Wendelken is back on roster for postseason
When reliever J.B. Wendelken was placed on the injured list last week, the A’s did not announce which injured list he was on — was he on the separate COVID19 list? — nor why he’d be out of action.
The righthander, who has been a solid option in middle relief, will be back and on Tuesday’s wildcard roster, The Chronicle has learned. He was at the A’s team workout Monday at the Coliseum, where he threw a bullpen session and also threw briefly off the stadium mound.
Wendelken worked in 21 games and put up a 1.80 ERA during the season. Righthanders hit .175 against him and had a .226 onbase percentage, so he could factor early in games against a team such as the White Sox, who have done much of their damage this season against lefthanded pitchers.
Players can go on the COVID list without testing positive for the coronavirus. Other reasons for going on the list include contact with someone who is believed to have been exposed to the virus, or coming down with another illness that shares symptoms with COVID19.
Manager Bob Melvin said Monday that any other changes to the A’s roster for the first round will likely be minor and that adding a third catcher probably isn’t a consideration; Sean Murphy has hit well recently and Jonah Heim is a switchhitter, so pinchhitting is not as much of a factor.
Old friends: It’s been almost six years since shortstop Marcus Semien was traded by the White Sox to the A’s along with Chris Bassitt, Josh Phegley and Rangel Ravelo for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa. Semien said he still knows some players and coaches on the White Sox, but being traded once by the A’s firstround opponent isn’t a big factor for him.
“Maybe if it was 2015 or ’16, shortly after the trade, maybe,” Semien said. “But I just feel like it’s the postseason, so of course there’s an edge to beat whoever we’re facing.”
Air quality: A’s vice president of baseball operations Billy Beane told The Chronicle he’s keeping an eye on air quality with new fires burning in the North Bay. The A’s played a few home games this year in poor air quality and a road doubleheader in Seattle in unhealthy air due to wildfires.
“As we sit here Monday, it’s not my biggest concern, but it’s definitely on my list,” Beane said. “We’ll cross our fingers.”
Ballot box: The Coliseum and Oakland Arena will serve as a voting site for the Nov. 3 election, the A’s and Alameda County announced Monday.
Inperson voting will be available to Alameda County voters inside the Arena from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3. Voters will also be able to vote curbside from their cars in the Coliseum parking lot, drop off mailin ballots at the site or request and pick up a ballot at the stadium’s will call, the A’s said.
Bassitt honored: A’s righthander Chris Bassitt was named AL Pitcher of the Month.
In four September starts, Bassitt went 30 with a 0.34 ERA in 262⁄3 innings. He struck out 25 and walked five.