The Oakland A's Opening Day roster is becoming clearer
The Oakland A's made another 12 roster cuts on Sunday, bringing their current roster in camp to 40 players. 32 of those players are on the 40-man roster with eight non-roster invitees. Of the remaining players, 19 are pitchers, four are catchers, and they have eight infielders and nine outfielders.
Simple math means that of the 19 remaining pitchers, six more of them will be starting their seasons in the minors leagues with a maximum of 13 pitchers allowed on a big-league staff and any time.
The 12 players that are no longer with the club in camp are lefty Brady Basso, who was added to the 40-man ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, and right-handers Joey Estes and Royber Salinas. Estes figures to be in Oakland at some point this season, whether that's when an injury arises, or when the team inevitably trades Alex Wood and Ross Stripling over the course of the year. Salinas was another one of the players the A's added ahead of the Rule 5 deadline.
One player that fans are familiar with, Jordan Díaz, may be a surprise early cut to some. He has spent time in Oakland each of the past two seasons, but the 23-year-old is still in search of a permanent defensive home. With the addition of Abraham Toro and Darell Hernaiz sliding to third, it was always going to be tough for Jordan to make the Opening Day roster. Hitting .083 through 27 spring plate appearances likely didn't help.
Lazaro Armenteros, the last one of the A's players to be added to the team's 40-man this winter, was also optioned down to Triple-A on Sunday. The 25-year-old reached Double-A last year, playing in 96 games and batting .248 with a .380 OBP and 14 homers. With the amount of outfielders the A's have available, he was always going to need more time in the minors.
The A's also reassigned seven non-roster invites in left-handed pitchers Jack O’Loughlin and Francisco Pérez; right-handed pitchers Gerson Moreno, Vinny Nittoli and Gerardo Reyes; catcher Yohel Pozo; and infielder Brett Harris.
The eight players in camp that are non-roster invitees are right-hander Tyler Ferguson (0.00 ERA in 3 IP); catchers Kyle McCann (.255 BA, .455 OBP in 11 PA) and Carlos Pérez (last year's backup catcher); third baseman Armando Alvarez (.583 BA, .643 OBP in 14 PA), shortstop Max Muncy (first round pick in 2021), and outfielders Hoy Park (.333 BA, .350 OBP in 20 PA), Daz Cameron (.235 BA, .278 OBP in 18 PA), and Max Schuemann (.263 BA, .300 OBP in 20 PA).
Of that group, Pérez may have the best shot at making the A's 26-man roster in a couple of weeks, and that would only happen if Oakland wants to give Tyler Soderstrom some extra time in the minors and consistent at-bats.
With that being the case, the team's mix of six infielders and six outfielders with two catchers appears to be fairly set with their numbers totaling out to 14 players. That would mean that one player of the current group won't make the roster, and given that the A's still have six outfielders, it's likely one of them.
Those six outfielders include Brent Rooker (technically the DH, but can roam the grass), Esteury Ruiz, Seth Brown, JJ Bleday, Lawrence Butler, and Miguel Andujar. Of that group, Butler could be the odd-man out only because he has two options remaining, though he is raking this spring.
There is also the possibility that Aledmys Díaz misses Opening Day, and it could be him on the outside looking in, at least initially. Once he's healthy he'll certainly be on the roster, but the team may take their time to make sure that he's 100%. As of right now, he's ramping up baseball activity after sustaining a groin strain at the end of last month.
With Medina set to miss a little time and how options end up shaking out, it would look as though the rotation will consist of JP Sears, Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, and Joe Boyle.
The bullpen on the other hand is a little more up in the air. Mason Miller, Lucas Erceg, Trevor Gott, and Scott Alexander would seemingly be locks, and the out-of options Sean Newcomb and Kyle Muller seem likely to nab spots as well. Given that Mitch Spence is a Rule 5 pick, he's likely to be slotted in the 'pen at least to begin the year. That would leave one more spot, which would come down to familiar faces Zach Jackson and Dany Jiménez, both of whom have three options.
Jackson and Jiménez missed significant time last season, but Dany is having the much better spring with a 4.50 ERA across four innings, walking one and striking out five. Jackson holds a 16.20 ERA in 3 1/3 innings with one strikeout and three walks.
Next week's roster trim should provide even more insight into what the Opening Day squad will look like. For now, this is how it looks like the battles will shake out.