It’s Monday afternoon and the Oakland A’s are about to begin their ALDS against the Houston Astros. This morning, they announced the roster they’ll use for the series.
There is only one change from the Wild Card Series roster, and it’s to add an extra pitcher. Reliever Jordan Weems was added, and to make room for him, infielder Vimael Machin was removed.
This is a sensible move. The rookie Machin didn’t make it into a single game against the Chicago White Sox, and it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which he would. The A’s already have four starting infielders (Olson, La Stella, Semien, Lamb), plus backups in Tony Kemp and Chad Pinder, plus another emergency backup for shortstop in Nate Orf. Even among that group, Orf only saw one defensive inning last week and Kemp didn’t play at all, so it would require several things happening all at once for Machin to even begin to become an option. His bench spot was being wasted.
Meanwhile, you can always use more pitching. Maybe a game goes to extras. Maybe a starter gets knocked out early, like Mike Fiers in the 2nd inning of Game 3 against the Sox. Maybe there’s an intentional piggyback/bullpen strategy. Whatever the case, there’s one more arm available, and it’s a good one as Weems had an impressive rookie year in Oakland’s deep and excellent bullpen.
Weems, 2020: 3.21 ERA, 14 ip, 18 Ks, 7 BB, 1 HR, 3.05 FIP, .295 xwOBA
All of those numbers are better than average, except the walk rate which is a bit high.
See the updated roster below.
| Pitchers | Hitters |
| Starters Chris Bassitt (R) Sean Manaea (L) Jesús Luzardo (L) Frankie Montas (R) Mike Fiers (R) Mike Minor (L) Relievers Liam Hendriks (R) Yusmeiro Petit (R) Joakim Soria (R) Jake Diekman (L) T.J. McFarland (L) Lou Trivino (R) Jordan Weems (R) J.B. Wendelken (R) | Catchers Sean Murphy (R) Jonah Heim (S) Infielders Matt Olson (L) Tommy La Stella (L) Marcus Semien (R) Jake Lamb (L) Tony Kemp (L) Nate Orf (R) Chad Pinder (R) Outfielders Mark Canha (R) Robbie Grossman (S) Ramon Laureano (R) Stephen Piscotty (R) DH: Khris Davis (R) |
As for the Astros, their roster looks as healthy as it has all year. There are still big names missing, of course, like Justin Verlander and Yordan Alvarez. But the star infield is back intact, and the main outfielders are there, and some relievers have returned — though there are still six rookies on the pitching staff.
Like the A’s, their only change from their Wild Card Series is adding an extra reliever, Luis Garcia. He made a spot start against the A’s this year and tossed five scoreless frames with just one hit allowed. Infielder Jack Mayfield was removed to clear space.
Another new name is Chas McCormack, who has not yet debuted in the majors but was on the Wild Card Series roster (and didn’t play). Based on his gaudy minor league steal numbers, he’s presumably here to pinch-run.
| Pitchers | Hitters |
| Starters Lance McCullers (R) Framber Valdez (L) Zack Greinke (R) Jose Urquidy (R) Cristian Javier (R) Relievers Ryan Pressly (R) Luis Garcia (R) Josh James (R) Enoli Paredes (R) Brooks Raley (L) Andre Scrubb (R) Cy Sneed (R) Blake Taylor (L) | Catchers Martin Maldonado (R) Dustin Garneau (R) Garrett Stubbs (L) Infielders Yuli Gurriel (R) Jose Altuve (R) Carlos Correa (R) Aledmys Diaz (R) Abraham Toro (S) Outfielders Michael Brantley (L) Josh Reddick (L) George Springer (R) Kyle Tucker (L) Myles Straw (R) Chas McCormick (L) |
Pitching matchups for the first two games:
- Game 1: Chris Bassitt vs. Lance McCullers
- Game 2: Sean Manaea vs. Framber Valdez
- Game 3 and beyond: Yet to be determined, but you can see the options above
Holly
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