Manaea solid in A’s winover White Sox
GLENDALE, ARIZ. >> The Oakland A’s visited Camelback Ranch on Wednesday and took a 14-4 win over latest team they’ve notched a postseason series victory against. The Chicago White Sox started most of their big guns, too. Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez and Tim Anderson took on A’s left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea for his third start of spring.
Here are some takeaways:
Ka’ai Tom and Seth Brown: Who makes the cut?
With another hit on Wednesday, Ka’ai Tom is now 9-for-20 in six games this spring. That includes a home run, a triple and two doubles. Manager Bob Melvin has been clear Tom was selected in the Rule 5 draft for keeps; he’s shown in just a few weeks his sneaky pop at the plate with a solid, short swing that stays long in the zone.
Defensively, Tom hasn’t seen much action. He’ll play in center field, where there’s more opportunity to make some plays, so the A’s can get a better look.
“Tough to get a read yet, we haven’t gotten a great read defensively,” Melvin said Wednesday morning. “You see him do his thing in drills, but until you get some plays during the game, you feel like you have a better evaluation of him when he does.
“What we’ve seen so far is fine, and his bat showed up big time.”
Tom looks like the clear-cut favorite to land a role as the team’s fourth outfielder come Opening Day, especially as a left-handed bat on a right-handed heavy roster.
But what about Seth Brown? His left-handed bat is also a viable option off the bench both as an outfielder and first baseman. After hitting a home run last week, Brown is starting to heat up this spring. He went 2-for-2 with a double and a home run on Wednesday, adding to a 7-for-24 spring performance at the plate thus far with three home runs. That’s three more home runs than he hit during his 2019 call-up.
“Getting a home run out of the way was a big relief for him,” Melvin said. “He’s always had this power. When he came up and did
a good job for us a few years ago, didn’t hit any homers but had a lot of doubles and continued what was a great season for him from TripleA to the big leagues, but after a while it starts to grate on you a little. Now he’s had two more since then. He’s relaxing and doing his thing.”
Though Brown is performing well at the plate, and excelled in his call-up in 2019 where he collected 22 hits (10 extra base hits), he may not make the team come April 1. Nothing has been decided yet, but the roster looks like it’ll shake out with just four true outfielders — Tony Kemp and Chad Pinder are among the presumed infielders the A’s will carry who can switch into the outfield.
Shortstop depth
The luxury of Marcus
Semien: He was generally good for all 162 games. That’s rare in any player, let alone a shortstop. So up until his departure to join the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason as a free agent, depth at the position was just a consideration and less of a concern.
Elvis Andrus will be the A’s everyday shortstop, but the A’s aren’t counting on him for the full 162. Andrus was sidelined with a back injury last year with the Texas Rangers, but Melvin said Andrus has been mostly away from the trainer’s table save for some “maintenance stuff.”
“We feel good about him everyday, I don’t know about 162, but he’s known to go out there on a consistent basis,” Melvin said. “And physically that’s what we’re looking at with his back lack year. He looks good this year. He’s going to get a big chunk (of time). Maybe not the Marcus chunk, but a good chunk.”
The backup options at shortstop include Pinder, Vimael Machín and Pete Kozma. The latter two may not make the roster, but provide depth in the system. Pinder primarily played shortstop in the minor leagues and, though he’s been used as a Swiss Army knife of sorts with Oakland, has gotten his fair share of reps there over the years. He’s played a few games at shortstop this spring in preparation for a back-up role.
“It’s been a while since he played it quite a bit, but like we see. Everywhere he plays he tends to acclimate well,” Melvin said.
With Andrus aboard and Matt Chapman healthy, the A’s hope to maintain their infield defensive edge. Jed Lowrie exceeding expectations at second base keep those hopes alive.
SeanManaea solid again
A six-run, 35-minute half
inning preceded Manaea’s final trip to the mound in his third start of spring. The wait threw him off a bit — one of two runs he allowed trickled in. But it was mission accomplished nonetheless. Manaea neared 80 pitches in 5 1/3 innings.
“I felt like I was able to get fastball glove-side really well and my changeup felt really good,” Manaea said after his start. “From my perspective, I threw some good sliders.”
One of his best sliders happened to hit Yoan Moncada in the back foot, but Manaea “liked the shape” of it. He also got his pick-off move in motion and made an effort to keep runners on base because the White Sox “got some speedy boys on the team.”
“We’re just trying to get his pitch count up,” Melvin said. “He continues to improve with a better breaking ball, he’s having a good spring.”