The Oakland Athletics

The Athletics finished with a record of 74-88, but that is bound to go down for the 2012 season. Billy Bean is up to something in Oakland, we just can't figure it out yet.

Over the 2011-2012 off season The Athletics traded Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, and Andrew Bailey. In return they received a total of 16 prospects and players. All three of these pitchers are young and have a lot of potential. The Athletics have begun rebuilding.

The Athletics did sign Cuban outfield prospect Yoennis Cespedes. Cespedes was playing in Cuba which is similar to a high AA league. In 2011 in that league he had a .424 on base percentage, 33 home runs, 99 RBI's and a .667 SLG in just under 500 plate appearances. He is ready for the MLB, scouts say, but who knows why he decided to sign with the Athletics when he had offers from The Marlins.

Another thing that The Athletics did was sign right handed starter Bartolo Colon. For the Yankees in 2011 Colon pitched to a 4.00 ERA over 164 innings. He is 38 years old and not getting any better. I think the Athletics signed him to just fill up the rotation.

The Athletics also signed Coco Crisp, but he wont make a big impact on the team. He is a center fielder and a lead off hitter. In 2011 he had a .314 on base percentage, making him a pretty bad lead off hitter. The 49 stolen bases mean nothing if he cant get on base. I would move Crisp to left and put Cespedes in center, but Coco wants to play center and he made that clear.

The Athletics are projected to finish in last place in 2012. The Athletics are trying to make a move to San Jose. That means a better stadium and maybe a bigger fan base.