The A’s have claimed 27-year old righty reliever Rich Thompson off waivers from the division rival Angels. Thompson pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Angels earlier this year and he was 0-1 with a 15.43 ERA and a 2.57 WHIP. He has now pitched in 81 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 3-4 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The A’s hope Thompson can help them out a little bit in middle relief in 2012.

UPDATE: (4/25/2012) - The A’s have designated Rich Thompson for assignment. He pitched in 1 game for the A’s, working 2/3 of a scoreless inning while allowing 1 hit.

UPDATE: (4/28/2012) - The A’s have outrighted Rich Thompson to AAA.

The A’s have designated 26-year old lefty swinging 1B Brandon Allen for assignment to make room on the active roster for 1B Daric Barton, who has been activated off the D.L. Allen played in 3 games for the A’s this year and he was 0 for 7 (.000 avg, .000 OPS) with 5 strikeouts. Allen has now played in 44 games in his first two years with the A’s and he is 30 for 153 (.196 avg, .588 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers, 11 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Allen has whiffed a stunning 60 times while walking only 11 times, which is one of the biggest reasons that the A’s are essentially giving up on him.

UPDATE: (4/18/2012) - The A’s have lost Brandon Allen on waivers to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The A’s have placed 26-year old lefty swinging 1B Daric Barton on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 24th, due to a right shoulder injury. Barton played in 67 games for the A’s last year and he was 50 for 236 (.212 avg, .592 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 0 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 438 games in his first five years with the A’s and he is 371 of 1,470 (.252 avg, .740 OPS) with 212 runs scored, 26 homers, 157 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Brandon Allen and Kila Ki’aihue will likely replace Barton at 1B until he’s ready to return to action.

The A’s have claimed 26-year old righty swinging infielder Brandon Hicks off waivers from the Braves. Hicks played in 17 games for the Braves last year and he was 1 for 21 (.048 avg, .139 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 104 games in AAA-ball last year in which he was 91 of 361 (.252 avg, .779 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 18 homers, 50 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hicks has now played in 33 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 1 for 26 (.038 avg, .146 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 1 RBI. Hicks’ best defensive position is shortstop, but he can also handle 2B or 3B.

The Oakland A’s have signed 39-year old righty swinging DH/OF Manny Ramirez to a minor league deal. Ramirez played in 5 games for the Tampa Bay Rays last year and he was 1 for 17 (.059 avg, .118 OPS) with 1 RBI before retiring due to a failed drug test for PEDs. Ramirez will have to sit out the A’s first fifty games due to his suspension for the failed drug test. Ramirez has now played in 2,302 games in his first 19 years in the majors and he is 2,574 for 8,244 (.312 avg, .996 OPS) with 1,544 runs scored, 555 homers, 1,831 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. Ramirez will likely be a part time DH when he returns to action likely in June.