The A's revolving door lets in two more

"Are we trying to develop a young team? Yeah, but we are not running an instructional league. We are running a professional sports franchise." -- Billy Beane.

This is exactly the kind of thing that Beane needed to say to put his fans at ease. A's fans were surprised today by the decision to bring back Frank Thomas, who was released by the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a matter of time, really, to see where Frank ended up. Even though he probably won't be able to produce as he used to, Toronto's outright release of him forces them to pay out the majority of his contract, while the A's only have to pay him a Major League minimum of $350,000.

Thomas, who is a big fan favorite, said he never wanted to leave Oakland but the money after 2006 wasn't right. Now that money isn't an issue, Thomas' first choice was to come back to Oakland, and here he lands. This may seem a bit puzzling to Baseball observers, since the A's are already stocked at the DH position with Jack Cust and Mike Sweeney. Daric Barton has taken over full time duties as 1st Baseman, and Geren said he has named Thomas the full-time DH. In all likelihood, this will push Mike Sweeney to the role of Pinch-Hit Specialist, and backup 1st Baseman/DH. In other words, he is what Dan Johnson has been to the A's for the last few years. The other option is to release Sweeney, much like the A's did with Todd Walker last year. This isn't a terrible option, but I don't foresee the A's doing it unless Sweeney expresses anger at having his playing time cut.

Thomas is off to a slow start, but he always has been a slow starter. His first few games were monstrous, but since then he has hit for a low average. On the plus side, he has been hitting home runs and drawing walks, which is what he usually does. The decision by the Blue Jays to release him was rather silly, and Beane capitalized on it. Baseball Prospectus, going into this year, predicted 20 home runs for Thomas while only allowing 425 At-Bats for him predicting injury. That translates to 29-30 home runs if he can stay healthy all year and get 625 At Bats. For the power-starved A's, Thomas' big bat is welcome.

The A's also claimed Rajai Davis off waivers from the Giants, who released him due to a surplus of Outfielders. They seem to have more confidence in Fred Lewis, who has slightly more Pop. Rajai Davis is a true Centerfielder, which is what the A's have been starved for since the offseason. He has incredible speed, and has the capability to get over 40 steals in a season, which he did twice in the minors. He will probably play Center and bat leadoff for the A's as long as Buck is on the disabled list. His OBP average over 3 years around the minors is around 340, which is somewhat low, but I'm sure the A's will work with him to draw more walks than he had been with the Pirates and the Giants, which should raise his OBP.

If everyone were healthy, this changes our ideal 25 man roster, which now would probably look something like this:

C Kurt Suzuki
1B Daric Barton
2B Mark Ellis
SS Bobby Crosby
3B Eric Chavez
RF Travis Buck
CF Rajai Davis
LF Jack Cust
DH Frank Thomas
BN Mike Sweeney
BN Donnie Murphy
BN Jack Hannahan
BN Emil Brown
BN Rob Bowen
SP Joe Blanton
SP Rich Harden
SP Justin Duchscherer
SP Chad Gaudin
SP Dana Eveland
CL Huston Street
SU Keith Foulke
SU Alan Embree
LR Lenny DiNardo
RP Santiago Casilla
RP Andrew Brown

Absent from this list are Chris Denorfia, Ryan Sweeney, and Dan Johnson. Denorfia I imagine will get reassigned to AAA when Buck comes back due to his poor range in the Outfield so far and marginal bat. Johnson was waived by the A's last week and picked up by the Devil Rays. I like the Raj over Sweeney due to his real ability to play center, and Sweeney being marginal so far at the plate. Those two could switch depending on their respective performances over the next few weeks.

We'll have to see how this develops, but it should make the A's better at the plate to back up their league-leading Team ERA of 3.24. Beane has seen his team is outperforming expectations, and these are two moves that cost the A's virtually nothing. This doesn't instantly make the A's the best team in the AL West, but it does address two big concerns: Centerfield, and the lack of power.