Daric Barton (shoulder) said that he won't be able to field until mid-March.

Barton underwent surgery on his right shoulder in September to repair a partial labrum tear. Barton, 26, batted .212 over 236-bats with the A's last season. He's a solid defensive first baseman, assuming his shoulder is sound. The key to reclaiming his old role as a starter will be turning things around offensively. He was simply atrocious at the plate last year, especially for a first baseman.

Athletics and 1B Daric Barton avoided arbitration by agreeing on a one-year contract.

Terms aren't yet available, but he was projected to make a little over $1 million in arbitration. Barton, 26, batted .212 over 236-bats with the A's this season and underwent surgery on his right shoulder in early September to repair a partial labrum tear.

Athletics activated 1B Daric Barton from the 60-day disabled list.

Barton underwent surgery on his right shoulder in early September to repair a partial labrum tear. The A's could non-tender the 26-year-old first baseman this winter.

Daric Barton (shoulder surgery) can resume throwing in January and hopes to be only a little behind the other position players at the start of spring training.

Barton had arthroscopic surgery on September 12 to repair a partial tear of the labrum in his right shoulder. He's expected to compete for the first base job next spring, but Brandon Allen has a leg up on him. That's assuming the A's don't non-tender him over the offseason, which is a possibility.

Daric Barton underwent surgery on his right shoulder Monday.

Barton, who batted .212 over 236-bats with the A's this season, was shut down in mid-July due to a torn labrum. Dr. Lewis Yocum inserted two anchors to strengthen the labrum and debrided some fraying of the rotator cuff. He is expected to be ready for spring training, though his future with the organization is cloudy.

Athletics recalled 1B Daric Barton from Triple-A Sacramento; placed him on the 60-day disabled list.

He was cleared to make room for Andrew Carignan on the 40-man roster. Barton batted just .212 with the A's this season and was shut down in mid-July with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. With Brandon Allen emerging, his future with the organization is in serious doubt.

Daric Barton was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his right shoulder and will see Dr. Lewis Yocum on Wednesday.

The injury was discovered via an MRI last week and Barton believes he will eventually undergo surgery. "It definitely sucks, but it's also a relief in a way," said Barton. "With a torn muscle or ligament, it's hard to perform at that level." The 25-year-old was demoted to the minors last month after batting just .212 with a .592 OPS over his first 236 at-bats.

Daric Barton is currently on the disabled list with Triple-A Sacramento due to left shoulder soreness.

He is not expected to miss significant time. Barton is batting .197 (12-for-67) with a .347 on-base percentage since being demoted last month.

Daric Barton is hitting just .158 through his first 38 at-bats since being demoted to Triple-A Sacramento on June 21.

Typically, he's reaching base at a clip of .347 through his first 49 plate appearances, but that can hardly be considered encouraging since he was still drawing plenty of walks in the big leagues before his demotion. Although patience at the plate is almost always a virtue in baseball, it would maybe behoove Barton to start being a little more aggressive as he attempts to rediscover his woebegone stroke.

Athletics optioned 1B Daric Barton to Triple-A Sacramento.

The A's just ran out of patience with Barton, and we can't blame them. He flied out as a pinch-hitter Tuesday to lower his average to .212, and he's slugging an absurdly-low .267 on the year. He's try to find his game at Triple-A while Conor Jackson handles most of the starts at first base.

The A's might be considering sending Daric Barton to the minors.

The .212-hitting Barton has an option left, and he's simply never been able to escape his season-long funk. Sending him down to get his head on straight might not be a bad idea at this point. If a move is made, Conor Jackson and/or Adam Rosales would likely handle first base.

New A's manager Bob Melvin is planning to leave Daric Barton further down in the batting order for the time being.

Barton has primarily hit out of the two-spot this season, but to very poor results. Melvin believes he looks more comfortable further down in the order, and the six-hole seems likely to be his home for the foreseeable future, with Cliff Pennington now expected to bat second.

Daric Barton is back in the A's lineup and hitting sixth on Friday.

Batting just .206 with zero home runs through his first 189 at-bats this season, Barton got two days off to clear his head. Hopefully he figured something out, as even though he's coming off a very nice 2010 campaign, the A's can't afford to get so little production from first base for much longer.

Daric Barton will sit for a second straight game Wednesday.

The struggling Barton is currently taking a couple days to work on his swing with A's hitting coach Gerald Perry. Conor Jackson will make another start at first base Wednesday and bat third against right-hander A.J. Burnett.

A's manager Bob Geren said Daric Barton could sit out multiple days in order to work with hitting coach Gerald Perry.

Barton is batting just .206 on the season and has yet to hit a home run. When he does return to the lineup, he'll probably be dropped lower in the batting order.

Daric Barton is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Yankees.

Barton is batting just .206 this season and hasn't had an extra-base hit since May 18, so he'll take a seat Tuesday. Conor Jackson will make the start at first base and bat third against right-hander Freddy Garcia. Though Barton has mostly batted second this season, he could be dropped in the order upon his return.

Athletics manager Bob Geren said Monday that he might consider moving the struggling Daric Barton down in the batting order.

After going 0-for-4 against the Yankees on Monday, Barton is now batting .207/.321/.266 on the year. He ranks seventh in the American League with 31 walks, but the Athletics need more production out of the No. 2 spot.

Daric Barton is back in the A's lineup on Friday evening.

Barton got the day off on Thursday, presumably to help clear his head. A .273 hitter a year ago, he is batting just .206 through his first 175 at-bats this season, and has yet to homer. He should still have a little bit of rope left, but if his struggles drag on for much longer, expect Oakland to soon give Conor Jackson an extended look at first base.

Daric Barton went 0-for-4 and struck out twice in the loss to the Angels on Wednesday.

The A's need some kind of offensive shakeup, so maybe it's time they send Barton down. He's still getting his walks, but he's hitting .206, he's yet to homer and he's driven in just 12 runs in 175 at-bats. It'd be an easier call for the A's if Chris Carter were hitting in Triple-A, but the team may need to make the move anyway.

In the midst of a 2-for-30 slump, Daric Barton was given a day off Tuesday.

Barton, who is hitting only .205/.354/.282 with no home runs so far this season, took some extra batting practice before Tuesday's game. Conor Jackson is getting the start at first base.