July 24, 2011; Bronx, NY, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Joey Devine (33) pitches during the eighth inning against the against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees defeated the A

Last night, the Athletics revealed that their right-handed reliever Joey Devine will undergo surgery on his right elbow. The surgery, which is yet another setback for the reliever, will be performed today by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. according to the associated press.

Devine, 28, underwent Tommy John Surgery back in 2009. Since the surgery Devine has had some trouble finding his way back to Oakland’s bullpen. The A’s would love to have Devine healthy and ready to go, but the team knows that injuries are part of the game.

In 2008, Devine went 6-1 with a 0.59 ERA in 42 appearances for the Athletics. After his impressive start with the Athletics, Devine’s career hit a few roadblocks. The biggest one, though, came in 2009 when the right-hander had Tommy John Surgery.

He made a brief comeback with the A’s last season, going 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 26 appearances. This year, though, has been a frustrating one for Devine, who has not yet made an appearance with the A’s.

Tuesday’s surgery could potentially cost Devine all of 2012, but more details involving the procedure will not be known until later today.

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July 20, 2011; Detroit, MI, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Grant Balfour (50) pitches during the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

While questions still remain about their first base and third base situations, the Oakland A’s have seemingly addressed one crucial position this spring: the closer’s role. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s have named Grant Balfour their closer and Brian Fuentes, the runner-up to Balfour in the closer race, as the team’s set-up guy. Both Balfour and Fuentes made their Oakland debuts last season, but Balfour performed exceedingly better than Fuentes in Oakland’s bullpen.

Fuentes may have several All-Star appearances and a total of 199 saves to his name, but the A’s are still going with Balfour this season. Fuentes didn’t enjoy much success in his first year in green-and-gold, but Balfour did. Fuentes posted a 3.70 ERA (4.16 FIP) in 58.1 innings of work last year. Opponents hit .237 off Fuentes, while Balfour held his opponents to a .199 batting clip.

Moreover, Balfour put up solid numbers last year in Oakland’s bullpen. The former Tampa Bay Ray, Balfour went 5-2 with a 2.47 ERA (3.77 FIP) in 62.0 innings of work. He recorded a 8.59 SO/9 rate compared to Fuentes’ 6.48 SO/9 rate last year, too. He was a bit lucky, though, as he stranded 89% of his runners and posted a .232 BABIP.

Still, the A’s are making the right decision by naming Balfour the team’s closer this year. By Moving Fuentes to the set-up role, as Ben Duronio of RotoGraphs.com suggests, the A’s are essentially making Fuentes a more valuable member of their bullpen. He’ll be more of a situational pitcher now that Balfour is assuming the closer’s role.

Overall, the Athletics will probably roll out with a bullpen that includes the likes of Balfour, Fuentes, Fautino De Los Santos, Jerry Blevins, Andrew Carignan, Ryan Cook, and Jordan Norberto. The A’s also have pitchers Travis Schlichting and Evan Scribner included in the bullpen plans for the Opening Series in Japan.

Having pitched in the highly competitive AL East for a few years, Balfour should find the role of closer pretty easy to handle. In the meantime, Fuentes will just have to wait until he gets another shot at closing out games for the A’s.

What do you think? Should the A’s have named Fuentes their closer or are you happy with the Balfour decision? Sound off below in the comments!

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Follow me on twitter @oaklandace75 and for more A’s related analysis, stories, and opinions, follow us on twitter @FS_SwinginAs or like us on Facebook.

Could Brian Fuentes Be Oakland's Closer in 2012? (Photo Credit: AP)

Every Friday, Swingin’ A’s will make a prediction about the A’s 2012 season with the help of our “crystal ball.” The series, appropriately titled “Crystal Ball Fridays,” will continue through the week before Opening Night. Enjoy. 

With Andrew Bailey now sporting a Boston Red Sox jersey, the A’s will need someone to fill their empty closer role. Oakland’s bullpen offers a few options for Bailey’s old spot, but who will be Oakland’s closer in 2012?

Oh Crystal Ball, please tell us who’ll be closing games this year for our beloved green-and-gold…

Well, the A’s 2012 season figures to be a wash so there will be plenty of time to figure certain things out like who’ll be the team’s new closer. Several names come to mind right off the bat including Brian Fuentes, Grant Balfour, and Joey Devine.

Fuentes, 36, is a potential successor to Bailey this year. He did, after all, start out last season as the team’s closer after Bailey sustained an injury during spring training. Fuentes struggled, though, under the watch of skipper Bob Geren during the first half of the season. He went 1-8 with a 4.82 ERA in 37.1 innings before the All-Star break.

Fuentes did, however, straighten things out during the second half. He went 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA in 21.0 innings after the break last season. Overall, Fuentes put together a so-so 2011 campaign, going 2-8 with a 3.70 ERA and 12 saves in 67 games. In addition to these numbers, Fuentes also posted a 4.16 FIP and a 0.1 WAR last season.  (more…)