It was a mild surprise to see the A’s bring back 31-year old lefty swinging Jack Cust again to DH in 2010. Cust played in 149 games for the A’s last season and he was 123 for 513 (.240 avg, .773 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 25 homers and 70 RBIs. In his three years with the A’s, Cust has averaged 75.3 runs scored, 28.0 homers, 76.3 RBIs, 103 walks and 182 whiffs. Cust is a streak hitter who has a lot of power when he’s going good but he also has long stretches when he looks hopeless at the dish. Jake Fox could also get some ABs at DH this season for the A’s.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: C

The A’s have restocked at 3B for the 2010 season. 28-year old righty swinging Kevin Kouzmanoff has been brought in to start in 2010. He played in 141 games for the Padres last season and he was 135 for 529 (.255 avg, .722 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 18 homers and 88 RBIs. Look for Kouzmanoff’s power numbers to improve with him not playing 81 games at Petco park in 2010. Kouzmanoff only made 3 errors in 139 games at 3B while showing poor range. At least Kouzmanoff doesn’t screw up when he gets to the ball.

32-year old lefty swinging Eric Chavez is trying to hold on for the A’s. He only played in 8 games for the A’s last season and he was 3 for 30 (.100 avg, .262 OPS) with 1 RBI. It’s sad to see Chavez’ career winding down like this as he used to be one of the best 3B in all of baseball not that long ago. Chavez didn’t make any errors in 8 games at 3B with the A’s last season while showing average range.

26-year old righty swinging Adam Rosales is going to compete with Chavez for a roster spot this spring. Rosales 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. He also played in 30 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 38 for 109 (.349 avg, 1.004 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 5 homers, 20 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Rosales made 7 errors in 57 games at 3B for the Reds last season while showing slightly below average range.

27-year old righty swinging Jake Fox will likely play more at 1B in 2010 but he also can play at the hot corner. Fox played in 27 games at 3B for the Cubs last season and he made 2 errors there while showing awful range.

29-year old lefty swinging Dallas McPherson is also in camp on a minor league deal. He did not play last season. McPherson played in 127 games in AAA-ball in 2008 and he was 123 for 448 (.275 avg, .998 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 42 homers, 98 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He will likely start the season in AAA but he could get a call from the A’s at some point in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: B

25-year old switch hitting Cliff Pennington will be the starting shortstop for the A’s in 2010. Pennington played in 60 games for the A’s last season and he was 58 for 208 (.279 avg, .760 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The A’s are hoping that Pennington is another version of Mark Ellis with more speed. Pennington made 8 errors in 60 games at SS last season for the A’s while showing good range.

32-year old lefty swinging Eric Chavez and 26-year old righty swinging Adam Rosales will compete this spring for the right to backup Pennington at SS in 2010. Chavez didn’t play any shortstop last season for the A’s but they are confident that he can handle the job if healthy. Rosales played in 6 games for the Reds at SS last season without making an error and showing average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: C-

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 Oakland A’s will let 24-year old lefty swinging Daric Barton and 27-year old righty swinging Jake Fox duke it out for the starting job this spring. They could also wind up in a platoon if neither one takes the bull by the horns in spring training. Barton played in 54 games for the A’s last season and he was 43 for 160 (.269 avg, .785 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. He doesn’t really have the power to handle 1B on a full time basis in my opinion. He is a solid defenisve player at 1B as he only made 1 error in 51 games there last year. His glove is his best edge over Fox.

Jake Fox played in 82 games for the Cubs last season and he was 56 for 216 (.259 avg, .779 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 11 homers and 44 RBIs. Fox has more power than Daric Barton and that is his best asset that weighs in his favor in this competition. Fox made 2 errors in only 7 games at 1B last season so he will have to take a ton of grounders this spring. I have a feeling that I think they are going to platoon.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: D+