Oakland Athletics’ Rosters Set; Season Outlook
On Monday, the Oakland Athletics open their 2015 season, hosting their division rivals, the Texas Rangers. After an excellent Spring Training, the A’s have plenty of reasons for optimism for the upcoming season. Oakland finished the warm-up games with a 22-11 record, good for the most wins in baseball, and tied for the best winning percentage in the league.
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The A’s announced their opening day 25-man roster on Saturday following their Spring Training finale, a loss to their rivals across the Bay, the San Francisco Giants.
C – Josh Phegley, Stephen Vogt
IF – Billy Butler, Ike Davis, Brett Lawrie, Marcus Semien, Eric Sogard
OF – Billy Burns, Sam Fuld, Craig Gentry
UTIL – Mark Canha, Tyler Ladendorf, Ben Zobrist
Rotation – Sonny Gray, Jesse Hahn, Scott Kazmir, Kendall Graveman, Drew Pomeranz
Bullpen – Fernando Abad, R.J. Alvarez, Jesse Chavez, Tyler Clippard, Eric O’Flaherty, Dan Otero, Evan Scribner
Although nothing is set in stone yet, the Athletics used a fairly set lineup in the three-game Bay Bridge Series to end the Spring against the Giants. The projected lineup for opening night against Rangers looks like this:
Mar 5, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Ben Zobrist against the Chicago Cubs during a spring training baseball game at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
1 – CF Gentry
2 – LF Fuld
3 – RF Zobrist
4 – DH Butler
5 – 1B Davis
6 – 3B Lawrie
7 – C Vogt
8 – SS Semien
9 – 2B Sogard
That lineup is subject to change, especially when the Athletics get some key players back from the disabled list. Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick, two starting outfielders, were placed on the 15-day disabled list to start the season. Crisp is expected to miss the first two months of the year after undergoing elbow surgery.
The outlook for Reddick is much better, and if everything goes as planned, he will be activated on the first Saturday of the season, April 11th, before the contest with the Seattle Mariners. Burns or Ladendorf will likely be the odd man out when Reddick returns.
The rotation is missing two key pieces who are recovering from Tommy John surgery. Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin are both on the disabled list, but according to manager Bob Melvin, it “wouldn’t be crazy” to get Parker back by the All-Star break, and Griffin not much later after that.
There were also a couple of surprising moves involving A’s starting pitcher as well. Barry Zito, the non-roster invitee who had a marvelous Spring, accepted the Athletics’ assignment, and will join the team’s Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. Zito accepted his assignment with grace, offering a great quote, as Susan Slusser wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle.
"“All of us non-first-ballot Hall of Famers shouldn’t have more pride than Rickey” – Zito"
Zito refers to the Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who accepted a demotion in 2001 as a 42-year-old, and played three seasons of independent ball from 2003 to 2005.
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Another surprise comes from Jesse Chavez, who will rejoin the bullpen after being a starter for a good portion of 2014. In 21 starts last year, Chavez went 8-7 with a 3.44 ERA and 1.302 WHIP, but has spent most of his career as a reliever. 200 of his 223 appearances have come out of the bullpen.
The bullpen figures to be a great strength again for the A’s, after having a 2.91 bullpen ERA in 2014, third-best in the majors. The addition of Clippard helps solidify the group even further, especially with Sean Doolittle starting the season on the disabled list. Clippard has been one of the best set-up men in baseball over the past six seasons, with a 2.64 ERA and 1.029 WHIP since converting to a reliever. Clippard’s performance as the closer will most likely dictate how Doolittle is used upon his return.
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The Athletics will feature a lot of new faces, as just nine players on 2015’s opening day roster were also on 2014’s opening day roster. Seven of those players are pitchers, and Sogard and Fuld are the only two position players returning.
There’s a lot of talent on the disabled list for Oakland, as 67 percent of the projected starting outfield is disabled, as 40 percent of the starting rotation is also recovering. If the Athletics can keep their heads afloat while those players recover, which they’ve proven in the past that they can do, they will be in good position when they return.
The Athletics are no strangers to winning with new faces. They’ve been doing it for years under “Billy Ball”, as General Manager Billy Beane makes big trades seemingly every year. 2015 is no different, but the A’s look ready.