Team broadcasting award to honor Fosse

ANAHEIM — The Oakland Athletics will honor the late Ray Fosse with the team’s Monte Moore Award for excellence in broadcasting before Saturday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.

Fosse called A’s games for 36 seasons on radio and TV prior to his death in October at 74 after a long bout with cancer. His wife, Carol, and members of the Fosse family will be presented with the award in a pregame ceremony Saturday at the Coliseum, the A’s announced Thursday.

Moore, the A’s longtime former radio and TV voice and the award’s namesake, is scheduled to present the award, which the A’s created last year.

Fosse, a two-time All-Star as a catcher, played for A’s teams that won World Series in 1973 and ’74 and will be part of a six-person class inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Former A’s players Sal Bando, Eric Chavez and Joe Rudi, special adviser to player development Keith Lieppman and former clubhouse manager Steve Vucinich also are in the 2022 class that will be inducted during a ceremony before the second Giants-A’s game of the weekend.

Rotation update: The A’s have not named a starter for Sunday with a rotation spot still open after the trade of Frankie Montas to the Yankees. Cole Irvin could start on regular rest because of an off-day Friday. But the A’s will have to add a fifth starter eventually, and manager Mark Kotsay said they are deciding whether that happens Sunday.

Options at Triple-A include Zach Logue, who would be on regular rest, and Adrián Martínez, who was not in Las Vegas’ rotation for this week’s series against Reno. J.P. Sears and Ken Waldichuk, acquired from the Yankees in the Montas trade, both joined the Las Vegas rotation. Sears pitched Wednesday and Waldichuk is scheduled to start Saturday.

With several starters in their first full seasons in the majors, Kotsay said the A’s have at least discussed the idea of a six-man rotation in the final two months, but that isn’t imminent.

“We do have some younger arms in our rotation that haven’t maybe put in the amount of innings and (made) as many starts as they may make,” Kotsay said. “Going to it right now isn’t in the cards, but definitely assessing it and seeing how it may work in September is something that’s been talked about.”

An honor: Utilityman Chad Pinder is the A’s recipient of this year’s Heart and Hustle award, announced by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association and presented to players who “demonstrate a passion for the game of baseball and best embody the values, spirit and traditions of the game.”

Former players form 30 committees, one for each team, to vote on a team’s recipient. Kotsay lauded the selection of Pinder, who’s in his seventh season with Oakland: “If I was to have named a captain of this team, Chad would be that guy,” Kotsay said. “He exemplifies what it means to be an A. He never complains about anything, his role being one of them.”

Alumni and active players vote to select a final winner from the 30 team recipients. The A’s have not had an overall winner of the award. Matt Olson, now with Atlanta, was the A’s winner last year.