A’s signings: Oakland adds ex-Giants catcher Hundley, resigns lefthander Anderson.
MESA, Ariz. — The A’s lost a quarterback Monday, but then again, Kyler Murray wasn’t going to contribute to the bigleague team for at least another year or two. The A’s did gain a catcher, signing Nick Hundley, formerly of the Giants. Manager Bob Melvin called Hundley “a quarterback on the field.”
“He’s a gamer, a guy who gets it behind the plate,” Melvin said. “He’s a big pickup for us.”
On a day ex-A’s catcher Stephen Vogt signed with the Giants, Hundley agreed to a minorleague deal with Oakland. Should Hundley make the big-league club, he’ll make $1.25 million. He’s got a good shot: Though Hundley is 35, the A’s were thin at catcher, and his 11 years of big-league time are a plus.
“You always want a veteran guy, especially in my job, that you have communication with, a leader on the field,” Melvin said.
The bigger question will be how the A’s juggle their three catchers with big-league experience, especially when Hundley, like Josh Phegley, hits right-handed. Chris Herrmann bats lefty. The team is likely to take all three to Japan, given the 28-man roster for the two games against the Mariners, but after that, they’ll carry only two catchers. Though Hundley appears to have an edge, given his experience, Melvin said Oakland likes all three players and values depth. There’s no doubt the A’s like Hundley.
“He’s a well-respected veteran coming off a really good year,” vice president Billy
Beane said. “We’re familiar with him, being across the bay, and we’re lucky to be able to make that kind of addition this late.”
Beane said the A’s are not aggressively pursuing additional catching help and noted that catcher Sean Murphy is among the team’s top prospects.
Hundley said he was talking to six or seven other teams but he liked the talent on Oakland’s squad and the team’s reputation. “From afar, there’s always organizations you look at and say, ‘Yeah, I’d like to play for them at some stage of my career,’ and this is definitely one of them,” Hundley said.
Hundley hit .241 with the Giants last year with a .298 on-base percentage. He’s a career .248 hitter in 948 games.
Melvin liked the looks of Hundley behind the plate during the A’s first workout for pitchers and catchers, saying he picked up things quickly, much as Jonathan Lucroy did after signing with Oakland in March.
Briefly: Jerry Blevins, back with the A’s for the first time in five years, said he knew none of the current players except minor-league catcher Beau Taylor, who has been in the organization since 2011 . ... Among the pitchers Melvin was most interested to see was minorleague right-hander Parker
Dunshee, 23, who is a nonroster invitee. Dunshee went 13-6 with a 2.33 ERA at two levels last season. “He’s a guy we’ve heard a lot about,” said Melvin, who liked Dunshee’s late movement and his control. “We hear he’s quite a competitor, so he’s a guy I kind of keyed on today.”