A's Trim Roster By 15, and the Third Base Competition Heats Up
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The Athletics have officially trimmed their roster again, and this time around there were some cuts from the 40-man. Some big names like the team's No. 2 prospect Jamie Arnold were also reassigned to minor-league camp. Here is the full list of transactions, per the club.
The Athletics optioned left-handed pitcher Brady Basso, right-handed pitchers Mason Barnett Braden Nett and Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, infielder Brett Harris, and outfielder Junior Perez to Triple-A Las Vegas, the club announced today.
The A’s also reassigned left-handed pitchers Jamie Arnold and Ben Bowden, right-handed pitchers Geoff Hartlieb and Cade Morris, catcher Bryan Lavastida, infielders Euribiel Angeles and Joshua Kuroda-Graurer, and outfielders Clark Elliott and Ryan Lasko to their minor league camp.
The A’s now have 46 players in camp, which includes 32 players on the 40-man roster and 14 non-roster invitees. The breakdown includes 24 pitchers, four catchers, 10 infielders and eight outfielders.
That number will obviously have to be trimmed down to 26 by Opening Day, which is still a couple of weeks in the distance.
That will make this coming week a big one, as there will be more roster cuts on Sunday, with the players seen as starters on the roster needing more playing time to get fully prepared for the season in that final week of games. That will limit the number of chances for roster hopefuls down the stretch.
The hot corner heats up
Coming into camp, Brett Harris always appeared to be the longshot option for the club at third base, with Max Muncy showing the highest ceiling and Darell Hernaiz being a solid defender that makes contact at the plate.
Harris is a natural third baseman and his defense may be the best of the trio, but his bat wasn't quite as far along as the other two. The A's were using him at first base for the majority of his playing time this spring, but that is likely so that he could get into the lineup. They know he can play third base.
In 11 games, Harris batted. 190 with a .346 OBP and a .584 OPS, earning five walks against six strikeouts.
The question now is what his future role with the club will be, if there is one. We have Hernaiz and Muncy battling for third base now, but if Leo De Vries rockets up to the big leagues, the infield mix is certainly going to shuffle again. Even if the A's slow play De Vries, third base prospect Tommy White is also having a solid spring and developing quickly.
Keep an eye on this A's NRI reliever
One name that the A's decided to keep in camp is 31-year-old non-roster invitee Joel Kuhnel. He didn't pitch in the big leagues last season, though he held a 3.53 ERA in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings for the Phillies and Yankees. The A's signed him to a minor-league deal in December, and this spring he has been an interesting arm to keep an eye on.
He pitched on Saturday against the Angels in Las Vegas and got five whiffs on seven swings with his sinker, and ended up with seven whiffs total on 15 total swings. That's impressive.
Against the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier in the week, Kuhnel's slider was the whiff machine, as he got four whiffs on eight swings, and finished with 6-of-15 (40%) overall. In that same game, Tyler Ferguson was 1-for-9 (11%) on whiffs, Hogan Harris landed at 3-of-5 (60%), Justin Sterner was at 2-of-7 (29%) and NRI hopeful Nick Anderson was at 1-of-5 (20%).
On the one hand, Kuhnel is also coming into these games a bit later, so he's not facing big-league hitters most of the time. This is also all of a two-game sample, but it's something that caught our attention. This week could be a nice opportunity to see how he looks against a few MLB bats.
At the same time, Anderson came in after him and didn't eat up the competition either, so perhaps this surge in whiffs could be real. His extension has consistently ranked above the 90th percentile, though he hasn't been a huge whiff guy in the past when he's been in the big leagues.
He's someone to keep an eye on this week, especially if he gets that opportunity against stiffer competition. He's not likely to make the roster, but he could certainly be a depth option for the club this season.
For more A's news and insights, follow Jason @ByJasonB on X, or the site @InsideTheAs!
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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