Rotation looks set, with Hahn the odd man out
MESA, Ariz. — Just going by the pitching schedule, it’s fairly easy to see how the A’s rotation will shake out.
In order right now, it’s Kendall Graveman, Sean Manaea and Jharel Cotton — already announced as the 1-2-3 starters — followed by Andrew Triggs and Raul Alcantara.
The clear odd man out: Jesse Hahn’s schedule doesn’t coincide with the rest of the A’s starters, and Saturday he was starting a splitsquad game on the road against the Dodgers on the same day Manaea was working the home game against Cincinnati.
Then there were Saturday’s results. Hahn allowed eight hits and seven runs, five earned, in 31⁄3 innings, and his ERA is 8.80. So even if things hadn’t already been decided (as the schedule indicates), Hahn’s outing would be enough to take him out of the running.
Hahn was Oakland’s No. 3 starter the first half of 2015 before incurring a forearm strain. Healthy last season, he never regained his early 2015 form and had an ERA of 6.04 in nine starts with the A’s. He was 1-7 with a 4.32 ERA at Triple-A Nashville.
Billy Beane, vice president of baseball operations, identified Triggs as a rotation candidate at the end of last season, while Alcantara is out of options. Detwiler’s decision: Lefthander Ross Detwiler has an opt-out in his contract for Sunday and is expected to exercise it because he is not going to be on the Opening Night roster. Detwiler has an 11.88 ERA in eight games.
“The way the last couple of games went, I can guess,” he said Saturday.
It’s unclear if there is interest in him elsewhere. Detwiler is on the schedule to pitch in the A’s game against the Brewers on Sunday. Briefly: Shortstop Marcus Semien was sent home sick. … Khris Davis (quadriceps) and Jaff Decker (oblique) will get at-bats in a minor-league game Sunday.