPS) with 351 runs scored, 18 homers, 124 RBIs and 194 stolen bases. The A’s then designated Taveras for assignment to make room on the roster for Gabe Gross. They are hoping to find a trade partner for Taveras.

UPDATE: The A’s have released Taveras.