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Sonny Gray is having his best season as a professional, but the Oakland Athletics star will have to put it on hold, at least temporarily, as he missed Thursday’s start. 

Continue for updates. 

Gray’s Status Improving

Friday, Aug. 14

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Gray is feeling much better after throwing for about 15 minutes on Friday. Slusser added that it’s possible for Gray to start in the team’s upcoming series. Jane Lee of MLB.com reported the earliest Gray would start is Monday.

Gray added, per Slusser, that he was excited to face Kershaw in the start the he missed, but didn’t want to put his team in a bad position.

Gray, 25, made his first All-Star team this season and has been one of the lone bright spots for an Oakland team that has struggled this year, establishing himself as a clear No. 1 starter. He showed his promise a year ago, going 14-10 with a 3.08 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP and 183 strikeouts in 219 innings, but this season, he’s proved to be one of the American League‘s top arms. 

In 23 starts, the 2011 first-round pick is 12-4 with a 2.06 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP and 136 punch-outs in 161.2 innings, making him a leading candidate for the American League Cy Young Award.

“You never know which Sonny is going to show up,” Athletics first baseman Ike Davis said of the team’s ace before the All-Star Game, per John Hickey of InsideBayArea.com. “Sometimes it’s All-Star Sonny. Sometimes it’s Cy Young Sonny.”

That makes the loss devastating for a team that’s already struggling this year. Gray’s starts are the team’s best chances at victory, and his continued development and ascension to stardom has been one of the reasons why the Athletics aren’t worse than their 51-64 record indicates.

A playoff berth is highly unlikely regardless of Gray’s status with Oakland currently nine games back in the wild-card race. If the dominant righty is unable to return soon, though, any remaining excitement surrounding the team will essentially be gone.

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The All-Star Game is July 14 and the Oakland A’s have several quality candidates that could head to Cincinnati to represent the American League.

Unfortunately, fan voting seems like it will knock out many of those candidates, from Oakland and many other teams, in place of much less deserving players. Because of that, the likelihood the A’s send more than a player or two are slim.

Despite that, and a losing record, Oakland has three solid options, with three fringe players that wouldn’t be terrible injury replacements.

Fringe Guys

I’m not saying these guys should go. I’m saying these guys could go if there is a lack of better options, and they wouldn’t be terrible picks.

Marcus Semien has a slim chance of making the team, but it’d have to be as a replacement.

He currently has the third-most votes among AL shortstops. Stats-wise, he’s hot on Alcides Escobar‘s tail (Escobar leads votes). The two are neck and neck in hits, runs, doubles and stolen bases. Semien walks more, but strikes out more. He hits more home runs. Escobar has the RBI total.

Josh Reddick is in the hunt but faces an even tougher challenge.

He currently has the 10th-most votes among outfielders. Yet, he has the eighth-best batting average of AL outfielders. I know, I know, batting average isn’t the best stat. For what it’s worth, he has the second-most RBI, too.

I imagine the starting pitchers in the discussion to represent the American League include a guy on this list, Dallas Keuchel, Chris Archer and David Price at the top. Felix Hernandez will be up there too, because, well, he’s Felix Hernandez.

Down the line is Scott Kazmir.

Among those with at least 90 innings pitched, Kazmir has the seventh-best ERA in the American League. He’s also hanging around in WHIP and FIP (Fangraphs). He’s too far removed to be in the discussion as a top-five guy, but he might crack the top-10 and make the team if guys toward the top drop out.

3. Jesse Chavez

Jesse Chavez is more deserving than Scott Kazmir. Hear me out.

As a starter, Chavez is right there. His 2.91 FIP is eighth best in the AL. His 3.02 ERA is 10th best. His 2.1 WAR is ninth best. But his HR/9 numbers are at the top in terms of lowest.

Here’s the kicker.

Throw in the six innings he pitched as a reliever. From the bullpen, Chavez kept a 0.00 ERA, struck out nine and walked one.

Hence, because of his versatility, because he can pitch virtually any time in any role, he’s a valuable asset for the American League team. He’s a top-10 starting pitcher and he hasn’t been scored on as a reliever in a small sample size this season. (Though we know on a larger scale he is in fact effective out of the pen.)

It seems like a smart move to include him on the roster.

2. Stephen Vogt

As CSN’s Brodie Brazil pointed out June 21, Stephen Vogt was ahead of leading vote-getter Salvador Perez in multiple categories. Today it still holds true, albeit in home runs, where Perez and Vogt are tied. Vogt‘s WAR is 2.8 compared to Perez’s 1.3. His .335 BABIP blows Perez’s .273 away.

Kansas City fans stuffed the ballot boxes, so it’s going to be difficult for Vogt to overtake Perez, but he can definitely make the All-Star Game as a backup catcher.

The only other two guys close are Russell Martin and Brian McCann.

Vogt isn’t just making a case for himself against fellow catchers only, either. His batting average is 11th best in the American League. He’s in the top 10 for walks and RBI as well.

While it seems like Vogt should be the starter, the next guy leaves no doubt he’s deserving.

1. Sonny Gray

Sonny Gray is hands down the best candidate to be the A’s representative at the All-Star Game.

As of this writing, he leads the American League in ERA. His 2.68 FIP is fourth in the AL. His 3.9 WAR is second only to Dallas Keuchel‘s 4.1. Gray’s 0.99 WHIP is fourth in the AL as well. 

Of 16 starts, 12 have been quality starts.

But not only is Gray pitching well generally speaking, he’s pitching at such a high caliber that many consider him the front-runner to start for the American League at the All-Star Game.

On June 3, David Schoenfield of ESPN said Gray should start. According to Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee, Stephen Vogt agrees:

Doesn’t matter what he does between now and the All-Star Game. The first half Sonny’s had and the way our team’s been playing, with our record … Sonny Gray is 100 percent an All-Star, if not the starting pitcher of the All-Star Game, in my opinion.

Gray’s last two starts have been ugly. If that trend continues, he’ll likely go to the game, but not start. However, if he “returns to form” for lack of better words, it’d be disappointing if he didn’t start.

We’ll see how it shakes out.

I’d guess Gray and Vogt are locks. Chavez is iffy and the rest don’t make it.

All stats courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Oakland Athletics switch-pitcher Pat Venditte has fallen victim to the injury bug that has forced him to be placed on the 15-day disabled list. 

Continue for updates. 

Venditte Has Shoulder Strain

Friday, June 12

According to the A’s official Twitter, Venditte has a strained right shoulder that will keep him out for at least the next 15 days:

“I’ve gone from pure joy to this,” Venditte said, according to John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group. Hickey reported the pitcher won’t throw for a week.

Joe Stiglich of CSN California reported the MRI shows Venditte has minor fraying in the area of his shoulder he had surgery on in 2012, but the pitcher hasn’t torn the muscle completely.

Venditte became one of the best stories in 2015 when he made his MLB debut on June 5 against Boston at the age of 29 after spending seven-plus seasons in the minors. He became the first pitcher to throw from both sides since 1995 in that game, throwing two scoreless innings. 

Oakland manager Bob Melvin used Venditte a total of four times covering 5.2 innings before he was injured. It’s especially unfortunate timing for the former 20th-round draft pick after he fought for so many years to reach the big leagues, but hopefully he will be able to return soon. 

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Pat Venditte was a feel-good story in February and March. 

He was thrown into the hype machine in April and May, and it was ramped up to full bore Friday after the Oakland A’s called up the ambidextrous relief pitcher from Triple-A Nashville.

While the novelty of a pitcher with a weird glove who can throw with both arms was certainly real, Venditte’s talent at the major league level was still uncertain as the 29-year-old switch-pitcher made his major league debut Friday against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

He erased the questions surrounding him by throwing two scoreless innings in Oakland’s 4-2 loss, showing that his minor league success that earned him the summons was anything but a sideshow attraction. The outing made him the first ambidextrous pitcher to appear in the majors in 20 years and earned him a memorable congratulatory tweet from a teammate.

Pat Venditte became first MLB player to record an out as LHP and RHP in same inning since Greg Harris did so for Expos on Sept. 28, 1995.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 6, 2015

Congrats on your debut @PatVenditte! (I wrote u this card with my right hand because I want to be ambidextrous too!) pic.twitter.com/HIO6RE8AmC

— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) June 6, 2015

“You play it 1,000 times in your head how it’s going to happen, and I don’t really remember a whole lot,” Venditte told reporters. “Just a lot of emotions and being able to tell my family and friends that the work was starting to pay off.”

Venditte was gawked at by the baseball world from the start. As he warmed up in the bullpen, television cameras focused on him getting both arms loose. He is such a rarity even his unofficial pitches were newsworthy.

Once he entered the real thing, he was impressive. He gave up one hit and struck out a hitter in his two shutout innings, starting the seventh as a lefty and finishing it as a righty.

And, as could have been expected, confusion ensued the first time he faced a switch-hitter. Blake Swihart came to the plate in the eighth inning, and Venditte, per a rule that exists pretty much just for him, had to declare which arm he would use against Swihart. Venditte was not sure which way to go, though, and there was a bit of back and forth before he went right-handed and struck out Swihart, who hit left-handed.

The A’s are 11 games under .500 after the loss, and they were 10 under when they called up Venditte. Teams in that position could be accused of doing something like bringing up a circus act of a player for non-competitive reasons. Then again, the A’s had won nine of their previous 12 games and are trying to claw their way back into the American League West conversation.

They were not about to risk their momentum by throwing an undeserving Venditte a bone after he toiled in the minors for eight seasons, including 17 games of this current one. That is what September call-ups are for.

Venditte earned his way into the big leagues this year. Over 33 innings with Nashville, he had a 1.36 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and struck out nine hitters per nine innings.

He dominated left-handers with a .095/.136/.095 opponents’ slash line in 45 plate appearances. In 86 plate appearances against right-handers, he held them to a .208/.318/.306 line, showing he could get out hitters with either arm.

This was the kind of effectiveness the A’s saw in spring training. When they started him in the minors because of what began as a deep bullpen, it was with a watchful eye knowing they would eventually need his unique services.

“It’s one thing to be able to just throw a ball with both hands, let alone throw it pretty similar,” manager Bob Melvin told reporters during spring training. “The arm action is fairly the same. He moves it around a little bit. He impressed me.”

He also impressed the Red Sox, not to mention anyone who caught a glimpse of his effectiveness from both sides.

“That was truly amazing tonight,” Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters. “To watch Venditte, it’s a remarkable thing to see what one person’s body is capable of doing. Even guys in the dugout were kind of marveling.

“It’s clear he’s able to get both lefties and righties with whatever arm he chooses. He’s got quality stuff.”

And the A’s need it. They started the game with one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and it’s been a huge reason the team is 3-15 in one-run games. Its 4.86 ERA entering Friday was the worst in the majors, and its minus-0.1 FanGraphs WAR was third worst. 

The bullpen has to find a corner and turn it if the A’s are going to become a relevant team within their division. They were expected to contend, but they’ve been a disappointment to this point of the season, falling 11.5 games out of first place and 7.5 games out in the wild-card standings.

Venditte is not a novelty. He is not a freak show. He is a quality reliever, and the A’s are in serious need of those.

Assuming he continues being a big-time run preventer, Venditte could assist with the shove the A’s need to get themselves trending upward permanently.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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The Oakland A’s record is disappointing two months in, so naturally, there’s already chatter about the team trading stars.

Stephen Vogt and Josh Reddick are in the top 20 in weighted runs created plus (wRC+). Sonny Gray, Jesse Chavez and Scott Kazmir—the first two of which are in the top 11 in fielding independent pitching (FIP)—have pitched incredibly well and could certainly help any rotation.

Ben Zobrist is a consistent hitter who can play outfield and infield positions.

Teams in need of relievers could even inquire about Tyler Clippard or Evan Scribner, two of the team’s better relievers this season. If brave enough to deal with Sean Doolittle’s shoulder, a team could have interest in the All-Star closer as well.

If they’re sellers, the A’s have plenty of options to move.

Here are the rumors surrounding each guy in the news along with a brief case for what the team should do.

Ben Zobrist

The loudest noise being made involves one Ben Zobrist.

According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Cubs have set their sights on the versatile veteran.

“Zobrist, a Joe Maddon favorite who played for the Cubs manager for nine years in Tampa Bay, would dramatically alter the look of a Cubs bench in shambles and allow Maddon to rotate days off for at least five starters he’s been forced to play almost every inning,” Wittenmyer wrote.

Wittenmyer goes on to say that sources tell him A’s general manager Billy Beane is not open to trading Zobrist or other top players away yet.

The A’s are 12 games back of the division-leading Houston Astros and nine games back from a wild-card spot. It’s worth noting that on May 30, 2012, the A’s were nine games back in the division and finished in first place on the last day of the season. So a major comeback is not out of the question.

Perhaps it’s overly simplistic to say, but four good months outweigh two poor months.

Beane isn’t wrong to hold out hope.

To this point, the A’s are 3-15 in one-run games. An error here, a poor bullpen performance there, and the team loses a close game. Iron out the errors (the A’s brought in Ron Washington to work with shortstop Marcus Semien) and the bullpen woes, and those one-run losses could easily turn in the A’s favor.

It’s not like the team is being blown out night after night. It’s been shut out five times. It’s shut an opponent out seven times.

And when it comes to hitting, Zobrist has been one of the best.

He hits left-handed pitching well, and he’s hitting well with runners on base (.314 batting average, .359 on-base percentage, .303 BABIP).

As for defense, there isn’t anyone more important than Zobrist.

His versatility allows him to play the middle infield and both corner outfield positions. This allows a team like the A’s—who mix, match and platoon like mad men—the ability to utilize Zobrist‘s bat and keep him on the field when others rest or are injured.

Adam Kadourhe of the Gold Jersey Dynasty Talk Radio podcast believes that because of Zobrist‘s talents and impending free agency, Beane should deal him now regardless of the win-loss record.

Zobrist is obviously coveted, and for good reason. But it’s for that reason Beane should consider holding on to him above most of the other options. He’s too valuable to lose in a postseason push.

Scott Kazmir

The Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo speculated the A’s could be one of the first to become sellers assuming they don’t turn things around. Cafardo calls Kazmir “the prize” of the bunch.

Cafardo is correct from a business standpoint.

Though it could be argued Chavez is still somewhat unproven as a starter, as of right now, he has the sixth-best FIP in all of baseball, better than notable pitchers like Gray, Felix Hernandez and Matt Harvey. So the cost could be higher. Also, for what it’s worth, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times believes the Los Angeles Dodgers may have interest in Chavez.

With Gray, there’s no doubt it’ll take a king’s ransom to net the 25-year-old ace.

At 31, Kazmir could simply be the most cost-friendly pitcher the A’s have in terms of the prospects it would take to net him. It’d take less to get him than Gray. It could take less to get him than Chavez, too, but even if it does take more, he’s pitched better overall on a longer timeline.

If there’s a guy the A’s could get away with dealing, it’s Kaz.

They’d lose the compensatory pick, sure, but they’d gain one if Zobrist leaves this winter. So it’d be a nice mix of comp picks plus acquired prospects. Drew Pomeranz or a returning A.J. Griffin could fill Kazmir’s rotation spot. (The hope would be they’re close to as effective.)

In fact, as Kadourhe argued above regarding Zobrist, I’d argue the same for Kazmir.

Cafardo believes the Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and San Francisco Giants would be interested in the pitcher.

Other Notables

Various other names have been whispered about as well.

The A’s would be foolish to trade Gray this soon due to his talent, age and affordability. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports agrees with that sentiment and does not believe it will happen this year.

Due to his health, Coco Crisp is not going anywhere.

Doolittle began the season with a shoulder strain, returned, pitched one inning and landed back on the shelf. He has much to prove before teams inquire about him seriously.

Billy Butler’s contract could make him challenging to move, especially considering he’s trending downward. But if he gains steam, it could become an easier sell.

How about Vogt, who is in the thick of a career year? According to Peter Gammons, Beane told a fellow GM in late May, “I’m not trading Vogt. Period.”

With the way he’s hitting so far and a history of Gold Glove defense, you’d think Reddick is a quality candidate to be traded while he’s young, cheapish and controllable. Scouring the Internet, you’ll find his name mentioned in the same sentence as “trade,” but no one has definitively linked him to a team.

In fact, most have simply said, “He is good, therefore he could be traded.”

Obviously.

There are two sides to trading Reddick. One says keep him, let him continue to build on what we’re seeing this season and then flip him when his value is higher. The other may contend the team should swap him out now while his value is at its peak.

If at the end of June, the A’s are scuffling, trading Reddick isn’t a terrible option.

Of course, if that’s the case, then trading anyone not named Gray isn’t a terrible option.

Advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.

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With the 2015 first-year player draft approaching, let’s take a look back at how the last 10 Oakland A’s first-round draft picks have fared.

Because hindsight is a beautiful thing.

For purposes of a tidy list, we’ll stick with the first overall selection from each year dating back to 2005. There may be a better draft pick, a guy picked later who is playing better currently. If that’s the case, that player may get a brief mention, but again, this article will concentrate on the first pick.

Also worth noting, guys more recently drafted—2012 through 2014 for example—will get more leniency.

So how have the A’s done with their first picks? For ease, we’ll call each one a hit or a miss.

Let’s find out.

Begin Slideshow

The Oakland A’s season has not gone as expected, and yet we may see a few more surprises before all is said and done.

Just over one month into the season, the A’s are struggling.

Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir have been solid. After them, the starting pitching has been all over the place. The offense is inconsistent, and the bullpen is a problem. Injuries have decimated the roster as well. From leadoff hitter Coco Crisp to closer Sean Doolittle, key players have missed extended periods here and there.

Though there are four-and-a-half months left of baseball, many have given up on Oakland already.

But it’s a long season. We’ve seen division leaders with large leads collapse late; the A’s did that just last year. So really, anything can still happen.

Here are three bold predictions for the remainder of the 2015 season.

Barry Zito Pitches for the Green and Gold at Some Point

Not including Ike Davis, the A’s have used a total of 19 pitchers so far.

The rate at which Oakland has called up and sent down pitchers is staggering. If the trend continues, it’s only a matter of time before Barry Zito is called up.

I’m not saying he’ll blow the socks off the organization and flat-out earn it. I’m not saying he’ll be the A’s savior.

But beyond Pat Venditte, the team is running out of relievers to try.

As for starters, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin are delayed in returning from Tommy John surgery. So if a Drew Pomeranz or Jesse Hahn struggle, a move will need to be made if the A’s hope to avoid digging an even deeper hole. Or, because the bullpen has been so bad, the A’s could push Drew Pomeranz or Jesse Chavez back into the pen and try Zito in the rotation.

Zito could be called up simply out of short-term necessity. 

As of now, the organization needs to try anything it can just to stay afloat.

If Sellers, the A’s Trade No One or Just One Player

On the optimistic side, the A’s will get healthy, put things together consistently, find their midseason form and turn things around to make a serious run.

That would make them buyers at the deadline, or else they’d stand pat.

It’s not unrealistic to foresee that happening. Currently, the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels have produced similar results. As expected, the standings are close, for now.

If worse comes to worst, Oakland will drop out of the race. Would they become sellers?

Their most valuable asset is Sonny Gray. They’d be foolish to trade him now. Next year, maybe. Next year, probably. But I just don’t see that happening in 2015.

Guys like Josh Reddick, Stephen Vogt and Jesse Chavez may provide some value, but I also don’t believe other teams would bank on one of those three being the piece that pushes them over all other contenders. Likewise, I don’t see the A’s getting too much value for any of them, at least not this season (put together one more consistently solid season, and we’ll talk.)

With Coco Crisp’s age and injury history, he’s not a likely candidate to trade either. Sean Doolittle is coming off a significant injury, so he’d be a risk for teams as well. Nearly every other player is either young enough that the A’s would benefit by holding on to him, or not valuable enough.

One popular trade candidate is Scott Kazmir. But as this Twitter conversation points out, a few A’s fans believe holding on to Kazmir is the smarter play:

There’s also Ben Zobrist. He’s a proven, consistent, versatile veteran who could certainly help a ball club. And like Kazmir, he’s gone after this year.

Oakland could conceivably offer Zobrist a qualifying offer as well, so the A’s could end up trading no one, even if they do not contend. A non-move would be a bold strategy, especially considering the A’s penchant for trades.

The A’s will hold on to both men for the potential picks or trade just one at the deadline.

The A’s Will Have 4 All-Stars

Idiotic prediction, you say?

Sonny Gray could make the All-Star team. Scott Kazmir could, too. At his current pace, Stephen Vogt is playing like an All-Star. Josh Reddick is up there, for now.

How about a sneaky fifth option?

What if Evan Scribner joined the squad? As of this writing (pre-May 11, he’s eighth in innings pitched as a reliever and holds a 2.00 ERA. He also has 20 strikeouts and just two walks.

If you’re not sold on Scribner, Ike Davis could easily build his stats by the All-Star break as well. The point is, though the record doesn’t reflect it, the A’s have numerous All-Star candidates.

Fan Predictions

I wanted to know what A’s fans thought, so I put it out on Twitter. Here’s what I got.

Oakland’s bullpen currently holds the third-worst ERA in all of baseball, but one fan thought the A’s could turn things around and finish with the best in the league:

Now that’s bold.

Others agreed that the A’s would turn things around in the end and finish strong but were split on whether the end result would be a playoff spot or not:

Finally, another mostly agreed that the A’s will move at least one player but that several others have a shot at taking home an honor by season’s end.

Outside of an utter tank job in which the A’s lose 100 games and multiple guys are traded before August 1, there’s plenty of potential for surprises in the next few months.

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After one month of baseball, we’ve learned quite a bit about the 2015 Oakland Athletics, haven’t we?

The area many thought would be a strength is a weakness. The one many questioned is a strength. And the third component we expected to be mostly good with some bad has been…mostly good with some bad.

New leaders have emerged.

New faces are clicking with each other.

Veterans have risen again.

Yet, the record still doesn’t reflect many of the positives. It’s already been an emotional rollercoaster. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.

(Written before the completion of Sunday’s game with stats courtesy of Baseball-reference.com)

Begin Slideshow

The Oakland Athletics have had a surprisingly strong start at the plate this season, but they will be without one of their top offensive contributors in Ben Zobrist after it was revealed he will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Continue for updates.

Zobrist Placed on 15-Day DL with Knee Injury

Saturday, April 25

According to the Athletics’ official Twitter account, the 33-year-old utility man has been placed on the 15-day disabled list:

Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today noted that Zobrist has a tear in his left meniscus.

Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California confirmed Zobrist will have surgery though the date is still to be determined. Stiglich noted the recovery time is roughly four to six weeks.

John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group provided a comment from Zobrist: “hoping I’ll be back June 1 and will have four months to help this team the way I can.”

Although he will be out of action, it appears as though he avoided serious damage to his knee, per Lee:

Zobrist’s versatility and experience have served the A’s well early in the 2015 campaign. This marks Zobrist’s first season in Oakland after spending the initial nine years of his MLB career with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The two-time MLB All-Star is currently hitting .240 with one home run, eight RBI and eight runs, and he has already played three different positions.

Replacing a player of his ilk is no easy task, but look for do-everything backup Eric Sogard to take many of Zobrist’s at-bats during his absence.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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The critics came out in droves.

They slammed Billy Beane for dismantling a playoff team during the last offseason, and they questioned his commitment to keeping a winning team on the field since he jettisoned players like Josh Donaldson, Jeff Samardzija, Derek Norris and Brandon Moss for lesser returns. They even retroactively bashed his trading of Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester.

All of those players were All-Stars. Without them, the detractors cried, the Oakland A’s were destined to find themselves near the bottom of the American League West and out of the postseason for the first time since 2011.

Except the moves actually appear to be working through the club’s first eight games.

Monday’s eight-run, 12-hit showing featured home runs from Brett Lawrie (acquired for Donaldson), Marcus Semien (acquired for Samardzija) and Billy Butler (a curious free-agent signing at the time of the deal, as Cliff Corcoran of SI.com noted), along with a 3-for-5 output from Ben Zobrist, Beane’s lone offseason addition that was actually praised universally, including by Ben Lindbergh of Grantland.

The team might be a modest 4-4 after Monday’s win in Houston, but there is no doubt Oakland’s offseason moves are paying early dividends. Noted A’s beat reporter Jane Lee of MLB.com:

The A’s had a total of three home runs in their first seven games. They had three by the sixth inning tonight.

— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) April 14, 2015

The A’s lead the American League in doubles (21) and are third in batting average (.306), OBP (.364) and OPS (.829). They have scored at least seven runs in five of their eight games, and the hits keep on coming. Lee also had this observation:

The A’s have reached double-digit figures in hits in six of their first eight games.

— Jane Lee (@JaneMLB) April 14, 2015

Comparing departed players to new ones might not be completely fair with the regular season in its infancy, but neither was torching Beane’s plan after he had barely laid the first few bricks over the winter.

Lester was Oakland’s ace when he came over for Cespedes last July, and there was no doubt he would leave the low-payroll team once he hit free agency after the season. He got $155 million from the Cubs, and through two starts he has allowed nine runs in 10.1 innings (7.84 ERA).

Oakland dealt Samardzija for Semien, among others, a year before he could hit free agency. It was one of the deals that ignited Beane’s critics, but through Samardzija’s first two starts with the Chicago White Sox, he has allowed nine runs in 13 innings (6.23 ERA).

As for the hitters, only Cespedes with the Detroit Tigers and Norris with the San Diego Padres are off to good starts. Donaldson, who was an MVP candidate the last two seasons with Oakland, is hitting .192/.267/.269 with no home runs for Toronto. Moss is hitting .125/.300/.188 with one extra-base hit for Cleveland.

Meanwhile…

Butler is hitting .387/.441/.548 with a .990 OPS, a homer and two doubles.

Semien has a .323/.364/.484 line with a homer, two doubles and seven RBI, and he has played solid defense at shortstop.

“Watching him move around, you might not think he has the type of power that he does,” manager Bob Melvin said of Semien last week. “His position doesn’t usually come with a guy that has the potential to hit 20 home runs, which he has the ability to do.”

Zobrist is at .303/.343/.545 with a homer, five doubles, two walks and two strikeouts in a team-high 33 at-bats.

Lawrie is hitting .281/.324/.438 with a homer and two doubles on top of playing outstanding defense at third base.

Ike Davis, another offseason acquisition taken off the scrap heap, is hitting .318/.444/.455 with three doubles, five RBI, five walks and five strikeouts.

“One through nine, you never know what can happen, any given day,” Lawrie told Jane Lee and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com Monday. “We’ve been stringing hits together, and when you can do that you can be loose and just play and not worry too much. You know someone’s going to pick you up. It’s good to know anyone who gets in the box can do some damage.”

Those aren’t outstanding numbers in the molds of Miguel Cabrera or Adrian Gonzalez through Week 1, but everyone’s combined contributions make this a formidable A’s lineup. It has certainly been one more productive than critics foresaw.

The pitching has been solid as well. The rotation is 4-2 with a 2.32 ERA in 50.1 innings, and that ERA was helped none by rookie Kendall Graveman’s seven earned runs allowed over 3.1 innings last week. Still, they are putting up strong numbers without Lester and Samardzija and could get Jarrod Parker back in June as he rehabs from a second Tommy John surgery.

The bullpen, which suffered a big blow when closer Sean Doolittle had to go on the disabled list with a strained rotator cuff, has been effective too. In 24.2 innings, it has allowed eight earned runs (2.92 ERA). Again, that ERA is ballooned by one bad game in which Eric O’Flaherty and Tyler Clippard combined to allow four runs in 2.1 innings, which included Clippard giving up a game-winning 10th-inning home run to Nelson Cruz.

The extreme numbers for hitters and pitchers will correct themselves to more sustainable levels, but once they do, there is no reason to believe the A’s cannot hold them there and remain one of the better all-around clubs in the league. The offseason moves were not made in an effort to lose, and Oakland does not expect them to tank just because they are lesser-known names.

Ripping Beane’s retooled club was in fashion for much of the offseason. Trading five All-Star players in about half a year will spark such sentiment. It started to slow after he traded for Zobrist, one of the best all-around players in the league.

Now that Oakland’s new additions have produced to start the season, the critics can commence their silence, as these early-season trends are capable of lasting through summer.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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