Mild groin strain puts off closer Rosenthal’s debut
SURPRISE, Ariz. — New closer Trevor Rosenthal’s first Cactus League appearance with the A’s, originally set for Monday, is on indefinite hold.
Rosenthal has a slight groin strain, manager Bob Melvin said Monday afternoon, and the A’s don’t have a timetable for when the righthander will resume throwing.
“We think it’s minor in nature,” Melvin said, “but those type of things you want to be pretty careful with.”
Rosenthal, 30, was Oakland’s marquee addition in free agency, signing a oneyear, $11 million deal last month to anchor its bullpen. The hardthrowing righthander compiled a 1.90 ERA and 11 saves in 23 games last season, marking a resurgence from 2017 Tommy John surgery.
The A’s had listed Rosenthal as scheduled for his first spring outing Monday against the Royals at Surprise Stadium. Melvin said Rosenthal began feeling the groin strain two days earlier.
⏩ A’s pitchers who did travel to Surprise had a forgettable afternoon in a 103 seveninning loss. Righthander Parker Dunshee started the game and allowed five runs and six hits, including two home runs, in three innings.
“Just not his best command today,” Melvin said. “For him to be good, he’s got to be on the corners, he’s got to be ahead in the count, throwing strikes, which he typically does. Today was not that day for him.”
Dunshee agreed location was an issue in a threerun first inning and again in the third, when he walked the leadoff hitter and allowed a Carlos Santana homer on a 20 pitch. “Just kind of from the start, I wasn’t locating as well as I needed to,” he said, “and they took advantage.”
⏩ Reliever Yusmeiro Petit ,in his spring debut, allowed five runs on five hits and recorded two outs. Melvin dismissed the results.
“First time out, some (pitches) up. He might’ve gotten squeezed on a couple pitches,” he said. “Just move on.”
Top Kansas City prospect Bobby Witt Jr. — the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft — hit one of two home runs off Petit, a blast to leftcenter that landed beyond the grass berm and was estimated at 484 feet.
⏩ Catcher Francisco Peña hit a tworun homer for the A’s, who scored their other run in the first inning without a hit — on two hitbypitches and two walks by starter Brady Singer.
⏩ Catcher Sean Murphy is “ramping up” in his rehabilitation from collapsed lung surgery, Melvin said. Murphy is scheduled to take batting practice against coaches this week, though when he’ll play in games is unclear. “It’s just a matter of the training staff making sure we don’t have any setbacks,” Melvin said. “We still feel like we have time to get him ready for the season.”
⏩ Rule 5 outfielder Ka’ai Tom, recovering from an oblique injury, likely will appear in games in midMarch. Outfielder Skye Bolt pinchran and played right field Monday in his first game action this spring, returning from a shoulder injury.