At this point there seems to be roughly a 50/50 chance we see an MLB season in 2020. However in this article we will assume that the owners and the players will prevail in reaching an agreement on a season, and we’ll be looking at what the A’s roster should look like come baseball time. Keep in mind that this is an opinion piece, and you may disagree with my choices.
Starters
C: Sean Murphy
1B: Matt Olson
2B: Franklin Barreto
3B: Matt Chapman
SS: Marcus Semien
LF: Mark Canha
CF: Ramon Laureano
RF: Stephen Piscotty
DH: Khris Davis
Bench
C: Austin Allen
UTL: Chad Pinder
OF: Robbie Grossman
INF: Vimael Machin
The starting nine is pretty righty-heavy, but luckily we have some left-handed hitting options off the bench. The lineup seems likely to feature several platoons: behind the plate, Murphy and Allen should switch off regularly, unless of course Murphy really impresses and establishes himself as a big-league starting catcher right off the bat. At second base, the A’s have a host of players in battle for the spot, most notably featuring Franklin Barreto, Tony Kemp, prospects Jorge Mateo and Sheldon Neuse, and Rule-5 pickup Vimael Machin. Barreto is a pick of mine for a breakthrough season, and along with him I chose former Cubs minor-leaguer Vimael Machin for the platoon at second. Machin might not be the hottest-looking pick considering that he’s never sniffed the majors and has only played twelve games at triple-A, but I’ll take his high on-base approach over Kemp’s 77 wRC+ and 15.7% hard hit rate last year, or Jorge Mateo’s inability to put up even league-average numbers in the minors. In the outfield, Laureano is a lock, and Canha and Piscotty should get the majority of the playing time at the corners. Grossman and Pinder are at the ready to fill in wherever when needed. I couldn’t include Seth Brown here despite his high praise from A’s fans, his small sample-sized success last year just doesn’t seem sustainable. Other than the war at second, the A’s are pretty set around the diamond.
Rotation
RHP Frankie Montas
LHP Sean Manaea
RHP Mike Fiers
LHP Jesus Luzardo
LHP A.J. Puk
I would say four out-of five here are locks, with the possibility of Puk winding up in the pen, but the order could go many different ways. I have Montas as our number one, coming off a stellar although shortened 2019 campaign. However you could really make the argument for all four as the ace of the staff, with Manaea being lights-out in his short stint after returning from injury last year, Fiers seeing nice success in his time in Oakland thus far, and Luzardo with his superstar potential. Righty Chris Bassitt is also an option that could easily wind up in the back of the rotation, however many (including myself) see him as better fit for a long-relief role. The possibility of a six-man rotation has also been brought up, however in a shortened season I think we would get the most out of our arms keeping it at five.
Bullpen
RHP Chris Bassitt
LHP T.J. McFarland
RHP J.B. Wendelken
RHP Lou Trivino
RHP Yusmeiro Petit
LHP Jake Diekman
RHP Joakim Soria
RHP Liam Hendriks
This pen has the potential to be lights out. It struggled last year, but we’re due to see some big improvements in 2020. Trivino, Diekman and Soria are all good candidates for bounce-back seasons. J.B. Wendelken seems to have what it takes to cement himself as a crucial arm in our pen. Yusmeiro Petit should continue to be a workhorse. There’s no reason to believe that Hendriks won’t be dominant again. There are some questions as to who will pitch when, but I think the roles will roughly go in the order laid out. A.J. Puk is also a possibility for the pen, and his stuff could play amazingly condensed into a relief appearance. In 2019 no lead felt safe, but it’s looking like this year could be a different story.
That’s what I believe would make for our best roster for the 2020 season. However we do have solid depth across the board so I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up looking pretty different. We have some key pieces we’re losing to free agency after 2020, so let’s cross our fingers that we get to see baseball this year so that this squad doesn’t go to waste.
I'm an A's fan, I love stats and baseball in general.
