It’s been a rough time to be a left handed pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Camp hadn’t even started when a key LHP, Ken Waldichuk, was shut down. Then down went Scott Alexander and soon after him Sean Newcomb.
Not that being right handed has been any sort of panacea for health. Freddy Tarnok and Luis Medina are among the walking wounded, while Trevor Gott’s Oakland career ended with Tommy John surgery before it started, which means that out of 13 pitchers slated for the Opening Day roster the A’s are arguably down 6 that would have broken camp with the team.
Even for pitchers that seems like an awful lot of injuries — nearly half the projected staff will need understudies — and it vindicates the front office for what might have initially appeared to be an overly zealous quest for depth. The Alex Wood signing looks better than it did, and even the addition of Ross Stripling has more merit as the projected rotation has now become Wood-Stripling-Sears-Blackburn and either Joe Boyle (who has had a rocky spring) or Mitch Spence.
And so much for the “problem” of having too many hackers whose best position is DH. The best of the bunch is Brent Rooker, and he still figures to be the primary DH, but Miguel Andujar is out 4-6 weeks with a meniscus tear and Jordan Diaz hacked his way back to the minors with a dreadful 2 for 24 showing in the Cactus League.
In fact, the A’s depth has been tested so much that instead of Abraham Toro, JJ Bleday, and Lawrence Butler being on the bubble, it looks like there might be room for Darell Hernaiz or Hoy Park on the position player side. On the pitching side, Oakland might find itself dipping into the minors for players they have already cut, such as Hogan Harris or Oswaldo Bido.
I don’t know who has the inside track for back up catcher, but whether it’s Carlos Perez or Kyle McCann someone needs to be added to the 40 man roster and will occupy on of the 12 position player spots. So then, currently assured (at least it seems) of roster spots amongst the position players:
Langeliers, Perez/McCann, Noda, Gelof, Allen, Davis, Bleday, Ruiz, Rooker, Brown
That’s 10 of 13. Here are some notes around the current “bubble” players:
Abraham Toro
Expect Toro to win a spot based on one of the most important qualities a player can have at the end of March: being out of options. The switch hitting Toro has performed well at the plate this spring (.357/.460/.476) and he is cheap ($1.275M).
What Toro lacks is the positional versatility to back up at SS, which becomes a problem with the addition of 3Bman JD Davis to go with Zack Gelof entrenched at 2B, but it’s hard to imagine the A’s punting on Toro given how cheaply he comes. And as I just chronicled, the A’s are only one injury (to Gelof or Davis) away from needing Toro to start every day.
Lawrence Butler
I consider Butler to be on the bubble because he is still young (23), has options, and came into a camp crowded with outfielders. Attrition, e.g., Andujar going down, might provide opportunity but Butler’s terrific spring training alone (.347/.411/.469) might not as the A’s have seen that movie before and won’t want to rush a key prospect’s development based on a seductive March mirage.
That being said, Butler is a good fielder and that alone sets him apart from most of his outfield peers. Andujar is on the shelf and is a poor fielder anyway. Rooker offers no defensive value and Esteury Ruiz is trying to learn on the job how not to be terrible at fielding. Bleday is solid enough but lacks speed.
Because he offers talent in the field right now, as well as potentially at the plate, Butler can make a strong case for making the team on his merit. Perhaps his main competition for defensive acumen in the OF is...
Hoy Park
Talk about a “sleeper”. Park was on no one’s radar at the start of camp, a journeyman with pedestrian numbers in the big leagues (.201/.291/.346). What Park offers for sure is positional versatility, having logged time at 2B, SS, 3B, LF, CF, and RF in the big leagues. With Max Schuemann having been optioned Park remains as the A’s most Chad Pinder-y player in camp.
And then there’s the .500 batting average in the Cactus League. No, not one of those nice “1 for 2” or “2 for 4” showings. Park is 21 for 42. Given that the A’s need a back up SS, especially with Nick Allen only recently returning from back soreness, it seems certain that either Park or Hernaiz has to make the team. And unlike Hernaiz, Park would add a solid outfielder to the mix.
Darell Hernaiz
Still only 22, Hernaiz could use seasoning at AAA to work on leverage more power and refining his SS work. But necessity almost forced him onto the roster until Allen’s back stopped balking, and Hernaiz is still one of the few shortstops on the 40 man roster.
If Hernaiz’ .313 spring batting average is alluring, his .333 slugging percentage should serve as a reminder that there is still much work to do. For this reason, and because Park offers insurance at SS as well as in the OF, it seems likely that Park will pull an upset and grab the last roster spot — possibly at Hernaiz’ expense.
I suppose my best guess right now is Toro, Butler, and Park and Hernaiz odd man out. Or maybe by Thursday two more injuries will have radically shifted the landscape yet again.
As for the pitching, maybe Boyle’s recent implosions will cost him a roster spot and Oakland will open the season with Wood-Stripling-Sears-Blackburn-Spence. The bullpen? Something like Miller-Erceg-Jackson-Muller-Jimenez-Kelly and a couple last gasp recalls, e.g., Hogan Harris and Oswaldo Bido? Easton Lucas?
Remember when there were too many relievers and now we’re trolling the optioned discards for arms? Baseball.
