Drew's arrival creates platoon at second

OAKLAND -- The big news came Monday night when the A's announced the acquisition of shortstop Stephen Drew from the Diamondbacks. The surprising news came when Oakland optioned starting second baseman Jemile Weeks to Triple-A Sacramento.

NEWS: A's option Weeks
With an opening at second base, the A's are starting Adam Rosales on Tuesday. Melvin says that Cliff Pennington will likely start there on Wednesday after getting some work in at second base prior to Tuesday's game. The A's feel Pennington is a strong enough defender that he will be able to handle the adjustment. "Right now his opportunity is at second base," Melvin said. "He understands that, and he is going to work as hard as he can to be a very good second baseman." Meanwhile, Stephen Drew arrived around 4:15 p.m. He is in the lineup batting second and starting at shortstop. The A's are counting on Drew to rebound offensively after struggling in Arizona since returning from a right ankle fracture that forced him to miss a total of 137 games."Our scouts have told us that they haven't seen anything that would suggest the mobility isn't there." Melvin said. "He's 29, our feeling is that he is going through a little bit of a rough period offensively after coming back from that injury in the middle of the season."Drew has played in 40 games this season. He is batting .069 (2-for-29) in his last nine games, and is hitting .193 this season. Drew feels he is making good contact at the plate and the hits will start coming. "I feel good, the outcome is not what I wanted," Drew said. "I was hitting a lot of line outs the first month when I was up there, and you know, that's baseball. It's a humbling game and hopefully this next month they'll fall."Drew will be wearing No. 5 for the A's. Chip Hale previously wore that number. Drew probably didn't have to twist the A's bench coach's arm too hard. They have a good working relationship together. Hale was Drew's Manager in Triple-A, and coached with Melvin when the A's current skipper was the Diamondbacks manager."It's a fresh start for me," Drew said. "Getting to play with Bo-Mel again and Chip, it's going to be a good thing." After making the trade on Monday night, A's assistant general manager David Forst said that Melvin and Hale helped provide information on what kind of player Drew was. Their input and the work of their scouts gave the A's the impression that Drew would be able to help them. "He helps the team all the way around," Melvin said. "I know he's had some struggles this year, at least on the surface looking at the numbers. I've seen this guy be an all-around player."In 2008, Drew batted .291 with 44 doubles, 11 triples, 21 home runs and 67 RBIs in 152 games. He was the named the BBWAA Diamondbacks Player of the Year. "It's weird, you play for a team for seven years and then just everybody heads different directions," Drew said. "I am happy to be here and hope I can help this team win."