No Laureano for A’s this weekend, but suspension reduced
Oakland will be without center fielder Ramón Laureano throughout the weekend series in San Francisco and the first game at Arizona on Monday — but that’s the extent of the time Laureano will miss after charging the Astros’ dugout Sunday.
Laureano’s suspension was reduced from six games to four upon appeal Friday. The A’s will not be able to replace him on the roster, but Mark Canha will get the bulk of time in center field while he is out, and Tony Kemp and Robbie Grossman are among the options to hit second in the lineup. Kemp was in the second spot Friday against the Giants.
“It’s a big outfield, so missing your center fielder makes it tough,” closer Liam Hendriks said of Oracle Park. “But we have enough guys who can fill in. (Chad) Pinder can go out there, Canha did a fantastic job of filling in last year and commanding that center field area,
Grossman can be a plusdefender in center fielder, too, so I’m not too worried.
“Obviously the biggest thing right now is his atbats. He’s been taking great atbats, grinding them out, making them throw pitches, so you take that sort of bat out of the lineup, it makes things kind of iffy. But we have guys who can come in and quell that and the good thing is, with expanded rosters, we don’t have to worry too much.”
Hendriks was glad the suspension was reduced, and, alluding to hitting coach Alex Cintrón’s 20game suspension for provoking Laureano, Hendriks said, “It’s just one of those things where the culture change over in Houston is needed. I think if you’re going to get a guy that comes out and starts offending people’s families, that’s a nono no matter what . ... It’s almost like you’re taking a jab at us to make sure that you bring us back down to your level. We don’t appreciate that.
“It’s one of those things we’re going to have to take hold of and make sure that we put our stamp on them and tell them — no, no, no, it doesn’t matter what else has happened, we’re now the kings of the AL West and we’re going to prove it to you and this is how.”
While Oakland would prefer not to lose one of its most productive players, especially a spark plug such as Laureano, the timing could be worse: The team would rather be without Laureano for interleague series such as those against the Giants and Diamondbacks; the rest of the schedule is against the AL West, and intradivision record is critical for a potential contender.
Manager Bob Melvin noted Friday that Canha turned in excellent work in center when Laureano was hurt last year “and really looked like a natural center fielder. We’re lucky we have a guy like him who can fill in there.”
Melvin said that the team was happy to get any kind of reduction, saying, “It’s just something we have to deal with, but we’re fairly well covered in the outfield, and maybe allows us to move some bats around . ... But it’s always tough to lose a guy like him.”
In the seventh inning Sunday, Laureano was hit by a pitch for the third time in the series on a fullcount breaking ball. As Laureano went to first base, he jawed at pitcher Humberto Castellanos and pointedly showed him how to throw a slider; then Houston hitting coach Cintrón barked at Laureano and challenged him to fight, ultimately stepping out of the dugout and waving Laureano to come toward him.
Laureano said Monday that Cintrón had made a derogatory comment about his mother.
“Obviously, I don’t take that lightly,” Laureano said. “I don’t think anyone would take that lightly.”
The league studied audio and video from the incident and clearly believed Cintrón to be the instigator, slapping him with a 20game suspension. MLB’s 2020 safety protocols are clear: Punishment is to be severe for any physical contact between teams, with no prorating suspensions based on the shortened season.
Laureano is off to the best allaround start on the team, and leads the A’s with a 1.1 WAR.