The A’s have signed 26-year old lefty reliever Fabio Castro to a minor league deal. Castro pitched in 24 games (12 starts) in AAA-ball for the Mariners last year and he was 5-4 with 1 save, a 3.63 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors back in 2007 with the Phillies. He has now pitched in 30 games (1 start) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 3.30 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Castro will get a shot to win a job in the A’s pen this spring.

The A’s have signed 30-year old righty reliever Merkin Valdez to a minor league deal. Valdez pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. He also pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 5-2 with 8 saves, a 3.29 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Valdez has now pitched in 74 games (1 start) in his first five years in the majors and he is 3-1 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. Valdez will be a longshot to win a job in the A’s bullpen this spring.

The A’s have signed 27-year old righty reliever Travis Schlichting to a minor league deal. He pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 5-3 with 4 saves, a 7.10 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Schlichting last pitched in the majors back in 2010 with the Dodgers. He has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 1-0 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Schlichting will be a longshot to win a job in the A’s pen this spring.

The A’s have re-signed 32-year old switch-hitting CF Coco Crisp to a 2-year, $14 million dollar deal with a club option for 2014. Crisp played in 136 games for the A’s last year and he was 140 of 531 (.264 avg, .693 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 8 homers, 54 RBIs and a league leading 49 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,043 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 1,081 of 3,927 (.275 avg, .735 OPS) with 583 runs scored, 75 homers, 419 RBIs and 218 stolen bases. This was a good, yet surprising move by the A’s…..who have been dumping salary until this point.