A's decline Drew's option, pick up Balfour's

No, it's not because the O.co raging will continue for another season. That was probably the most snore-worthy news of the offseason. But this, however, will make things interesting:

Oakland Athletics ‏@Athletics

#Athletics exercise option on Grant Balfour for 2013; decline option on Stephen Drew.

Surely, this could indicate the A's are in the midst of a multi-year deal with Drew to bring him back to Oakland. However, given the dearth of free agent SS on the market, you'd have to think the A's will have serious competition for that. In addition, Beane is not known to overpay someone despite a need.

Options could include:

Going with internal options: Could the A's decide to basically punt defense and throw Grant Green out there for a year? What about doing the same (but punting offense) with Adam Rosales? That's assuming Green can even handle MLB pitching.

Trading for Yunel Escobar, Elvis Andrus, or Jimmy Rollins. The former two would require giving up prospects; however, the latter might only require the A's taking on half of his contract. He's 33, but still relatively valuable and the A's have indicated they might raise payroll.

Option C: something totally unexpected.

Discuss! Argue! Throw spaghetti at the wall! That's what Hot Stove season is for!