PT TOMORROW: AL West—Ripple Casualties

Oakland Athletics

OAK went to work quickly following the off-season departure of closer Grant Balfour. The A's bolstered a fine pen that was already primed to pick up the slack by adding ex-Orioles closer Jim Johnson (RHP, OAK) and ex-Padres setup man Luke Gregerson (RHP, OAK) via trades. Johnson moves immediately into the vacated closer spot, while Gregerson—who has picked up 13 saves over the past two seasons while subbing for the oft-injured Huston Street—is added to an already potent collection of setup options that includes lefty Sean Doolittle and Ryan Cook (RHP, OAK).

Coming off two seasons in which he'd whiffed over a batter an inning, posted sub-3.00 ERAs and racked up GBs at a 47% clip, Cook had been considered by many to the...

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