A’s roster projection and good news for Lowrie fans
Oakland Athletics opening day roster 2021: Jed Lowrie and Aramis Garcia to make Opening Day roster, Bob Melvin says
Two position battles have been officially settled, and the Oakland A’s have five more cuts to make before the Opening Day roster is a finished project.
Just six days until they face the Houston Astros on Opening Day, the A’s have notified infielder Jed Lowrie and catcher Aramis Garcia that they will make the squad, manager Bob Melvin announced on Saturday.
Lowrie is expected to be the primary second baseman, with designated hitting duty sprinkled in — though Mitch Moreland will be the primary designated hitter. The last time the soon-to-be- 37-year-old played in a major league game was in 2019 with the New York Mets. He played just nine games before a knee injury took him out the rest of the year and for the entire 2020 season.
After getting surgery in October, Lowrie returned to the A’s for a third stint and looked like he never left. Though the A’s are being cautious, he’s been playing at second for most of spring — every other day — and is making consistent contact. He’s 6 for 31 with two home runs and two doubles. He’s also made sweet defensive plays, including a nifty 4-6-3 double play turned with Matt Chapman in a game last week.
“It’s more of a monitor each and every day thing,” Melvin said of how they’ll play Lowrie. “I don’t know how many games in a row he would be able to play. The games are going to be nine innings, so we will have coverage there. He will DH some, even though we target Moreland more for that. But the fact we’re running him out there every other day at second base and he’s doing fine with it would suggest that’s his position.”
The A’s will need to add Lowrie, who signed on a minor league deal, to the 40man roster. But they have an open spot.
Garcia will be Sean Murphy’s back-up catcher, a move that was all but decided when the only catchers that remained in camp, Carlos Perez and Francisco Peña, were reassigned to minor league camp Saturday morning. Among the other cuts were outfielder Cody Thomas (acquired this offseason in a trade with the Dodgers), infielder Pete Kozma and relievers Reymin Guduan and Deolis Guerra.
Those reassigned are unexpected names that could be on the cusp of big league action in the event of injury. Guerra and Guduan haven’t allowed a single run this spring and provide bullpen depth. Kozma will provide depth at shortstop in particular, with Elvis Andrus the everyday shortstop and utility player Chad Pinder the second option on the big league team.
The A’s have more cuts to make, but Melvin has said he’s pleased with the newfound depth that came with the emergence of these players.