Three Possible Opening Day 25-Man Rosters For Athletics
Opening Day for the Oakland Athletics is just one week away and manager Bob Melvin has a lot of decisions to make for the 25 man roster.
There are quite a few roster positions which are locked in, but the entire bench and a handful of pitching spots could be up for grabs.
Here are three potential 25-man rosters for the Athletics:
Roster #1
There aren't too many surprises with this roster. One name you may not be too familiar with is Ryan Dull. He came up for 13 games last season, but he has been really impressive this spring. He has nine innings pitched so far and hasn't given up a run.
No matter who is on the roster, Melvin will mix and match. He loves to use his platoons. With this roster, there will be platoons at catcher, first base, and second base.
There are seven different pitchers fighting for the last four spots of the starting rotation. After Sonny Gray, the starting rotation is open. The starting rotation has been battling all spring for the spots, but the competition hasn't helped them so far. The pitchers up for sports in the rotation have a combined ERA over 7.00 this spring.
Roster #2
While much of the starting lineup and bench is the same, the rotation now has three left handed starters. Sean Manaea is the biggest pitching prospect the Athletics acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in the Josh Donaldson trade. Nicknamed the "Throwin' Samoan," the left handed pitcher has shown impressive stuff. He most likely won't make the opening day roster, but he is someone to watch for throughout the season.
The other left-handed pitcher in the rotation is Felix Doubront. He was in the rotation for a good portion of the season last year. He isn't a pitcher the team is looking to rely on in the future, but he will hold a rotation spot down until one of the team's younger pitchers can earn the starting spot.
One of the more popular names over the years which you may not see in this roster is Coco Crisp. The Athletics have an abundance of outfielders. The three starting spots are locked in. In this roster, Mark Canha gets the roster spot over Crisp because he can play more positions, which Melvin loves.
Roster #3
Eric Sogard, Jed Lowrie and Chris Coghlan can play just about every infield position. By having all three of these players on the roster, it will give Melvin the flexibility to play the hottest one.
Crisp is listed as a DH in this roster. He can't be a full time outfielder at this point in his career. He will go back and forth between the outfield and DH, but Coghlan's ability to play the outfield will also limit Crisp's playing time.
In the starting rotation, Rich Hill has been taken out and thrown into the bullpen. The Athletics signed Hill to be a part of the starting rotation, but the leftie hasn't been a full time starting pitcher since 2007. His best value to the team may not be in the rotation, but in the bullpen.
All three of these lineups are very similar, but it's the small changes to each one which can make a difference.
The biggest thing to watch as Spring Training ends is how the rotation spots will be filled. Depending on who makes the starting rotation, will determine some of the bullpen as well.
