A's Add DiNardo, Thomas; Drop Bocachica

Two days before the first official day of camp, the Oakland A's made a flurry of moves that have reshaped their roster somewhat.

The Oakland A's announced on Wednesday that they had claimed former Boston LHP Lenny DiNardo off of waivers. DiNardo had an injury-plagued 2006 season, during which he spent time in Boston, Portland, Pawtucket and in the Gulf Coast League. DiNardo had a 7.85 ERA in 13 appearances for the Red Sox, including six starts.

Prior to the 2006 season, DiNardo had made 30 major league appearances, all but one of them in relief. He had a 4.23 ERA in 22 appearances in 2004, striking out 21 in 27.2 major league innings. In 2005, DiNardo made eight appearances and had a 1.84 ERA over 14.2 innings. He struck out 15 during that time-frame.

During his minor league career, the left-hander has mostly been a starting pitcher. He has made 94 career appearances in the minor leagues, 74 of them coming as starts. He has a 17-22 career record in the minors with a 3.35 ERA and 388 strikeouts in 395.1 innings.

DiNardo is a groundball pitcher who uses an array of off-speed pitches to keep hitters off-balance. He was originally drafted by the New York Mets in 2001 in the third round. He was then a Rule 5 draft selection by the Boston Red Sox before the 2004 season.

DiNardo will join Joe Kennedy, Brad Halsey, Ron Flores, Jay Marshall, Dallas Braden, Alan Embree, Dan Meyer and Derek Thompson as the left-handed pitchers in A's camp. A's pitchers and catchers report on Friday, February 16.

DiNardo will be replacing outfielder Hiram Bocachica on the A's 40-man roster. Bocachica has been on a yo-yo path with the A's since signing with the team before the 2005 season. In both 2005 and 2006, Bocachica spent time in September with the A's. During the off-seasons that have followed each of those years, Bocachica has been designated for assignment by the A's.

Bocachica has appeared in 17 games for Oakland, collecting five hits in 32 at-bats. He was arguably the Sacramento River Cats' top player last season, posting a 1017 OPS in 77 games for the A's Triple-A affiliate.

If Bocachica clears waivers, he will have the option of accepting an assignment from Oakland to Triple-A or declaring free agency.

The A's also announced on Wednesday that outfielder Charles Thomas has cleared waivers and has been re-assigned to Sacramento.

Thomas has been invited to major league spring training as a non-roster player. He was designated for assignment last week when the A's signed outfielder Shannon Stewart.