1st reinforcements arrive, witness loss
SEATTLE — For a last-place team in rebuild mode, Sept. 1 means a chance to get a glimpse of the future as call-ups join the roster.
Top prospect Franklin Barreto, who was up briefly earlier in the year, rejoined the team along with left-handed reliever Sam Moll before Oakland’s 3-2 loss Friday. The A’s were sparing with their additions. They’ll add more next week because Triple-A Nashville’s season ends Monday.
It’s unclear how much time Barreto, 21, will get in the final month. The A’s middle infielders, Jed Lowrie and Marcus Semien, are entrenched and returning next year, with Oakland expecting to pick up Lowrie’s 2018 option. Manager Bob Melvin said Barreto probably will play once or twice a week and he’d like to get him into a game this weekend.
Barreto wasn’t a sure thing even to come up. The A’s wanted him to force his way into consideration for the promotion — and he did by going 17 for his last 35 at Nashville. Now, he’d like to show the team that he’s a better hitter than what he showed in his June 24-July 7 stint, when he hit .191 with two homers and five RBIs with 18 strikeouts in 42 at-bats.
“I want to cut down my strikeouts. My first couple of days here I struck out a lot,” Barreto said Friday, with Juan Dorado interpreting. “I want to show them I have a better eye at the plate, better at-bats.”
Moll, 25, was acquired from Colorado last month for a player to be named or cash and he was unscored upon in six games at Nashville. His fiancee, parents, sister and some friends from Tennessee were on hand Friday for Moll’s big-league debut. He came in with a man on and two outs in the eighth to face former A’s All-Star Yonder Alonso and got Alonso to fly out.
“Pretty good sample: He got someone out,” Melvin said. “I told him, ‘There’s nothing to it.’ ”
Next week, the A’s will call up Renato Nuñez, whose 32 homers are the second-most in the minor leagues.
“It’s something special,” Barreto said of Nuñez’s season. “He’s a hitter with a lot of power and has a lot of discipline at the plate, the numbers show it. He’s working really hard and doing everything he can to get up here as well.”
With the A’s playing a doubleheader at the Coliseum next Saturday, an additional starting pitcher is also likely to come up. Daniel Mengden, scheduled to start Sunday for Nashville, is the leading possibility, given his previous experience and the timing, and Josh Smith has a good shot to return in long relief.
Catcher Josh Phegley came off the disabled list after missing more than a month with an oblique strain and outfielder Jake Smolinski, who had shoulder surgery March 13, was activated though initially he can only DH, pinch hit and pinch run.
Oakland’s losing streak hit four even though the A’s jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first against new Mariners starter Mike Leake. Marcus Semien and Matt Joyce — who had three hits — singled, Lowrie provided an RBI double and Matt Olson a run-scoring groundout.
That’s all the A’s managed against Leake. And the Mariners put up three in the third against Sean Manaea. Mike Zunino homered, Mitch Haniger hit an RBI single and Kyle Seager a sacrifice fly after Manaea had hit Robinson Cano and walked Nelson Cruz to load the bases.
Manaea went 62⁄3 innings and allowed seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
After a rough start to August in which he allowed 13 runs in three outings and 62⁄3 innings, Manaea hasn’t allowed more than three runs in his past three appearances.
“The month of August wasn’t good to me,” he said. “Just trying to get things back on track. Doing the work between starts has paid off.”