Oakland A's: Predicting the A's 2012 25-Man Roster

Predicting the 2012 Oakland A’s 25-man roster is not an easy task at this point.

The A’s didn’t make many waves before the 2011 trade deadline.

There was plenty of speculation leading up to the July 31st cutoff.  Players like outfielders Josh Willingham, Coco Crisp and even left-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez were all of interest as the date drew closer.

The only noise the A’s really made was the Brad Ziegler for Brandon Allen trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks and later, the A’s would deal utility man Conor Jackson to the Boston Red Sox.

All signs point to the A’s staying with the same outline in 2012 as they did in 2011, with a few changes.

Below is how I see the the A’s 25-man roster in 2012.

Keep in mind that I have taken the liberty of making a few moves for the A’s where the starting lineup is concerned.

Starting Lineup

1 2B Jemile Weeks

2 OF Coco Crisp

3 3B David Wright/Aramis Ramirez

4 OF Josh Willingham

5 DH Hideki Matsui

6 1B Brandon Allen

7 OF Michael Taylor

8 SS Cliff Pennington

9 C Kurt Suzuki

Bench

C Landon Powell

OF Ryan Sweeney

OF Jai Miller

IF Scott Sizemore

Starting Rotation

1 RHP Trevor Cahill

2 LHP Gio Gonzalez

3 LHP Dallas Braden

4 RHP Brandon McCarthy

5 RHP Guillermo Moscoso

Bullpen

RHP Andrew Bailey

RHP Grant Balfour

LHP Craig Breslow

RHP Fautino De LOS Santos

LHP Josh Outman

RHP Rich Harden

RHP Michael Wuertz

There is not a doubt in my mind that a lot of you are going to disagree with my roster.  So, feel free to chop it up.

My version of the 2012 A’s is very familiar in some spots, while others consist of players that I have wanted to see called up from Sacramento for some time now.

My starting lineup is based on the assumption that Willingham, Matsui and Crisp will still be around.  If this is not the case for one or all of them, the lineup could change quite a bit.

A few of the youngsters, included are already up with the big club, due to September call ups.  Come April I would still like to see them in the green and gold.

Pitching

My starting rotation does include three of the ”Big Four.”  Brandon McCarthey and Guillermo Moscoso have made great cases for a spot in the starting five for 2011.  Tyson Ross and Rich Harden will also be in the mix as the club evaluates Braden’s recovery.  One of the these three could end up in the bullpen.

Brett Anderson is likely going to be out for most of the 2012 season, so unless the A’s decide to make a monster move, the staff should shake out like I have it.

Billy Beane May Make Big Moves

There is slight chance that Billy Beane might not take my advice for the 2012 season.  In fact he may go a totally different direction.

As I have mentioned on more than one occasion, I think the A’s have a nice foundation mixed with young talent in Sacramento.  But, remember we are talking about Beane, and with the A’s recent woes under his command, he might feel the pressure to shake things up in Oakland.  Beane has said  that the A’s don’t have money issues, so maybe they spend a little cash for a change and bring in some semi-high priced talent.  I said maybe, I wouldn’t count on it.