Japan series in 2019?
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — With Shohei Ohtani joining the Angels and baseball back in the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020, Major League Baseball is planning a season-opening series at the Tokyo Dome in 2019 and the A’s, as usual, are on the short list of teams under consideration for the trip.
The other team assuredly would be the Angels. The A’s played season-opening series in Tokyo in 2008 and 2012.
The A’s typically request to be considered for international trips because the front office and coaching staff believe the experience to be a good one for young players. The fact that Oakland wasn’t expected to contend in 2012 and won the AL West that season doesn’t hurt, either.
Oakland also is one of the few teams that doesn’t mind losing two home dates; the international trips typically are more lucrative than the first two games at the Coliseum. Rule 5 draft: As expected, Oakland did not make a selection Thursday’s Rule 5 draft, but the team did lose minorleague right-hander Brett Graves to the Marlins, who picked 17th. Graves, who turns 25 in January, was a thirdround pick out of Missouri in 2014. He is 23-21 with a 5.00 ERA in four minor-league seasons. Fuson honors: Grady Fuson was the man of the week at the Swan and Dolphin hotels. The A’s executive was awarded not one but two awards at baseball’s winter meetings.
Fuson, 61, is the first person to win the Sheldon “Chief ” Bender award for player development along with the Scout of the Year award.
“The whole week has been Grady-palooza,” A’s vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane said. “It’s unbelievable. Not since the Queen’s Jubilee has there been so much celebration.”
Fuson, a special assistant to Beane and general manager David Forst, might be best known to the general public for something entirely fictional.
“I fired that guy!” Beane joked of the scene in ‘Moneyball’ in which Brad Pitt’s Beane cans ‘Grady Fuson.’ In reality, Fuson had left the A’s the year before for a better job with the Rangers.
Fuson was overwhelmed by all the attention. “My anxiety level has been tested,” he said. “I have new clothes, the whole gig.” Coaching assignments: Manager Bob Melvin said new third-base coach Matt Williams, the former Giants third baseman, will be the primary infield coach, with new firstbase coach Al Pedrique helping with the middle infielders. Mike Aldrete, shuffled from the first-base coaching job to assistant hitting coach, still will coach the outfielders, with input from quality-control coach Mark Kotsay and bench coach Ryan Christenson. Pedrique and Aldrete will be the primary baserunning coaches — with, of course, the occasional contribution from guest instructor Rickey Henderson, the all-time stolenbase leader.