The A’s have placed starting catcher Kurt Suzuki on the 15-day disabled list with a strained intercostal muscle. He has played in 17 games this season for the A’s in which he is 15 of 59 (.254 avg, .852 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 4 homers and 11 RBIs. The A’s will miss Suzuki’s overall game as he is a good hitter & defender. The A’s have called up 24-year old righty swinging catcher Josh Donaldson to replace Suzuki on the roster. Donaldson was the A’s #14 ranked prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has played in 18 games in AAA-ball this season in which he was 18 of 67 (.269 avg, .842 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 19 RBIs. Donaldson has now played in 305 games in his four years in the minors and he is 312 of 1,118 (.279 avg, .831 OPS) with 180 runs scored, 37 homers and 207 RBIs. The A’s will likely have a time share behind the plate with Suzuki out of action with Donaldson, Landon Powell and Jake Fox all getting some P.T. I think Donaldson will get a lot of work though as he is a highly thought of prospect.

The Oakland A’s have placed 22-year old lefty starting pitcher Brett Anderson on the 15-day disabled list with a left forearm strain. Anderson has started 4 games this season for the Athletics and he is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has whiffed 17 batters while only walking 4 in 23 innings pitched so far this year showing just how well he was pitching. Anderson was looking to build on his solid rookie year of 2009 in which he started 30 games and was 11-11 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The A’s hope that Anderson heals soon because he is fast becoming the ace of the starting rotation.

25-year old lefty swinging RF Ryan Sweeney and 24-year old lefty swinging 1B Daric Barton are both off to fast starts this season. Sweeney has played in 19 games for the A’s this season and he is 22 of 72 (.306 avg, .742 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 doubles and 11 RBIs. Sweeney doesn’t have a homer yet at RF is traditionally a power position but as long as he keeps hitting .300 and playing good defense he will be a asset to the A’s. Daric Barton is also off to a good start this season without showing much power. Barton has played in 20 games for the A’s this year and he is 20 for 61 (.328 avg, .914 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 6 doubles and 7 RBIs. Between them Barton & Sweeney have walked 29 times while only whiffing 18 times so they are showing great plate discipline so far this season. The A’s are going to need Barton & Sweeney to keep up the good work if they are going to contend in the A.L. West this season.

The A’s have placed outfielder Travis Buck on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. He has played in 11 games for the A’s this season and he is 7 for 32 (.219 avg, .699 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The A’s have recalled 28-year old righty swinging Matt Carson to replace Buck on the roster. Carson has played in 14 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 20 for 56 (.357 avg, .864 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see what Carson does this time around for the A’s. He played in 10 games for the A’s in his first taste of the majors last season in which he was 6 for 21 (.286 avg, .702 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs.

The A’s have designated 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Jai Miller for assignment. Miller played in 10 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 4 for 34 (.118 avg, .307 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 RBI and 3 stolen bases. Miller was clearly overmatched in AAA as he whiffed 19 times this season which caused the A’s to give up on him. The A’s didn’t give up anything to take a chance on Miller so they won’t lose any sleep watching him leave for nothing. The A’s needed Miller’s roster spot for outfielder Matt Carson who was brought up from AAA to replace Travis Buck who was placed on the D.L. today.

UPDATE: (4/26/2010) - The Royals have claimed Jai Miller off waivers.