Outta Here! The A's traded speedy OF Rajai Davis on Wednesday to the Toronto Blue Jays. (Photo Courtesy of yardbarker.com)

A’s fans, say good bye to speedster Rajai Davis. The A’s official website reported that the Athletics traded away the speedy outfielder who stole 50 bases this season. The A’s traded Davis to the Blue Jays in exchange for two minor league pitchers, Trystan Magnuson and Daniel Farquhar.

The moves comes shortly after the A’s acquired OF David DeJesus from the Kansas City Royals. DeJesus made the A’s already crowded outfield even more crowded. It only makes sense that the A’s got rid of an extra outfielder. Davis, 30, was obviously not in the A’s plans for the future. Davis’ played solid this year, and finished the season with a .284/.320/.377 line with five home runs and 52 RBIs in 143 games this year with Oakland.

Davis and fellow speedy OF Coco Crisp were to be a threat atop the A’s lineup, but an injury to Crisp early in the season ruined that speedy combination for most of the first half. The A’s stole 153 bases this year as a team, and Davis and Crisp accounted for 82 of them. Davis, who arrived in 2008, is the odd-man out in an A’s outfield that is set to include DeJesus, Crisp, Ryan Sweeney, Chris Carter and Connor Jackson, who is a non-tender candidate.

Magnuson, 25, came out of the 2007 First-Year Player draft, and has a career record of 8-10 and a 3.53 ERA in three minor league seasons. Farquhar, 23, posted a 4-3 record and recorded 17 saves this year in Double-A. The A’s, who are already a pitching-rich team heading into 2011, get even more pitching from this deal. For more on this deal, check out the A’s official site by clicking here.

The A's expect to have Anderson and Braden back soon (Photo: Courtesy of Yardbarker.com)

The Oakland Athletics may be in third-place in the American League West, but that does not mean that the team has given up on this season. Far from it, actually. In the aftermath of the Cliff Lee to Texas deal, the A’s players did not seem bothered by it.

The A’s are currently 9.5 games out of first, and while the Rangers have added a proven ace to their rotation, the A’s feel that they’ve got the talent to compete in the second half of the season. The A’s have been without both Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden, but figure to have both of them back sometime after the All-Star break.

Getting Anderson back helps tremendously, and having Braden healthy is crucial as well. The A’s success in the second half will be contingent upon whether or not the team can manage to stay healthy. Anderson, who signed a four-year extension in April this year, has made only six starts this season. Anderson has been on the DL twice this season, and while that’s not an encouraging sight, the A’s should be estatic once he rejoins the rotation.

Braden, who threw the MLB’s 19th perfect-game, has been dealing with some elbow tendinitis, but reports of his rehab have been relatively good. Having lost Justin Duchscherer for the season, the A’s will have to keep their pitchers healthy for the remainder of the season. If Braden does not feel up-to-par soon, the A’s could have another pitcher who misses the rest of the season. Tendinitis is very tricky, and bothersome, so the A’s will have to monitor Braden’s situation closely.

In other news, A’s DH/IF Eric Chavez (neck/back) is eligible to come off the DL on July 21, but according the SF Chronicle, Chavez may be out until September. The long-time A’s player has been out with two bulging disks in his neck, and as a result placed on the 15-day DL. Recently, the A’s transferred Chavez to the 60-day DL. Chavez is in the last year of the six-year contract he signed back in 2004.

Connor Jackson, who was acquired in a trade with Arizona, is also making his way back from injury. The A’s definitely could use Jackson, who was hitting pretty well since arriving in Oakland.

Travis Buck, who has been dealing with various injuries over the past few seasons, was recently placed on the 60-day DL. Buck, who was on the Opening Day roster this season, has not played in a full season since

2007.

Jackson, who was acquired in a trade with the Diamondbacks, was batting .267 with four RBIs in 14 games with the A’s. According to the A’s official site, this is the fourth stint on the DL for Jackson over the past three seasons. The A’s as a team have used the disabled list 17 times this year, and 81 times since the 2007 season. Yes, 81 times.

Upon placing Jackson on the DL, the A’s recalled OF Matt Carson and selected fellow OF Matt Watson, from Triple-A Sacramento. The A’s then optioned pitcher Clayton Mortensen to Sacramento. The A’s transferred OF Travis Buck to the 60-day DL, which is definitely not good news, in order to make room for Watson.

The injuries continue to pile up for Oakland, and if the team is to make a comeback in an increasingly competitive AL West, the team will need to stay healthy. For more on the A’s recent transactions, you can head to the A’s official site. Below is an excerpt from the article:

Carson joins Oakland for the third time this year and is hitting .111 (1-for-9) with a home run and an RBI in four games with Oakland. He was previously with the club from April 22-29 and June 8-14. Carson was batting .301 with nine home runs and 29 RBIs in 51 games with Sacramento, including .314 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 18 games following his option on June 15. Carson appeared in 49 games in center field, four in left field and one in right field with the River Cats.

Watson was signed by the A’s as a free agent to a Minor League contract on May 28 and was hitting .313 with nine doubles, eight home runs and 23 RBIs in 28 games for Sacramento. Watson, 31, last played in the Majors in 2005 when he hit .188 with five RBIs in 19 games with Oakland. He also batted .174 in 15 games with the Mets in 2003 and is a .183 (13-for-71) career hitter with no home runs and seven RBIs in 34 big league games.

The A’s will have two series at home coming up: Yankees, and then the Angels come to town.