11 rookies on team after yet another roster move
It's easy to blame the A's ownership and front office for the team's troubling start after it shipped out most of the team's star players before the season. Still, the A's can't be accused of complacency during the early season slide.
Oakland continued its roster reshuffling by bringing up Luis Barrera from Triple-A Las Vegas Monday, making the lefthanded hitting outfielder the 11th rookie currently on their 26-man roster.
Outfielder Billy McKinney, a former A's firstround pick who was batting just .096 (5-for-52), was designated for assignment to clear room for Barrera.
Barrera becomes the 17th rookie on the A's this season, which is already four more than they employed all last season. In addition, Barrera is also the 38th player on the A's through just 28 games – Tampa Bay has used an American League-leading 39 players through Monday.
The A's are expected to equal the Rays' heavy usage Tuesday when they'll reportedly add a 12th rookie in right-hander Adrian Martinez. He'll fill the one-day roster spot exemption -- as the 27th man -- and start Game 2 of the doubleheader.
Barrera, once believed to be a big part of the A's future after he was signed out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year-old in 2012, was designated for assignment himself last month. However, Barrera went unclaimed and has been on a tear for Las Vegas this season, batting .286 with an .819 OPS (only trailing phenom catcher Shea Langeliers' 1.094 OPS). Barrera has even hit three home runs, just one fewer than he hit last season and four less than his career-best seven in 2017.
“Since he's been DFAd, he's still the same guy that he was before,” Las Vegas manager Fran Riordan told The Athletic. “He started off the year having a great year and he's kept hitting ever since.”
The 26-year-old Barrera went 2-for-8 in six games with Oakland last year. He figures to serve as a backup for the current regular outfielders Chad Pinder, Cristian Pache and Ramón Laureano.
After staff ace Frankie Montas starts Game 1 Tuesday the A's will turn to the 25-year-old Martinez, one of two minor leaguers the A's received from the Padres in the Sean Manaea deal this spring. After Tuesday's start, he'll likely head back to Las Vegas, where he's 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA over his first five starts. In 19.1 Triple-A innings, he has allowed 22 hits and nine walks while striking out 25.
A'S SIGN VETERAN INFIELDER >> Oakland also announced Monday it has signed 31-year-old corner infielder Matt Davidson to a minor league contract. Davidson had one hit in 10 at-bats during a short stint with the Diamondbacks a week ago before being cut. He was assigned to TripleA Vegas.
Davidson has been mostly a third baseman during his six-year, 298game big league career. He's hit 53 home runs during his career, including a career-high 26 for the White Sox in 2017. After hitting 20 home runs with a .738 OPS for Chicago the following year, Davidson has only spent 20 games in the majors the previous four seasons.