Oakland Athletics expected to carry 17-year-old prospect on taxi squad

The Oakland Athletics are expected to carry 17-year-old Robert Puason on their roster.

The Oakland Athletics and the rest of the MLB world are preparing for what will (hopefully) be the triumphant return of baseball next month. And as that preparation continues, teams are now starting to construct their summer rosters.

Given the unfortunate cancellation of the minor-league season, the MLB’s roster rules will look vastly different in 2020. Teams will be required to set a 60-man player pool that will consist of their “available roster” for the upcoming season.

There will be a 30-man Opening Day roster that will gradually be trimmed down to 26 players over time. But for the sake of camp and “spring training 2.0,” the 60 players in the overall roster pool will be allowed to participate.

As a result, many teams have opted to carry some of their top prospects, who won’t get the opportunity to develop in the minors this season, on their 60-man player pool.

The Athletics appear to be no exception to the rule.

The Oakland Athletics are expected to include top prospect Robert Puason in their 60-man player pool.

MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reported on Saturday that the team is expected to carry top prospect Robert Puason on their 60-man roster this summer. Notably, Puason is 17-years-old and won’t turn 18 until mid-September.

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There’s a good chance that he’s the youngest player on any roster this season.

Now, Puason isn’t going to play in the majors this year — it just isn’t going to happen. But the young shortstop will be given the opportunity to mix it up with some major-leaguers in camp while continuing his development.

For that reason alone he’s worth the roster spot.

Puason is currently the A’s No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, but expect that to change very soon. The three players ranked ahead of him (Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, and Sean Murphy) are all set to become full-time major-leaguers as soon as this year.

By the end of the season, expect Puason to be Oakland’s No. 1 overall prospect.

The Dominican infielder was signed as an international free agent just shy of a year ago and was given a very hefty $5.1 million signing bonus.

Seen as a high-upside hitter, Puason’s defense is still ahead of his offense at the moment. But the potential is there for the young shortstop to become a perennial All-Star at the next level.

And now he’ll be given a chance to play with some big-leaguers sooner than anyone would have thought.