The 2014 Oakland A’s will have a number of new faces on the roster as reigning 2013 AL West Champs. How does a 96 win team make the necessary adjustments in order to advance in the postseason? How do you do so on a limited budget and without a stadium deal still in place? (We’ll cover the second part of that some other time.) The answer: trust in the man pictured above.
The Oakland A’s look to rebound from yet another disappointing exit from the playoffs in 2013. With several prominent members of last year’s team in new cities, it has been up to Billy Beane to restock and refurbish his roster, find the right plugs for each new hole, and do so with one arm tied behind his back due to the salary constraints of running the club.
You know what? I think he has done it yet again and the A’s will be right in the mix come September and October baseball. Barring significant injury (please, don’t let this happen) this team should be able to grind through another 162 games and reach the postseason, due to its incredible depth and strength within the pitching staff, as well as having enough pop in the lineup to get the better of the remaining AL West divisional foes.
While we won’t go much further into predictions until we get closer to the start of the regular season. Pitchers and catchers have reported for Spring Training, and that affords us the ability to start thinking about the 2014 MLB season. Here is a look at the potential 25 man roster for the A’s when all is said and done this spring. While it is probably easy to select the first 22-23 men on the roster, there are a few players battling for the final few roster spots, and those are certainly up for debate. I’ll break down the roster by several positional groupings and call out a few players that might be on the “questionable” list when the A’s make their final cuts going into the regular season.
Starting Pitchers
Jarrod Parker (RH)
Scott Kazmir (LH)
Sonny Gray (RH)
AJ Griffin (RH)
Dan Straily (RH)
Thoughts: I have the starting rotation in my order of preference to start the season. There are several reasons for putting Parker first, beyond his own talents. Having Scott Kazmir second breaks up the right and left-handed pitching a bit. I put Sonny Gray in the third spot as I would like to see the A’s save his arm a bit during the first half of the season to ensure he doesn’t run into a brick wall. If the A’s make the playoffs and have the opportunity to set their rotation, I would probably have those three flipped to Gray, Parker, and then Kazmir.
Relief Pitchers
Jim Johnson (RH)
Sean Doolittle (LH)
Ryan Cook (RH)
Dan Otero (RH)
Jesse Chavez (RH)
Luke Gregerson (RH)
(1 roster spot) Fernando Abad (LH), Eric O’Flaherty (LH), or Evan Scribner (RH)
Thoughts: The last three relief pitchers are likely fighting for one roster spot. The edge goes to Abad because he is left-handed. O’Flaherty is also left-handed but is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Evan Scribner had a decent 2013 season and I like his stuff, but he is the odd man out for the time being due to the need for a second lefty in the bullpen.
The A’s really need Jim Johnson to be rock solid in 2014. The thought of relying on Doolittle or Cook to be consistently dominant as a closer is a bit petrifying. Don’t get me wrong, I love the both of them, but they are also incredibly streaky. A’s manager Bob Melvin let them pitch their way out of struggles last season a bit too much in my opinion. In fact, I am more comfortable with trying Otero as the closer if Johnson is struggling or gets injured.
Infielders
Brandon Moss
Alberto Callaspo
Eric Sogard
Jed Lowrie
Nick Punto
Josh Donaldson
Outfielders
Yoenis Cespedes
Coco Crisp
Josh Reddick
Craig Gentry
Catchers
John Jaso
Derek Norris
Thoughts: Combined with the previously mentioned pitchers, the above roster nets out at 24 players. I really don’t like the idea of carrying Callaspo, Sogard and Punto. The A’s have great depth and players that can and will play multiple positions over the course of the season. It would be nice to see Billy Beane find a better bat to drop into the daily lineup by dangling out one or two of these guys, along with other assets. However, all three of them, along with everyone else listed above should be on the opening day roster, again, barring injury.
That leaves one roster spot for the likes of Catcher Stephen Vogt and First Basemen Daric Barton and/or Nate Freiman. The thought of carrying three catchers is a bit odd in baseball, but the A’s can use any of the three as the DH in the lineup. With Callaspo’s ability to play 1B behind Brandon Moss, I’m more inclined to give the last roster spot to Vogt. This is largely due to his flexibility and offensive potential. Barton struggles offensively and Nate Freiman can’t hit right-handed pitching. (If the A’s are going into a series against a healthy dose of left-handed pitching, by all means, the A’s should be calling up Freiman.)
Odd Men Out
Beyond the players listed above (O’Flaherty, Scribner, Barton, and Freiman) there are several other recognizable names that the A’s will be able to stash away in the minors who are more than capable of having a positive impact for the club when called upon.
In terms of additional pitching arms, Tommy Milone has been a starter for the A’s over the past two seasons, going 25-19 with a 3.92 ERA. You could certainly do a lot worse for your sixth man in the rotation. Fernando Rodriguez came over from the Astros and could be called up if injuries were to hit the A’s bullpen as well.
The A’s will likely have a few platoon middle infielders in the minors as well with Andy Parrino and last year’s signee, Hiro Nakajima. If Jed Lowrie didn’t have a rock solid 2013, the A’s were looking for Nakajima to come in and be their starting shortstop. Finally, while he won’t be on the opening day roster, it would be a disservice to not mention the young phenom, Addison Russell. He will be a big time player for the A’s sooner rather than later and is someone to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
There you have it, the A’s 2014 roster … from my perspective at least. What do you think? Who would you like to see get those last one or two roster spots and why?
Let’s go Oakland!