Pitchers get a little help from Chavez
MESA, Ariz. — Oakland’s pitching continues to be rocked most days when A.J. Puk isn’t on the mound, including Monday, when the A’s allowed nine early runs to the White Sox.
Sometimes, when things go south, pitchers need a little extra help, and when the A’s staff turned things around midway through Monday’s game, manager Bob Melvin was pointed in his praise of minor-league catcher Santiago Chavez.
Chavez, a nonroster player, was behind the plate for a scoreless inning from Ryan Buchter and three from starter candidate Paul Blackburn.
“I thought Chavvy did a great job for us,” Melvin said. “It went from an ugly game, then when he came in ... he was into it. Certainly, Blackburn threw great to him. There is a serious value in what a guy can do behind the plate and he brought real energy when he came into the game.”
Bruce Maxwell started at catcher, and Chicago scored all of its runs when he was in the game, including five off Santiago Casilla in the fourth. Maxwell is the projected starter, but after taking over the job full time last year when Stephen Vogt was waived, Maxwell put up only modest offensive numbers.
If Maxwell isn’t outstanding behind the plate, the A’s could look elsewhere for help at the position, or turn to other internal options, particularly given the legal issues hovering over Maxwell following his arrest on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
The A’s starters certainly have struggled, aside from Puk, who has yet to give up a run this spring. Blackburn’s ERA stands at 5.14 after his three innings; Andrew Triggs’ is at 7.71; Frankie Montas has an 8.31 ERA; Jharel Cotton and Daniel Mengden 9.00; Kendall Graveman 13.50 and Daniel Gossett 27.00. Sean Manaea will make his spring debut Tuesday.
Mengden started the A’s 9-9 tie to the White Sox on Monday and allowed four runs in 21⁄3 innings.
Núñez and the roster: Renato Núñez (hamstring) said his light jogging Sunday went well and he hopes to get into games before the end of spring training. “We have three weeks left,” Melvin said, noting that Núñez hasn’t started hitting yet. “We’ll see.”
Núñez is out of options, so if he isn’t ready to start the season, he could go on the disabled list. At some point, however, the team will have to make a decision on the corner infielder/left fielder. The fact that Oakland designated outfielder-DH Brandon Moss for assignment Sunday improves Núñez’s chances, but the final roster composition still will come down to how many relievers the team takes and whether the A’s believe they need a backup outfielder who can play center field proficiently.
Should the A’s use a sevenman bullpen, they could have both Núñez and Jake Smolinski on the bench. If they go with eight relievers, as they did last year, selecting Núñez would leave utilityman Chad Pinder and regular left fielder Matt Joyce as the backup center fielders.
Briefly: Left-handed reliever Jairo Labourt, claimed Sunday, could be in uniform Tuesday, though he is unlikely to appear in a game for several days . ... Jorge Mateo (knee) will appear in his first Cactus League game Tuesday. “I can’t wait for that,” the minor-league shortstop said.