Oakland pitchers face big workload
After abbreviated ’20 season, brain trust must figure out best way to protect, develop starters
As a majorleague starter, A’s righthander Mike Fiers models constancy.
Before the shortened 2020 season, Fiers logged five consecutive seasons with at least 29 starts and 150 innings. Only six pitchers have more starts since the beginning of 2015 — they include Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke.
Last year, though, Fiers totaled 602⁄3 innings across a 60game schedule and playoffs. And returning to a 162game slate this season, even he isn’t sure what to expect.
“It’s going to be a challenge for everybody — even for me,” Fiers said Thursday. “I’m used to pitching a full year and it’s going to be different.”
At issue across MLB is how teams will handle pitchers, especially starters, who threw far fewer innings than normal in 2020 and face a sharp increase this season. The Mariners have already said they’ll use a sixman rotation, while the Tigers and Reds are discussing the option. Teams that don’t are still likely to monitor their pitchers’ workloads.
“We haven’t talked about a
sixman rotation,” A’s general manager David Forst said this week. “That said, there are going to be a lot of variables.”
The A’s return their top five starters from last year, several of whom worked lower innings totals even before in the pandemicshortened season.
Lefthander Jesús Luzardo threw 43 innings in 2019 due to injuries, and his careerhigh in a pro season is 1091⁄3. Sean Manaea missed much of 2019 following shoulder surgery and totaled 361⁄3 innings. Frankie Montas was suspended for half that season and totaled 96 innings. Of those three, Luzardo, 23, threw the most innings last year at 662⁄3.
“Other teams will probably have some 200inning guys that last year was probably a break for them, but we have younger guys (and) we do have to be cognizant of that,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ll do that in spring, we’ll do that during the season and we’ll rely on our training staff to monitor these guys and do what’s the most prudent thing.”
To that end, Oakland’s camp is awash in potential starting depth. Lefthander Cole Irvin, acquired in a trade from the Phillies, will be stretched out as a potential swingman and Nik Turley, a trade addition from Pittsburgh, has minorleague starting experience. Top prospect A.J. Puk could join the rotation if healthy, though his innings this year will be limited. Righthanders Daulton Jefferies and Paul Blackburn made spotstarts for the A’s last season and Grant Holmes is already on the 40man roster.
Fiers, 35, was one of two free agents the A’s resigned this offseason, and Melvin said Fiers’ durability factored into the A’s bringing him back. Melvin also pointed out starters in general have worked fewer innings in recent years so bullpens will play a big part in shouldering the innings load.
“I pride myself on taking the ball every fifth day and I want to throw as many innings as I can to take the pressure off our bullpen and kind of lead in the right direction,” Fiers said. “As long as the guys don’t try to do anything too crazy or push themselves too hard too early, I think we’ll be all right.
“It’s all about how you take care of your body, how you prepared in the offseason. … I feel like I will be fine. But a lot of these young kids that haven’t pitched a full year and just come off a twomonth season — it could be challenging for them.”
The 2020 season included a sudden stop midway through spring training and quick rampup in July that may have contributed to a series of pitcher injuries. The A’s built up their starters slowly in the summer camp; the result was shorter outings early in the season, but the A’s had five pitchers make nine or more starts and ranked third in the AL in rotation innings. Chris Bassitt led the A’s with 63 innings, throwing 11 more in two playoff starts, and had the league’s thirdlowest ERA at 2.29.
“Anyone that’s been through a full season in the big leagues understands that it’s not easy to get through,” said Bassitt, who made 25 starts and threw 144 innings for the A’s in 2019. “So it’s just focusing on what you can get done every single day.”