The Oakland A’s felt that getting 28-year old righty swinging 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff out of Petco Park would guarantee them 25-30 homers in 2010. They look to be dead wrong so far this season. Kouzmanoff has played in 75 games for the A’s so far this season and he is 84 of 295 (.285 avg, .731 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 8 homers and 39 RBIs. Kouzmanoff is second on the A’s in homers (Suzuki has 10) and he’s leading the team in RBIs…..but it just hasn’t been enough. They need him to muscle up now!

The Oakland A’s have acquired 28-year old righty swinging catcher Jared Price from the White Sox for likely a bucket of baseballs. Price has played in 35 games in AA-ball this year and he is 20 of 102 (.196 avg, .591 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 5 RBIs. He isn’t a Billy Beane type of player though as he has whiffed 39 times this year while walking 9 times. Price has now played in 545 games in his 11 years in the minors and he is 353 of 1,731 (.204 avg, .656 OPS) with 219 runs scored, 67 homers and 207 RBIs. He has whiffed an amazing 617 times in his minor league career. The A’s probably wanted Price because he’s a good defensive catcher and he will work with the talented pitchers they have in the minors.

UPDATE: (6/28/2010) - The A’s have sent 25-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Michael Richard to the White Sox to complete this trade. Richard played in 42 games in A+AA-ball this season and he was 26 of 125 (.208 avg, .533 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The A’s shouldn’t miss Richard too much.

24-year old lefty starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez is really pitching well this season. He has pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the A’s this year and he is 6-5 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Gonzalez is more of a pitcher this season and less of a thrower. He has only allowed 78 hits in 90 1/3 innings this season for the A’s. Gonzalez has walked 40 batters (which is way too many) but he has also whiffed 77 this season. In his previous two years with the A’s, Gonzalez pitched in 30 games (24 starts) in which he was 7-11 with a 6.24 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. He did whiff 143 batters in 132 2/3 innings in his first two years with the A’s but that was when he was a thrower instead of a pitcher like he is right now.

The A’s have designated 27-year old lefty swinging 2B/OF Eric Patterson for assignment. Patterson played in 45 games for the A’s this year and he was 21 of 103 (.204 avg, .662 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers, 9 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has played in 114 games in his three years with the A’s in which he is 64 of 289 (.221 avg, .638 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 5 homers, 28 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The A’s DFA’d Patterson to make room on the roster for Coco Crisp who has come off the D.L. Crisp was 1 for 4 with a run scored, homer and 2 RBIs last season in the 4-2 loss to the Reds. Crisp has played in 3 games for the A’s this season and he is 3 for 10 (.300 avg, .950 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 5 RBIs. The A’s hope Crisp can stay healthy this time around.

UPDATE: (6/27/2010) - The A’s have traded Eric Patterson to the Boston Red Sox for 21-year old lefty starter Fabian Williamson. Williamson has pitched in 14 games (all starts) in A-ball this season and he is 4-3 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 68 games (50 starts) in his four years in the minors and he is 24-13 with 5 saves, a 3.17 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This was a pretty good return for Patterson as talented lefty pitchers are hard to come by.

The Oakland A’s have traded 27-year old righty swinging C/1B/3B/OF Jake Fox to the Orioles for 27-year old righty reliever Ross Wolf. Fox played in 39 games for the A’s this year and he was 21 of 98 (.214 avg, .591 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. Wolf has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 0-2 with a 2.11 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He appeared in 2007 for the Marlins pitching in 14 games (0 starts) in which he was 0-1 with a 11.68 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP. The A’s might give Wolf a chance to help out in the pen if he keeps pitching well in the minors.