The Spring Cleaning continues. From the A's Twitter:
#Athletics select Brandon Moss and Evan Scribner from Triple-A Sacramento. Moss has 15 home runs, which is tied for second in the PCL
#Athletics place Andrew Carignan on the disabled list; designate Kila Ka'aihue for assignment.
Well, that was unexpected. Brandon Moss is sort of like this year's Jai Miller. He's the guy in his mid-to-late 20's (28, to be exact), who is lighting up AAA, but whose numbers you don't want to read too much into because he's so old for his league. The difference this time is that Moss isn't striking out 1.2 times for each plate appearance like Miller was (don't try to make that math work, just go with it). Follow after the jump to read about the incoming and outgoing players.
***Outgoing***
Andrew Carignan: I'll just let Jane Lee tell you about this one:
Cairgnan goes to 15-day DL with sprained UCL in elbow.
Simple as that. A UCL sprain is one step away from a UCL tear, which is what Tommy John Surgery is for. I'm not a doctor, I'm just saying. When I play word association and I hear the acronym "UCL," my answer will be "Tommy John" every time. For now, though, Carignan is just dealing with a sprain.
Kila Ka'aihue: I don't think anyone saw this one coming, least of all Kila himself. Susan Slusser:
Ka'aihue declines comment as he leaves Coliseum. He gets designated just before wife due to have twins.
#Athletics
Ouch. I'd been happy with Kila's play, but only because I was intentionally ignoring the numbers. The fact is, he had a .295 OBP, 3 strikeouts for every walk, and just wasn't making enough good contact. As with most A's 1st base projects, I wish that Kila had gotten a longer run - he only got 139 PA's, and they weren't really all in a row. He was constantly alternating with Daric Barton, and then missed a bit of time with a minor leg injury just as he was getting hot last month. He had only been named the everyday starting 1st baseman last weekend, and had already homered since then. I really hope that he clears waivers and stays in the organization, though it's hard to see where his at-bats would come from with Barton and Chris Carter stationed in Sacramento already. More likely, he'll be claimed by another team and traded for a non-prospect (which is how Oakland got him).
***Incoming***
Evan Scribner: Scribner was a non-roster invitee at Spring Training this year, and parlayed that into a job at Sacramento. He pitched 14 forgettable innings for San Diego last season (7.07 ERA, 4 homers), but was solid in AAA this year: 32.2 innings, 35 K's, 9 BB's, 23 hits, 4 homers. Solid numbers for the 26-year-old righty. He's worth a look in the back of the bullpen.
Brandon Moss: Moss was once a legitimate prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization. My one memory of him as a Red Sock is of him homering off of the A's in the 2008 season opener in Japan. Later that summer, he was dealt to Pittsburgh in the Jason Bay trade, which just worked out awesome for everybody. He was also an NRI at Spring Training for the A's this year, but there was no real reason to expect him to reach the Majors unless the entire team simultaneously came down with Mad Cowgill Disease and went on the DL. He forced the issue, though, with the following AAA line:
.286/.371/.582, 15 homers, 11 doubles, 22:40 BB:K, 4 steals without being caught
When your MLB first baseman has an OBP below .300 and a SLG below .400, Brandon Moss becomes worth a look. Like Kila, Moss hits left-handed.
You won't have to wait long to see our new guys. Moss is in the starting lineup tonight and Bartolo Colon seems to be on about a 25-pitch limit these days, so it seems likely that Scribner could get the call tonight.
