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Oakland Athletics

2012 – Finished first in AL West

Record: 94-68

The A’s had a fabulous late-season run last year that led to a division crown, something nobody expected with the reigning champion Texas Rangers and stacked LA Angels providing the competition. Oakland had a losing record in April and May and in June the team finished barely above .500. But then it started, that infamous run as July came round and the A’s earned a 57-26 record.

It’s hard to predict an entire season, but just as the Orioles are highly unlikely to repeat their one-run genius feat of 2012, the A’s have their work cut out if they are to come close to matching last season.

One thing on their side this season is their opening week. The A’s face the Mariners four times to open the season and they also play the Houston Astros six times. April may just treat the A’s well this year.

Oakland were certainly the biggest surprise in the majors in 2012. So-called experts had them far lower than they eventually finished, but not even the most biased Oakland fan would have predicted a division title. Looking ahead to this year, there is optimism everywhere with the majority of the team returning and key new additions giving Oakland an edge once again. Last spring some were saying 100 losses wasn’t unrealistic, but now there is plenty to be excited about. They have a potential MVP candidate in Yoenis Cespedes and gold glove slugger Josh Reddick in their ranks and solid pitching including Brett Anderson, Jarrod Parker and All-Star reliever Ryan Cook.

INCOMINGS

P Chris Resop, Andrew Werner, Hideki Okajima

C John Jaso

SS Hiroyuki Nakajima, Jed Lowrie

OF Chris Young

OUTGOINGS

P Brandon McCarthy

C George Kottaras

SS Cliff Pennington, Stephen Drew

IF Brandon Inge, Chris Carter

DH Jonny Gomes

Outfielders

Oakland’s outfield is very strong – they have a gold glover (Reddick), a potential MVP with genuine power (Cespedes) and a centrefielder with as much experience as anyone. Coco Crisp is that man, a guy who plays solid defence and has played on a championship team. Somehow Crisp hit 11 home runs in 2012, while driving in a solid 46 runs. His on-base percentage of .325 needs to improve because he will atop the lineup for a playoff contender. Cespedes spent little more than a week at AAA before coming into the majors and his line is very good –  23 home runs, 82 RBIs, 70 runs and a .292 average. You figure with more games – he played 129 last year but will be up towards 160 if healthy in 2013 – those numbers will surely improve.

Reddick mans rightfield after a gold glove season in 2012; The left-hander hit 32 home runs last season while driving in 85 runs. If there is a flaw in his game it’s getting on base. He batted just .244 last season with his OBP sat at just .300. Chris Young, who comes over from the Diamondbacks, will provide backup in the outfield. To sum up, with Cespedes in the lineup Oakland went 82-47 but without him they went just 12-21.

Infielders

Brandon Moss is the first baseman for Oakland and after a breakout year in 2012, the question will be whether the 30-year-old can repeat it again this season. Were his 21 home runs and 52 RBIs a fluke last season? Well, maybe, because his previous numbers near that are all in the minor leagues. He will have to prove he is worth it again having played just 84 games in 2012. Nakajima will be the everyday shortstop in Oakland having been brought in via trade this offseason. The Japan native drove in 100 runs two years ago, and last year hit 13 home runs and drove in 74. He has never played in the major leagues and is about to man the main position in this team, but it isn’t as if he is filling big shoes; last season, Oakland got a .203/.272/.313 slash line at short. Second base will be battled out by Jemile Weeks and Adam Rosales. Weeks has good speed and if he steps up his hitting he’ll get the job. Third will be fought out between Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie. The latter is far more talented and if he can stay healthy he should play more.

Catchers

The backstop duties will be split between John Jaso and Derek Norris. Both are only average defensive catchers. Jaso played for Seattle last year, batting .276 with ten home runs and 50 RBIs in 108 games, while Norris played in 60 games, batting .201 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs.

Starters

Oakland’s starters gave up just 102 home runs last season, the sixth fewest in the majors. Brett Anderson will be atop the rotation and will be hoping to finally give Oakland a season full of quality starts. Anderson returned from Tommy John surgery last summer and at 25 hasn’t thrown more than 114 innings since his rookie year of 2009. Bartolo Colon has received a warm welcome back at spring training after his suspension in August for using performance-enhancing drugs, and though he will miss the first five games of the year because of his suspension, if Colon can repeat his stellar season of 2012 – he allowed just 23 walks in 152.1 innings – Oakland will have a solid front two.  Tom Milone and Jarrod Parker – both rookies last year- were Oakland’s best pitchers in 2012, picking up 13 wins each. The fifth spot is up for grabs with the most likely two fighting it out A.J. Griffin and Dan Straily. Griffin went 7-1 after his call up, serving as a catalyst to Oakland’s second-half surge.

Relievers

The bullpen was Oakland’s strength in 2012. GM Billy Beane and manager Bob Melvin inserted converted position player Sean Doolittle in the bullpen, made rookie Ryan Cook the closer and put veteran Grant Balfour in the set-up role. The A’s bullpen ERA was .2.94 last year, the fourth best in baseball.