Brady Basso Making His Case For the A's Opening Day Roster

The A's southpaw is putting on a show to start Spring Training, which could help his case to make the club's Opening Day Roster.

Sep 13, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Brady Basso (66) delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Last off-season, the A's elected to protect left-hander Brady Basso from the Rule 5 draft by selecting his contract and putting him on the club's 40-man roster. The southpaw would start his 2024 campaign down in Double-A, with the Midland Rockhounds, but after six solid starts in Double-A, the A's moved Basso up to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Basso spent a bulk of his '24 campaign with the Las Vegas Aviators in Triple-A, where he made 12 starts and four relief appearances. Since Basso was on the team's 40-man roster, the A's would elect to call him up to provide innings out of the bullpen in May and June.

When the 27-year-old was coming out of the 'pen with the team, he made three appearances, and pitched to a 5.40 ERA. Heading into September, the A's needed starters, so Basso would make four starts where he pitched to a solid 3.79 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

This past off-season, the A's added several starters to improve the competition for in-house starters like Brady Basso. The A's signed Luis Severino to a franchise record contract for 3 years and $67 million. The club also went out and acquired left-hander Jeffrey Springs from the Rays.

The A's currently have a lot of depth at starting pitcher. As well as Severino and Springs, they have JP Sears, Osvaldo Bido, Joey Estes, and Mitch Spence fighting for spots. J.T. Ginn and Hogan Harris are also looking to join the mix.

While most of the guys on that list seemingly have an edge on Brady Basso, if he can have a great spring, he might make the club make space for him. To begin his spring, he's pitched four perfect innings with 4 strikeouts.

Considering the fact that Brady Basso did a good job last season as a starter for the green and gold, and is already off to a hot start in the Cactus League, it's certainly a possibility that he could break the club's Opening Day roster. Even if Basso doesn't break the roster, he could still make an impact on the Sacramento-bound A's club at some point this season.

Another way for Basso to make the roster would be for him to be added to the bullpen mix and serve as a long-man and a second southpaw for manager Mark Kotsay to utilize. The big question is how the organization views Basso long-term. If he is a starting pitcher for them, then he could begin the year back in Las Vegas.

Yet, if his role is less defined, then a bullpen spot could have his name on it.