Meet Your 2021 Oakland A’s!

by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
March 19, 2021

Now that spring training games have been underway for a few weeks, it’s a good time to take an informed look at how the 2021 Oakland A’s appear to be shaping up. And at this point, it’s also not too hard to imagine what the 2021 Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators might look like, which we’ll be soon be taking a look at as well.

The A’s suffered a number of significant free agent losses in the offseason, including shortstop Marcus Semien, second baseman Tommy La Stella, outfielder Robbie Grossman and relievers Liam Hendriks, Joakim Soria and T.J. McFarland. In addition, the team traded designated hitter Khris Davis and catcher Jonah Heim to the Rangers early last month.

But, fortunately, the reinforcements have arrived. The A’s made a number of late free agent signings, including relievers Trevor Rosenthal and Sergio Romo, as well as designated hitter Mitch Moreland and second baseman Jed Lowrie. In addition, they acquired left-handed reliever Adam Kolarek from the Dodgers, snagged shortstop Elvis Andrus and catcher Aramis Garcia from the Rangers, and selected outfielder Ka’ai Tom from the Indians in the Rule-5 draft.

The A’s are expected to carry 13 pitchers and 13 position players this year. And barring injury, 12 of the spots on the pitching staff and 11 of the position player spots already seem to be pretty well sewn up. The only real competition left on the roster is for the last spot in the bullpen, the backup catcher position and the final utility player spot, which will most likely be reserved for a left-handed hitting outfielder. So, as we head into the last couple weeks before the season, let’s take a position-by-position look at how things appear to be stacking up for the 2021 Oakland A’s…

 

CATCHERS

Despite having offseason surgery to repair a collapsed lung, Sean Murphy appears to be set to return as the A’s primary starting catcher again this season. Last year, Austin Allen was the team’s backup catcher during the first half of the shortened season before Jonah Heim then took over as Oakland’s backup catcher in the second half. Allen is still in the mix for the A’s, while Heim was traded to Texas in the Khris Davis deal. But the team made sure to get receiver Aramis Garcia back as part of that trade. Veteran backstops Carlos Perez and Francisco Pena, who were signed to minor league deals, are also in camp with the A’s this spring. Allen is primarily known as a bat-first catcher, though he hit just .194 for Oakland last season. Meanwhile, Garcia has earned plenty of praise from A’s manager, and former catcher, Bob Melvin for his defense, his throwing, his pitch framing and his ability to work with pitchers. He’s also hit well this spring and, at this point, he appears to be the favorite for the backup catcher role to start the season. Whichever backstops don’t end up making the opening day roster should start the year at the alternate site and then shift to Las Vegas once the Triple-A season gets underway in May.

 

INFIELDERS

Fortunately, the A’s can count on Matt Chapman and Matt Olson to be back at the corners this season, but there will be plenty of changes up the middle this year. With the loss of shortstop Marcus Semien to Toronto via free agency, the A’s acquired veteran Elvis Andrus from Texas to take over at short this season. The team started last year with a platoon of Tony Kemp and Chad Pinder at second base before it acquired Tommy La Stella from the Angels to take over full time at the position. With La Stella hitting the free agent market in the offseason, it initially looked like the A’s would return to the Kemp/Pinder platoon – until the team went back to the future by signing its former second baseman, Jed Lowrie, as a free agent to a minor league deal. And with Lowrie looking pretty solid at second this spring, it appears that the veteran infielder could be the A’s primary starter at the position in 2021. Kemp and Pinder will both still be on hand to spell him at second whenever needed. And one way or another, Pinder is likely to find himself in the lineup versus lefties, especially since new designated hitter Mitch Moreland will likely take a seat against southpaws. Pinder can also fill in for Andrus at short on occasion and has the ability to step in at third base or in the outfield as well if needed. Moreland, though primarily slated for DH duties versus righties, can also play first base if Matt Olson needs a day off. Kemp will be available to occasionally fill in at second base or in the outfield as needed, and his left-handed bat and speed on the bases could come in handy off the bench. If everyone is healthy to start the season, then it looks like Vimael Machin could be set to start the year at Triple-A Las Vegas. Another interesting infield option who should be at Las Vegas this season is former big league shortstop Pete Kozma, who’s always been solid in the field and who has hit well this spring.

 

OUTFIELDERS

The A’s primary starting outfielders appear to be pretty well set this season, with Mark Canha in left, Ramon Laureano in center, and Stephen Piscotty in right. Of course, all three are right-handed hitters and, with Robbie Grossman now gone, the A’s would love to have a left-handed-hitting outfield option on the roster whom they could occasionally insert into the lineup against certain right-handed pitchers. There are only two outfielders who fit that profile currently in camp and on the major league roster – Seth Brown, who’s shown promise in limited big league time with the A’s, and Ka’ai Tom, whom the team took from the Indians in the Rule-5 draft. Tom missed the first couple weeks of spring training due to an oblique injury, but he’s made up for lost time, going 5 for 10 with a home run and a double since returning to action. And since the A’s would have to offer Tom back to Cleveland if he doesn’t make the opening day roster, now that he’s healthy and has shown that he can hit, he appears to have the edge for the spot. Of course, Tony Kemp is another left-handed bat on the roster who could also fill in in the outfield, and Chad Pinder will be available for outfield duty if needed as well. Apart from Tom and Brown, there could also be a number of left-handed-hitting outfield options lurking in the minors for the A’s this season, including Luis Barrera, Greg Deichmann and Cody Thomas, not to mention switch-hitters Buddy Reed and Skye Bolt.

 

STARTING PITCHERS

As long as everyone remains healthy, the first four spots in the A’s starting rotation appear to be set, with righties Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas and lefties Sean Manaea and Jesus Luzardo all having locked up spots. Since Mike Fiers has been sidelined with a hip issue, even if he’s able to return to health by opening day, it’s highly unlikely that he’d be able to be stretched out enough to start. And now that lefty A.J. Puk is healthy and has returned to the mound, he looks to be the most likely candidate to fill the final spot in the A’s rotation. Starters Cole Irvin and Daulton Jefferies are both still in the big league camp and have been impressing on the mound, while James Kaprielian and Grant Holmes have both looked good this spring as well, and any of the four could be ready to step into the rotation at any point this season if needed.

 

RELIEF PITCHERS

With the loss of Liam Hendriks, free agent signee Trevor Rosenthal is now set to take over the closer role for the A’s this season. The team also added righty Sergio Romo and lefty Adam Kolarek to the bullpen mix this offseason to replace right-hander Joakim Soria and left-hander T.J. McFarland. And lefty Jake Diekman and righties Yusmeiro Petit, J.B. Wendelken and Lou Trivino are all set to return to the A’s relief corps this season. That leaves one final spot to fill in the A’s bullpen, with a number of interesting candidates in contention. The big question may come down to whether or not the A’s feel they need to have a true long-man in the bullpen to start the season with A.J. Puk probably not ready to go beyond five innings in the early going. If Mike Fiers is healthy enough to start the season, he almost certainly won’t be stretched out enough to start, so he could start the year serving as a long-man out of the bullpen. Or, if he’s not healthy but the A’s feel they need someone fully capable of complementing Puk, then they could decide to add righty Daulton Jefferies or lefty Cole Irvin to the bullpen as a long-man. But if the team decides it doesn’t necessarily need a true long-man, then there are two intriguing options in the mix – righty Burch Smith, who pitched well for the A’s last year but is returning from injury, and lefty Nik Turley, whom the A’s acquired from the Pirates and who is out of options. So, there are certainly a variety of different options for the A’s to choose from for their final bullpen spot, and that may end up proving to be the toughest roster decision that the team will have to make as we get down to the final days of spring training.

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