Feb 24, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Adrian Cardenas (6) poses for a picture during photo day at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Say goodbye to Adrian Cardenas, A’s fans. The Chicago Cubs reportedly claimed infielder Adrian Cardenas on Monday and designated Blake DeWitt for assignment to make room for Cardenas on the 40-man roster. Cardenas, 24, appeared in 124 games last year with the Sacramento River Cats, putting together a .314/.374/.418 with five home runs and 51 RBIs.

The former Oakland infielder prospect was acquired in the trade that sent pitcher Joe Blanton to the Philadelphia Phillies, but Cardenas never found himself at “home” with the A’s. Cardenas didn’t fit in at third base, a position of weakness for Oakland, and didn’t have much of a future anywhere else in the rest of the infield.

He split his playing time last year between left field, third, short stop, and second base. The A’s definitely kept Cardenas moving around last year, but never quite found a spot for him where he truly excelled in. Billy Beane’s brain-trust wanted to keep Cardenas, but even if they had kept him, where would the A’s have put Cardenas in 2012?

He certainly wouldn’t have fit in the crowded outfield and he certainly would have found himself playing second fiddle to breakout star Jemile Weeks. Somebody had to go, after all, in order to make room for Jonny Gomes. (more…)

Feb 24, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Adrian Cardenas (6) poses for a picture during photo day at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

The A’s designated Adrian Cardenas for assignment on Thursday after the team signed free agent outfielder Jonny Gomes. Cardenas, 24, appeared in 127 games last year with Oakland’s Triple-A team the Sacramento River Cats. In 545 at-bats, Cardenas hit .314/.374/.418 with five home runs and 51 RBIs.

The decision to designate Cardenas for assignment seems to make sense on the surface. The A’s had him playing all over the place last season, with Cardenas splitting time between left field, short stop, third base, and second base. It is obvious, to anyone following the organization, that the A’s just didn’t have a clear idea as to where Cardenas “fit” in at.

Cardenas has spent his entire career in the minor leagues, but a team other than the A’s could give Cardenas a chance. He doesn’t bring a whole lot of power to the table and power is something you would expect from your everyday third-baseman. Then again, Cardenas, at this point anyway, is more of a utility guy more than anything. (more…)

With the 2011 MLB regular season finally in the books, the Oakland Athletics can finally move on and begin preparing for the 2012 season. The A’s, considered contenders for the AL West crown before the season, never found their groove and failed to meet those lofty expectations that surrounded them during spring training.

Inconsistencies both on offense and defense killed Oakland this year, as they were never able to strike a balance between solid pitching and solid hitting. The offseason additions, with the exception of Josh Willingham, proved rather ineffective, and wasted Oakland’s offseason efforts. General manager Billy Beane, who entered the offseason with the goal of revamping the offseason, tried aggressively to improve his club, but as Oakland’s third-place finish this season seems to suggest, his efforts were all for naught.

In reviewing what went wrong for Oakland this season, it’s probably best to start with the A’s offensive woes in ’11. Oakland added key veteran players like Willingham, Hideki Matsui, and David DeJesus prior to the start of the season, and had hoped for a better offensive showing this year.  In 2010, Oakland finished 81-81, giving hope to many fans that 2011 would be a big turnaround, especially given the additions of Matsui and Co.

In fact, Oakland’s offense actually underperformed this year compared to last year. The A’s scored a total of 663 runs last season, but managed to score just 645 this year despite having Matsui, Willingham, and DeJesus on the team. Oakland pretty much underperformed in every major offensive category this year, posting a team .244/.311/.369 slash line with just 114 home runs (24th in MLB).  (more…)