by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
April 3, 2021
Now that major league spring training has wrapped up and the regular season has kicked off, minor league spring training camp has gotten underway in Arizona. But 26 of the A’s upper-level minor league players are now working out at the A’s alternate site at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton.
Most of the players there are expected to open the season on the expanded 28-man roster of the A’s Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, when the minor league season is scheduled to begin in May. And joining this group of players at the alternate site is the entire Triple-A coaching staff, including manager Fran Riordan, pitching coach Rick Rodriguez, hitting coach Tommy Everidge and assistant hitting coach Brian McArn.
Over the course of this month, the A’s squad at the alternate site is scheduled to play 16 games against the Giants’ alternate site squad, which is based at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Starting on Monday, the teams will play 8 games in Stockton and 8 games in Sacramento. Fans can purchase tickets to attend the games in Sacramento, but fans will not be allowed to attend the games in Stockton.
Now that we know which players have been assigned to the alternate site in Stockton, we have a pretty good idea of which players are expected to open the season at Triple-A in Las Vegas. So let’s take a position-by-position look at the likely 2021 Las Vegas Aviators opening day 28-man roster…
CATCHERS
There’s a trio of catchers with major league experience on hand at the alternate site. Austin Allen, who lost out in the spring competition to be the A’s backup catcher, is the only one of the three currently on the A’s 40-man roster. Carlos Perez and Francisco Pena are both defensively-gifted backstops who were non-roster invitees to the A’s major league camp this spring. All three should end up seeing time behind the plate in Las Vegas this year and will probably spend some time doing DH duty and possibly even seeing a little action at first base as well.
INFIELDERS
The A’s have five infielders at the alternate site, including three who signed as minor league free agents from outside the organization and one who signed as a minor league free agent from within the organization. The only infielder at the site who is on the A’s 40-man roster is Vimael Machin, who spent all of last season with the A’s but who should see plenty of time at second base for Las Vegas this season. Former St. Louis Cardinals infielder Pete Kozma is set to be the Aviators’ starting shortstop this year after signing a minor league deal, while longtime minor leaguers Jacob Wilson and Frank Schwindel are set to get the bulk of the playing time at third base and first base, respectively, after signing on in the offseason. Infielder Edwin Diaz, who was the A’s 15th-round pick back in the 2013 draft and who re-signed as a minor league free agent in the offseason, has started over 200 games at both third base and shortstop and over 30 games at both second base and first base in his minor league career and should be capable of filling in anywhere around the infield for Las Vegas this season.
OUTFIELDERS
There are four outfielders at the alternate site, all of whom are left-handed hitters and all but one of whom are on the A’s 40-man roster. Seth Brown, who’s had 80 at-bats with the A’s over the past two seasons, is the only outfielder in the group with major league experience, and he should see plenty of action in the Aviators outfield while also offering some experienced outfield depth should it be needed by the A’s this year. Luis Barrera and Greg Deichmann, both of whom are promising young prospects on the A’s 40-man roster, will be getting the chance to show what they can do in their first taste of Triple-A this season. And Cody Thomas, who was acquired from the Dodgers in the offseason along with Adam Kolarek, was sent to the alternate site after a solid spring and is likely to be in the Aviators outfield mix as well. A couple of switch-hitters who aren’t currently at the alternate site but could end up factoring into the outfield picture in Las Vegas are Buddy Reed, who impressed this spring but is dealing with a quad injury, and Skye Bolt, who was recently designated for assignment by Oakland. If the A’s don’t deal Bolt and he ends up clearing waivers, then the team would have the option of keeping him in the organization and sending him back for another trip to Las Vegas. (UPDATE 4/6: Skye Bolt was claimed off waivers by the Giants, and Seth Brown was recalled by the A’s.)
STARTING PITCHERS
There are a number of quality starting pitchers at the alternate site who should provide lots of rotation options for Las Vegas, as well as plenty of pitching depth for the A’s, this season. Of the seven starters at the site, four of them are on the 40-man roster – A.J. Puk, Daulton Jefferies, James Kaprielian and Grant Holmes – and all four are former 1st-round or 1st-round supplemental draft picks. The quartet represents some of the A’s most promising pitching prospects, and all could end up seeing time in Oakland before the season’s through. The remaining three starters include right-hander Paul Blackburn, who’s appeared in 21 games for the A’s over the past four seasons, and righties Parker Dunshee and Brian Howard, both of whom got their first taste of Triple-A in 2019. All seven are set to be stretched out as starters at the alternate site. And once Mike Fiers returns to action for the A’s, then lefty Cole Irvin should be in the pitching picture for Las Vegas as well. The A’s also signed righty Trey Supak to a minor league deal in the offseason. He’s been sidelined with an arm injury this spring and isn’t at the alternate site, but he was a 2nd-round pick of the Pirates in 2014, has made 92 starts in his minor league career and, if he returns to health, could factor into the pitching mix at Las Vegas too. With so many starting pitching options available at Triple-A, it’s possible that we could see some sort of tandem-starter situations at Las Vegas this year. If there’s a bit of a roster crunch on the pitching staff, it’s also possible that Howard or Dunshee could end up starting the season back at Double-A until a spot opens up in Las Vegas. But there’s one thing that’s certain – it’s always better to have too many quality options for your Triple-A rotation than not enough! (UPDATE 4/5: A.J. Puk was recalled by the A’s.)
RELIEF PITCHERS
The A’s currently have seven relievers at the alternate site, all of whom are right-handers. Jordan Weems is on the 40-man roster and made nine appearances for the A’s last season, and he could be the first to get the call this year if bullpen reinforcements are needed. Miguel Romero is a hard-throwing Cuban righty who spent all of the 2019 season working out of the Las Vegas bullpen, and his 40-man status could make him one of the more likely relievers to get the call if needed. The arms at the alternate site on minor league deals include Ben Bracewell, Deolis Guerra, Domingo Acevedo, Argenis Angulo and Matt Blackham, all of whom should find themselves working out of the Aviators bullpen this season. And once Trevor Rosenthal returns to action for the A’s, then lefty Reymin Guduan is likely to end up landing in the Las Vegas bullpen as well. Righty relievers Brian Schlitter, Montana DuRapau and Wandisson Charles aren’t currently at the alternate site. But Schlitter and DuRapau were both signed to minor league deals in the offseason and both have some major league experience, while Charles is on the A’s 40-man roster, so all three could end up factoring into the bullpen mix at Las Vegas at some point. (UPDATE 4/6: Jordan Weems was recalled by the A’s.)
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