Lavarnway’s review of WBC: ‘awesome’
MESA, Ariz. — Ryan Lavarnway had a big thumbs-up for his first World Baseball Classic experience.
“It was awesome, a whole lot of fun,” said the A’s non-roster catcher, who played for Israel and was named the MVP of the first-round games in Seoul. “Especially because we didn’t know what to expect, competition-level wise. We had a huge difference in experience level and knew we had potential, but we really didn’t know what we’d look like. And we beat four of the top 10 teams in the world. It was pretty incredible.
“We were just having fun and enjoying the moment. We played loose and we cared, which is a tough line to walk sometimes.”
Lavarnway went 8-for-18 with a homer and six RBIs, and he walked five times in six games.
“I was just trying to feel like me,” Lavarnway said. “I feel like I have the potential to hit like that. I have before. Hopefully, I can keep it going.”
Manager Bob Melvin said he’d try to get Lavarnway back in action as soon as possible.
“Back to my day job,” Lavarnway said.
Smolinski surgery: Outfielder Jake Smolinski underwent surgery Thursday to repair the labrum in his right shoulder and remove the bursa sac in the joint. Dr. Doug Freedberg performed the procedure in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Typically, outfielders who have labrum tears in their throwing arms miss four to six months, so Smolinski potentially could be out much, if not all, of the season. In a release, the A’s said that Smolinski will be in sling for four weeks but provided no timetable for his return.
Melvin said Smolinski was relatively upbeat about the procedure.
“I texted with him a little bit and he felt good about it,” Melvin said. “It’s always good to have a positive frame of mind when you go into your rehab.”
Barreto among cuts: Middle infielder Franklin Barreto, who is leading the club with a .481 average and who has been impressive in the field, was optioned to minor-league camp along with infielders Chad
Pinder and Matt Olson. All three could be called up during the season, and Barreto, obtained in the Josh Donaldson deal, is a potential star.
Billy Beane, vice president of baseball operations, noted that Barreto has spent minimal time at the Triple-A level (four games), but said that if he continues on the path he’s been on, he’ll be up “sooner than later. … I think we’d all like to see him up here at some point and that’s our anticipation.”
Pinder, who is likely to be groomed as a utility player, hit .158 with two homers this spring, and Olson, a first baseman-outfielder, batted .167 with two homers. Beane-Kaval chat: Beane and team president Dave Kaval met with reporters Friday for a wide-ranging discussion.
Beane, who got a slap on the wrist from the East Bay Municipal Utility District for excess water usage at his home during the drought, had the best line of the day when Kaval was asked about potential stadium sites. The Danville resident cracked, “I can say I heard this morning: It’s not going to be in Danville. … Apparently there’s not enough water out there.
“You want to hear a funny story about that? I’ve been relandscaping since July, and I can’t get my drought-resistant lawn in because of the rains.”
Among other tidbits from Beane: Hard-throwing Frankie Montas is still viewed as a starter by the team, but because he missed so much of last season with rib-cage injuries, he will be a bullpen option this season — potentially at the big-league level. “To his advantage, and I’m sure it makes Bob happy, he becomes a majorleague bullpen option and you can maybe use him through the course of the season because you can govern the innings.” Beane mentioned outfielder
Jaff Decker, who is in the mix to be the fifth outfielder, as a nice surprise this spring. “He’s impressed all of us,” Beane said.