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After taking two of three against the Baltimore Orioles to open up the second half of the season, the Oakland Athletics host a three-game set against the Houston Astros, starting Tuesday. Houston visits the American League West leaders a mere 20.5 games back—however, the Astros proudly only sport the league’s second-worst record (41-58).

The A’s deserve some much-needed face time against the bottom-feeders, particularly after three consecutive series against teams (the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles) that would be headed to the playoffs, were the season to end today. Oakland has not played a team with a non-winning record since June 29, when the A’s faced the Miami Marlins. In fact, the Athletics have faced the fewest sub-.500 opponents in all of the American League and sport a 25-12 record against teams with losing records. Oakland is thirsting for a few gimmes.

It would appear that the two-time division champs will be welcoming an easy go of it against the Astros. After all, Oakland thoroughly dominated Houston last season, going 15-4 versus their new division rivals, winning each of the first 10 matchups. Will the Athletics have an easy go of it against the perennially moribund Astros?

This season, the Astros are seemingly over-performing, already winning two out of seven games they have played against the A’s so far.

Surely, Houston has proved that it has improved—even just a little bit. The Astros roster is a smidge different than it was earlier this season. By adding a couple upcoming youngsters, the Astros seem to be at least watchable, if only somewhat.

Here are five things to look for in the Athletics’ upcoming series versus Houston.

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The Oakland Athletics announced Tuesday that they are placing outfielder Josh Reddick on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive June 1. Reddick hyperextended his left knee in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Both A’s fans and fantasy baseball managers rejoice!

The 27-year-old Reddick has struggled for most of the season. Though he has been in the zone a few times thus far, these stretches have unfortunately come infrequently and not lasted for very long. His season numbers include a pathetic slash line of .214/.279/.339, with 41 strikeouts in 2014. Athletics manager Bob Melvin has to cringe each time Reddick clocks in an 0-for-4 day at the plate.

As grotesque as Reddick’s statistics are for a big league manager to look at, they’re even worse, if that’s possible, coming from the point of view of a fantasy baseball manager. Reddick’s terrible plate discipline and pitch recognition result in just 14 bases on balls. His low on-base percentage means that he only has 19 runs scored this season. And he has recorded just one lonesome stolen base—the same number as his un-fleet teammates John Jaso, Brandon Moss and Josh Donaldson, and one fewer than catcher Derek Norris.

Thus, Reddick’s stint on the disabled list will benefit fantasy owners who pick up Craig Gentry. The Athletics’ backup outfielder will undoubtedly receive the brunt of the playing time during Reddick’s time away: Fantasy owners should snare Gentry off the waiver wire right away.

Gentry has seen the playing field quite a bit this season as the fourth outfielder off the bench. Due to injuries to Reddick and Coco Crisp, Gentry has appeared in 41 of Oakland’s 57 games, and that’s after missing the first couple of weeks of the season nursing his own injury. Now that he is at full strength, Gentry is proving to be a major contributor to the A’s.

The 30-year-old has scored 21 runs, two more than Reddick, in just 100 at-bats. And fantasy owners will enjoy Gentry’s speed on the basepaths—nine stolen bases this season without being caught. Look for Gentry to have a bright green light anytime he has a stolen base opportunity.

One important factor for fantasy managers is Oakland’s penchant for platooning players. Oakland is expected to match up against three left-handed starters on its current nine-game road trip. On Wednesday, the A’s are scheduled to face New York Yankees lefty Vidal Nuno. Then they will see Wei-Yin Chen sometime during their visit to the Baltimore Orioles, and possibly Angels lefty Tyler Skaggs in Anaheim.

Fortunately for fantasy owners and for the right-handed hitting Gentry, he also hits righties well enough to be in the starting lineup every day. This season, Gentry is batting .260 against lefties and .280 against right-handers. In a larger sample size, over the previous three seasons, he hit .298 versus lefties and .278 versus righties.

Not bad. Melvin has slotted Gentry into Tuesday night’s lineup against Yankees righty Hiroki Kuroda.

Though he has not faced any of the Yankees starters in his career, Gentry has had decent success in limited at-bats against Baltimore’s starter and, in particular, the Angels’ starters. Expect to start Gentry throughout the Anaheim series, as Gentry is a combined 8-for-17 against Skaggs, Garrett Richards and Jered Weaver.

If you are in a pinch for an extra outfielder, especially for American League-only fantasy leagues, Gentry should be one to consider picking up. With guys like Shane Victorino and Mike Carp (Boston), Carlos Beltran (Yankees) and Wil Myers (Rays) on the DL, and day-to-day availability of Sam Fuld (Twins), James Jones (Mariners) and Michael Choice (Rangers), nabbing Gentry is an easy safety net for those who don’t have the luxury of re-activating Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton, who are both scheduled to come off the disabled list for the Angels on Tuesday.

Follow me on Twitter: @nathanieljue

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As Major League Baseball’s arbitration deadline passed January 17th, the Oakland A’s locked up all of their eligible players except one: Josh Reddick. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

There aren’t too many options, though.

The two teams can work out an agreement before they head to arbitration court in February. If they can’t, then an arbitration panel will choose Reddick’s desired salary, or the Athletics‘ proposed salary.

A’s beat writer John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group provides the salary exchange:

If the two sides meet exactly in the middle, then Reddick will receive $2.625 million in 2014.

Since arriving on the big league scene in 2009, Reddick has played a full season just once. He’s also only hit above .250 just one time as well, and that was in 87 games with the Boston Red Sox in 2011. Looking at the two seasons he’s played in Oakland, he averages 135 games and a .236 batting average. But when he’s healthy and hitting, he brings quite a bit of power to the lineup.

But that’s just offensive contributions.

Reddick has provided a ton of highlight-worthy plays in the last two seasons. It was in his first year with the A’s that he won a Gold Glove, lest we forget.

So what do you pay a guy who plays phenomenal defense but hasn’t hit particularly well outside of one season?

Looking at his Baseball-Reference.com page, Reddick compares closely to guys like John Mayberry Jr., Brennan Boesch, Logan Morrison and Domonic Brown.

Mayberry avoided arbitration this year by signing a one-year, $1.5875 million contract. Boesch signed a $2.3 million deal. Morrison heads to arbitration as well, seeking $2.5 million according to Greg Johns of MLB.com.

Based on that, it’s difficult to see Reddick winning his desired $3.25 million deal.

Then again, none of those guys have a Gold Glove. However, Boesch was in the running for Rookie of the Year in his first season, and Brown was an All-Star in 2013.

Here, the middle ground ($2.625 million) actually makes perfect sense.

Oakland A’s blogger Chris Kusiolek tweeted that the two parties were to reach an agreement shortly after deadline day:

That didn’t come to fruition as of Jan. 19, but if there are murmurs already, the chances this deal is done before the case makes its way to arbitration are high. It’s been quite some time since the A’s and a player went before the arbitration panel.

Fans, meanwhile, seem to be in agreement with Oakland.

To be fair, the player does have his supporters:

Of the two options presented, Oakland’s right fielder is more likely to be overpaid than underpaid, so the $3.25 million is more plausible than $2 million. But that’s if it even gets to that point, which it shouldn’t.

Josh Reddick will make $2.625 million in 2014.

If the number deviates, it will be upward, not downward, but it won’t go higher than $3 million. That you can take to the bank.

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Even as the Oakland A’s fight for their second consecutive American West League Championship over the last six weeks of the Major League Baseball season, there is a truth that should hearten fans in the East Bay and everywhere else: This team is built to last. They are young and—although inconsistent at times—this team’s core is full of talent. 

With that said, even as this team fights to secure a spot in the postseason, they will likely be underdogs to capture the team’s first title in 24 years. However, with the nucleus likely in tact, it isn’t too early to project how the team’s starting lineup might look in 2014. Here is my highly unofficial look at that lineup, but first and just for fun, here was a projection NBC Sports baseball writer Matthew Pouliot had in February 2012.

Lineup
2B Jemile Weeks
CF Grant Green
1B Daric Barton
RF Yoenis Cespedes
DH Seth Smith
3B Scott Sizemore
LF Michael Choice
C Derek Norris
SS Cliff Pennington

Obviously Pouliot could not account for trades and other factors but look at that lineup. Two players are no longer with the club (Green and Pennington), two have fallen so far that they can’t get playing time in Oakland (Weeks and Barton), and two lost their jobs due to either injury (Sizemore) or lack of production (Norris). 

As a matter of fact, the only player you can say will be on this team in 2014 is Yoenis Cespedes. And you know what?

That is not a bad thing.

Billy Beane converted a middling roster on the fly into a potential back to back division champion. So anyone who projected Oakland’s lineup for next year would be inaccurate.

So, what will that lineup look like in 2014? Here is my take:

2B Jed Lowrie

Lowrie is not a conventional lead-off hitter, but with Coco Crisp turning 34 and hitting free agency, I have a feeling the A’s will need a new bat at the top of the lineup. Lowrie has been steady, if not spectacular, at the plate and that is the kind of player the A’s need leading off.

DH Seth Smith

I have a feeling that 2013 was more of a fluke for Smith even though, for the second year in a row, his batting average has paled in comparison to his production in Colorado. Who doesn’t struggle when compared to time spent at Coors Field? I expect to see the power return and Smith is a solid number two guy initially.

CF Yoenis Cespedes

Cespedes will move to his natural centerfield with the departure of Crisp. My lofty predictions might have to wait a year, but I think Cespedes will have a big year in 2014. 

RF Josh Reddick

Much like fellow neo-Bash Brother Cespedes, Reddick has had a largely underwhelming 2013. Is he as bad as he has been this year? No. Is he as good as he was in his 32 home run, Gold-Glove-winning 2012? Maybe not. But something in between would be a nice improvement for the A’s at this spot.

3B Josh Donaldson

Donaldson’s year has not been a fluke. While ultimately this position will be filled by phenom Addison Russell, for now Donaldson is entrenched at the hot corner for the A’s. 

1B Brandon Moss

Moss was destined for a fall off after a pretty remarkable burst in 2012 (.291/.358/.596 splits) which saw him smash 21 home runs in 84 games. So even though he is hitting under .240 and has few home runs after 110+ games than he did in all of 2012, Moss is still the man at this spot. He may alternate time with— 

LF Michael Choice

The curveball comes with prospect Michael Choice. Scouted as an all-or-nothing type power-hitter, Choice has displayed an improved eye in 2013 and, while his power numbers have dipped, he looks like a better hitter. Choice impressed in the spring and probably would have been the first guy from Triple-A in the outfield if the A’s weren’t so deep at that spot. He gets his chance in 2014.

C Derek Norris

If John Jaso were to ‘win’ the battle at catcher (imagine them likely platooning next year again), you could swap Jaso and Smith at the number two and eight spots. But I think Norris gets a chance to finally put a solid season together. Ultimately, whoever is behind the plate must improve defensively as the A’s catchers have struggled in 2013.

SS Hiroyuki Nakajima

Nakajima has a giant INC for a grade next to his 2013 as his spring injury and the play of Lowrie and Eric Sogard kept him from getting up to Oakland. But the contract plus the talent (he is up to .293 at Triple-A Sacramento) will merit an opportunity for the Japanese star. At least initially.

So there you have it. I think the A’s might try to bring Chris Young back at a discounted price, but he will likely draw attention on the free agent market. Alberto Callaspo should step in for Adam Rosales as the A’s utility player du jour in 2014. That is a marked improvement. I look at Eric Sogard backing up Nakajima more in terms of money than production because quite simply, we don’t know what the Japanese star has yet. 

Ultimately, some of the major components to upgrade the roster are likely a couple years away still. This includes Russell, Renato Nunez, and not Michael Taylor. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Taylor reminds me of that line from the X-Files: I want to believe. But after all this time, it is pretty clear that in Oakland, he is a AAAA player and not the potential stud he appeared to be when acquired. 

Oakland’s offense will improve as key components improve. I’m not saying that there might not be a trade or two as well as a couple of signings. But these will likely add to depth and not supplant the core players currently on the roster. What you see is what you get. And, even though the little things drive you crazy as an A’s fan (situational hitting!), there is still enough talent to win again next year.

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After their first 40 games, the Oakland A’s are 20-20 in the 2013 season.

Remember 2012? The A’s started 20-20 as well. In 2006, The A’s—led by Frank Thomas—rode a five-game winning streak to get to 21-19 after 40 games. 

Historically, the A’s have tended to be a slow-starting team. Under manager Bob Geren, the club never started better than 23-17 through 40 games (2008) and started as slowly as 15-25 (2009) while opening 20-20 three times. 

Go back to the Moneyball era when the A’s opened 21-19 (2000), 18-22 (2001) and 19-21 (2002) after 40 games. Oakland went on to win 91, 102, and 103 games those three seasons, respectively.

In many ways, the 12-4 start that the Athletics have raced out to this season was a bit of fool’s gold. Eleven of those 12 wins came at the expense of AL West foes Seattle, Los Angeles (Angels) and Houston. Those teams sit a combined 31 games under .500 heading into Tuesday, May 14.

Once the torrid starts by guys like Jed Lowrie and Seth Smith died down, so did the early offense. Add to those laws of averages the injuries to Coco Crisp, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick, Brett Anderson and Jarrod Parker as reality dragged the A’s back down to earth.

The only thing is that this is still a very talented team. WIth a quarter of the season gone, the projected Oakland lineup has played less than 15 total games together. Even if the A’s don’t duplicate their wins from 2012, there is no way that Anderson and Parker continue to post ERA’s of 6.21 and 6.86,  respectively. 

It is still a marathon in the game of baseball and right now, the A’s have run roughly 6.5 of the 26.2-mile 2013 race. They’re just getting warmed up.

Relax and hope that players like Daric Barton can hold the fort down when called upon until all of the gang gets back. When they do, the A’s will take off like they traditionally do when the talent takes the field in Oakland. 

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Say what you will, but Billy Beane is not averse to making decisive moves. Adding guys like John Jaso and Jed Lowrie may not be as sexy as Josh Hamilton, but the Oakland Athletics have further addressed offseason deficiencies with their moves. 

With Lowrie in the fold, the A’s now have someone with real Major League pop to fill in voids all over the infield. That means players like Eric Sogard and Adam “Skolnick” Rosales have less at-bats in meaningful situations. I like them both, but neither should be hitting more than 70 times a year in the big leagues. 

The reality is, the A’s were not far away last year and the two biggest holes in the lineup have been addressed with a trio of potentially big time upgrades in Jaso, Lowrie, and Hiro Nakajima. Yes, losing Chris Carter has the potential to take home runs away from the lineup. As a matter of fact, I anticipate that happening. 

However, you sometimes have to pull from a position of strength to address a position of weakness. There is no guarantee what Nakajima will give the A’s.

Lowrie would be a fantastic alternative at shortstop. He also fits at second, third, and first base as well. Scott Sizemore hasn’t played second base in the Major Leagues with any consistency. In other words, having a player with a real pedigree in waiting can only help this infield.

But the separation Oakland has from both Texas and Los Angeles, er Anaheim, is in the starting pitching. One to five, no team in the AL West is better than the A’s in terms of pitching. The Angels tried to address their deficiencies with outsiders Jason Vargas, Tommy Hanson, and Joe Blanton. Good luck. They aren’t on the level of the departed Zack Greinke, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana. 

Meanwhile, Texas has issues with a lack of starting pitching and the potential issues with Nelson Cruz being implicated in the most recent PED scandal in baseball. The reality is, Oakland’s status quo is still the best in the division until proven otherwise. No team has the depth of pitching combined with a solid lineup one through nine in the division. Oakland doesn’t have a Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Felix Hernandez, Yu Darvish, or any other marquee name (though Yoenis Cespedes is darn close) yet.

What they still have is the best overall team in the American League West.

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Last year, the Oakland A’s went on a run for the ages, and they almost snuck into the ALCS.

The A’s won their last six regular season games to stunningly capture the AL West, before rallying from down 2-0 to force Game 5 of the ALDS. They lost Game 5, but it let Oakland experience a run for the ages.

However, the A’s haven’t done much in the offseason. They signed Hiroyuki Nakajima from Japan, but only to replace Stephen Drew. They re-signed Bartolo Colon and traded for Chris Young, but that’s really been it.

Oakland isn’t expected to do as well in 2013 because of their lack of big names. However, the offensive went on a home run spree in the second half, and while Brandon Moss won’t be smashing 21 homers in 265 at-bats, he, Josh Reddick and Yoenis Cespedes could provide pop for the middle of the lineup.

Crisp and Nakajima will likely be table-setters, while Young will be relied on to provide pop from the bottom of the order. The offense looks fine right now, because they were in the top half of the league in runs scored. And, the pitching staff will look to protect that.

A good season may not be realistic to expect from Travis Blackley, but Jarrod Parker and Tommy Milone can only be better in their second season. Brett Anderson finished the 2012 season with a bang, and Colon did a good job before being suspended for steroid use. So, the pitching staff has talent, and they can be one of the league’s best.

Factor in a mean bullpen with Sean Doolittle, Ryan Cook and Grant Balfour and you have a good team. Unfortunately for the A’s, a complete team just isn’t enough.

On paper, the Rangers, Angels, Blue Jays, Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees all look more talented than the A’s. Texas has Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus on the offense and Matt Harrison and Derek Holland on the pitching staff, and the Angels have Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton, Jered Weaver and others.

Both are in the division, and if games were won on paper, Oakland would finish third. However, they pride themselves on being a resilient team which doesn’t win games on paper, and they are wound up around the middle of the pack in the AL.

Baseball is about getting hot at the right time, but in a 162 game season, the best teams almost always find their way into the postseason. The A’s have some talent, but there are still question marks in the pitching staff. Teams like the Angels and Blue Jays are fine with the pitching staff, as the Blue Jays practically have a new team due to some offseason spending and dealing.

Detroit didn’t dominate Oakland, although they would have won the ALDS in four games with a better closer. Justin Verlander overwhelmed the A’s and Yankees, while Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez did the same to all three teams that Detroit faced in the playoffs.

Even though baseball is unpredictable, it won’t be easy for the A’s to sneak into the playoffs. The AL is great this year, and it will be harder than ever to win the AL West. Even if they do make the playoffs as a Wild Card, they will be down to a one game playoff without a true ace (yet).

Oakland is definitely a talented team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they reached into their bag of tricks and pulled out more magic to find their way to the playoffs. But they are still unproven, and there are question marks. With all the talent around them in the AL West and the AL in general, I’m not seeing them in the playoffs.

The only thing that I think could get them into the playoffs is some more magic, which the A’s sure know how to provide. 

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Having accomplished so much during the regular season as a team, the Oakland A’s received an individual accolade today as Josh Reddick was named a 2012 Rawlings Gold Glove award winner. Reddick‘s award capped a great season where the unheralded right fielder emerged as a legitimate power hitter and two-way player for the AL West champion A’s.

Reddick‘s win represents the first for an Oakland outfielder since Dwayne Murphy won for his defensive play in 1985. The last Oakland defender to be recognized at any position was former third baseman Eric Chavez after the 2006 season. 

In 2012, Reddick compiled 15 assists, the most by an Athletics outfielder in 29 years, tied for third most in Oakland history. He ranked third among American League outfielders in assists and was tied for fifth in double plays for outfielders with three. Buoyed by Reddick, the A’s turned the outfield from a position of weakness in recent years to one of strength, along with center fielder Coco Crisp and rookie Yoenis Cespedes.

Oakland third baseman Brandon Inge was also up for a Gold Glove in 2012, but lost out on the award to Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers. Inge played solid at the hot corner for Oakland and received the nomination despite playing in just 83 total games this year.

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Mike Trout will, in all likelihood, win the 2012 American League MVP Award.

With just 118 games under his belt in his rookie season, Trout leads the American League with a .328 batting average and 45 stolen bases. He owns a .393 OBP which is third overall in the AL, second in OPS with .963 and his .570 slugging percentage is third behind Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera.

Needless to say, the kid is in good company.

Beyond that, he has 27 home runs, 23 doubles and six triples in his 158 hits.

According to Fangraphs, he has a 8.6 WAR rating, while Baseball Reference puts him at a 10.2 WAR.

The evidence is there. Trout is very deserving of the MVP award. However, there are other players that have been playing incredible baseball this season in the AL that should not be overlooked.

Here is a tip of the cap to those players.

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In a year where Josh Reddick was arguably ousted from the American League All-Star team, Oakland Athletics fans can eat the chip on their shoulders—as the right fielder did against his former employer. 

Reddick was named American League player of the week due in large part to his first career grand slam against Bobby Valentine’s struggling Red Sox in the 20-2 massacre in Oakland. 

The Athletics’ OF accounted for four home runs, 10 RBI, 12 hits and scored six times over their flawless week that left the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians winless against Oakland. 

The American League is no cakewalk for top-notch player-of-the-week contenders. 

Reddick prevailed over the likes of other AL standouts such as Texas Rangers‘ Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Mike Trout—ever heard of them? 

Not only did Reddick produce on the offensive front, but also made the replay reel for a diving stab during Oakland’s visit to Cleveland, preserving Brett Anderson’s two-hitter in the series opener.

Reddick joined Oakland’s player-of-the-week fraternity with fellow teammates Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Moss that received the unique recognition earlier this season.

The award was born from Reddick’s lineup demotion where he batted in the sixth spot against the Indians in the opening game of the series.

Bob Melvin, who has been notorious this year for crafting the perfect lineup, dropped Reddick from his normal third spot due to his struggling bat.

Apparently, this ignited Reddick’s inner slugger.

Reddick rode the sweep of the Indians into the three-game bout against the Red Sox where the potentially spiteful former employee played with vengeful intent. It was a perfect storm.

Oakland’s man-of-the-hour currently leads the A’s in homers with 28. 

Though Reddick missed the opportunity to accompany Ryan Cook to Kauffmann Stadium in Kansas City for the All-Star Game, MLB has awarded recognition where it was due.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox and Indians, it came at their expense. 

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