Cristian Pache, Out of Options, Doesn't Make A's Roster
Cristian Pache had a decent spring, hitting .302 with a .362 OBP, a double, two triples, four walks and eight strikeouts. Not a bad showing by any means.
However, the A's have decided to leave Pache off of their Opening Day roster. The 24-year-old centerfielder is out of options, which will make the next couple of days very interesting.
One of two things will happen now. Either the A's have a trade partner in hand, and they're going to move Pache in some sort of deal, or they're going to attempt to pass him through waivers, hoping that none of the other 29 teams have room for him on their rosters. If Pache were to pass through waivers, he would be sent to Triple-A Las Vegas, likely until the A's saw enough progress from him to call him back up.
This is a somewhat surprising move, given that Pache had trouble at the dish when the A's traded for him, so they knew he'd be a work in progress. They also knew he only had one option remaining at the time he was acquired, so to potentially lose him now is just odd.
Shea Langeliers was definitely the centerpiece of the Matt Olson trade, but Pache was a pretty solid number two piece. He showed the fans in Oakland that he could go and catch it with the best of 'em.
Two outfielders, Conner Capel and Brent Rooker, have made the team. How Mark Kotsay decides to mix and match his five outfield pieces (Capel, Rooker, Ramón Laureano, Estuery Ruiz, Seth Brown) remains to be seen, but we could see Seth Brown and Rooker splitting time in left, with Brown taking on right-handers and Rooker taking the southpaws. Ruiz and Laureano will likely be the everyday centerfield and right field options.
Capel, a lefty, gives the A's five left-handed bats to choose from on a daily basis. The 25-year-old was claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals last September, and after a quick trip to Las Vegas, he had an unbelievable 13 games in Oakland, batting .371 with a .425 OBP, along with a pair of home runs.
This spring, Capel hit .250, but walked 13 times against eight strikeouts, pushing his OBP to .434.
Rooker, claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals this off-season, batted .308 with 11 walks, giving him an on-base of .471.
Both players definitely deserve to be on the roster, but for now we're left to wonder what will happen to Cristian Pache as Opening Day nears.