San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
A’s: A 60game season, expanded rosters and high hopes in Oakland
At long last, the A’s will be taking the field this coming week — in small groups, initially, physically distanced and, depending on the activity, wearing masks.
So many things remain unknown, though, as the team heads into what well might be a season interrupted again or even halted by the coronavirus pandemic — many players and staff who spoke to The Chronicle in recent days anticipate there will be a number of positive tests when players report this coming week, and the potential for outbreaks once the season starts will exist, particularly in areas that are seeing spikes.
If the season does get under way without a hitch, The Chronicle has learned that the A’s are expecting to open up at home, at least on the most recent version of the schedule under consideration.
There are still plenty of baseballrelated questions, including which players will be assigned to the training camp at the Coliseum and which will be heading to their alternate site.
The A’s are talking to Stockton about using their Class A affiliate’s ballpark as a home for
their taxisquad players; about 18 will head there rather than to Oakland, and 30 will be there once the season starts.
Considerations such as rent and health and safety are among the issues to be worked out. Team officials are confident that will happen in time to open camp this coming week, but a city of Stockton spokesperson said discussions are still in the early stages.
For their part, the Stockton Ports would welcome the A’s pool players at Banner Island Ballpark. “Obviously, we are delighted to have them utilize the facility,” Ports President Pat Filippone said. “You’d imagine a lot of the players coming here would have played here before, and we’d love to see them again.”
Who would be in Stockton, and who in Oakland?
Some of those going to Stockton will be members of the 40man roster. Even though the A’s plan to bring 42 players to Oakland, not all of the 40man will be at the Coliseum. The Chronicle has learned outfielder Dustin Fowler is going to Stockton, as are starter Daulton Jefferies and 2020 A’s firstround draft pick Tyler Soderstrom, both of whom live within a hour’s drive that city.
Soderstrom, an 18yearold catcher selected with the 26th pick in this month’s draft, has worked out for years with Jefferies. He has not signed with the team yet, but an agreement is in place.
Many other top prospects will be in Stockton who also were at the team’s regular spring training, including outfielder Greg Deichmann and infielder Nick Allen.
Nonroster players to expect on the A’s Oakland roster when it is announced Sunday include infielder Ryan Goins, catcher Carlos Perez and pitchers Jordan Weems and Lucas Luetge.
What shape are players in?
All indications are the team is in better shape now than when spring training was shut down in March. Lefthander A.J. Puk is completely healed after a shoulder strain and has been throwing bullpen sessions for months. Righthander Daniel Mengden is fully recovered from a minor elbow procedure, and outfielder Stephen Piscotty is “100% with no limitations,” he said, after missing much of the spring with a ribcage strain. So, it’s all hands on deck from the getgo.
The next step will be ensuring full health: The Korean baseball league, the KBO, reported a major uptick in injuries, particularly muscle strains, after starting the season late because of the pandemic. Avoiding injuries will be of utmost importance, of course, with just 60 games in the regular season.
How will the roster look?
When it comes down to the final roster on July 23, assuming baseball gets that far, the A’s are essentially set, barring injuries. Teams are allowed to have 30 players initially, allowing Oakland to delay a difficult decision about which one or two second base/utility players to keep among Franklin Barreto, Jorge Mateo and Vimael Machin. As manager Bob Melvin noted on The Chronicle’s A’s Plus podcast, the speedy Mateo is an ideal candidate should the A’s need to place a runner at second base in extra innings.
The team also would have to keep a third catcher on the threeman taxi squad, which would allow them to keep both Austin Allen and Jonah Heim, who were battling neckandneck for the backup spot behind Sean Murphy all spring. And an extra pitcher wouldn’t go amiss — Mengden is out of options and might have been squeezed out with no defined role, but he’s certainly an option with an extra spot.
Can they avoid a slow start?
The emphasis for Oakland’s camp will be pretty simple: Get it together, and quickly, to get off to a fast start and try to stay hot for two months. “Obviously, in a 60game season, there isn’t much time to get behind and crawl back,” Piscotty said.
This might be the A’s biggest challenge. They’re traditionally among the slowest starters and the fastest finishers in baseball. In the past two seasons, the A’s went a combined 2832 in March and April, compared to 6936 in August and September. They’ll need to convince themselves they’re heading toward the finish line, not breaking out of the gate.
“There is no slow starting allowed, there is no April A’s, we have to get back to it as fast as possible,” utility player Chad Pinder said. “We have to look at it as the second half — and we’ve been great in the second half. We’ll treat it as postAllStar break, get right in the groove.”