Bob Melvin signed a contract extension with the Oakland A’s. (Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)

The Oakland Athletics have signed manager Bob Melvin to a two-year contract extension, the team announced Monday. Melvin is coming off a successful season with the franchise that resulted in him being named the 2012 American League Manager of the Year. The Athletics went 94-68 in 2012, winning the AL West despite not being widely considered to be a contender at the start of the season. The Athletics bowed out of the playoffs in the divisional round, losing the five-game series 3-2 to the Detroit Tigers.

The Athletics’ stellar 2012 season represents a 20-game improvement over last season, the largest such turnaround in the history of the Athletics.

Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin revealed that Brandon Allen would be the team’s Opening Day first baseman in Japan, according to MLB.com.

Melvin pointed out the main reason for this decision is Allen’s defense, which was a problem for Kila Ka’aihue, who made two errors in the A’s 12-6 exhibition loss to the Hanshin Tigers.

Allen, 26 has been traded twice in his career going from the White Sox to the Diamondbacks and then the Diamondbacks to the A’s. He has struggled a bit in the majors, but his performance in the minors proves that he has the talent to compete at the highest level.

In 253 Triple-A games, Allen has hit .286/.401/.555.