Spring Training Preview: A Look At The Oakland Athletics And The Rest Of The AL West
A team-by-team look at the American League West entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:
Oakland Athletics
Manager: Bob Melvin (fifth season).
2014: 88-74, second place, lost to Royals in wild-card playoff.
Training Town: Mesa, Arizona.
Park: Hohokam Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 20/25.
He's Here: INF Ben Zobrist, 3B Brett Lawrie, RHP Tyler Clippard, 1B Billy Butler, INF Marcus Semien, RHP Jesse Hahn, RHP Chris Bassitt, 1B Ike Davis, LHP Sean Nolin, RHP, Kendall Graveman, C Josh Fegley, LHP Eury De La Rosa.
He's Outta Here: 3B Josh Donaldson, LHP Jon Lester, RHP Jeff Samardzija, SS Jed Lowrie, C Derek Norris, 1B-OF Brandon Moss, C John Jaso, RHP Luke Gregerson, RHP Jason Hammel, DH Adam Dunn, INF Alberto Callaspo, C Geovany Soto, INF Nick Punto, OF Jonny Gomes.
Going campin': It was another busy offseason in Oakland after the team's third straight postseason berth ended in a wild-card playoff loss to Kansas City. Key players like Donaldson, Samrdzija, Norris and Moss were traded while Lester, Lowrie and Gregerson left as free agents. Oakland has dealt away five of its seven All-Stars from last year. In all, general manager Billy Beane made nine trades this offseason involving 27 players - and infielder Yunel Escobar twice - in an attempt to overhaul the team on the fly. With these deals, a staggering 28 of the 40 players on Oakland's major league roster were acquired by trades. The most important additions are Zobrist and Clippard. Zobrist will solidify second base and provide a middle-of-the-lineup hitter while Clippard can close until Sean Doolittle recovers from a shoulder injury. When Doolittle returns, he and Clippard will form a potent left-right tandem at the end of games. Newcomers Hahn, Bassitt, Nolin and Graveman will compete in spring to fill out the rotation.
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Los Angeles Angels
Manager: Mike Scioscia (16th season).
2014: 98-64, first place, lost to Royals in ALDS.
Training Town: Tempe, Arizona.
Park: Tempe Diablo Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 20/25.
He's Here: LF Matt Joyce, LHP Andrew Heaney, C Drew Butera, LF Daniel Robertson, RHP Nick Tropeano, SS Roberto Baldoquin, LHP Cesar Ramos.
He's Outta Here: 2B Howie Kendrick, 2B Gordon Beckham, C Hank Conger, RF Brennan Boesch, RHP Yoslan Herrera, 3B John McDonald.
Going campin': Before the Angels can atone for last October's postseason flop, they'll have to figure out how to emulate last summer's outstanding regular season. Two key contributors will start spring training slowly while recovering from injuries, but right-hander Garrett Richards and outfielder Josh Hamilton hope to be ready around opening day. Most of last season's roster returns alongside cornerstones Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, but the Angels have a glaring hole at second base with the trade of mainstay Howie Kendrick for tantalizing pitching prospect Heaney, who will compete for a rotation spot. But the spotlight will be firmly on Trout as he attempts to follow up his first MVP season with even bigger achievements - most importantly in October.
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Seattle Mariners
Manager: Lloyd McClendon (second season).
2013: 87-75, third place.
Training Town: Peoria, Arizona.
Park: Peoria Sports Complex.
First Workout: Feb. 21/25.
He's Here: LHP J.A. Happ, C John Baker, DH Nelson Cruz, OF Justin Ruggiano, OF Seth Smith.
He's Outta Here: OF Michael Saunders, DH Kendrys Morales, OF Corey Hart, RHP Chris Young, 1B Justin Smoak, RHP Brandon Maurer, OF Chris Denorfia.
Going campin': Welcome to the new world of high expectations for the Mariners. A year after acquiring Robinson Cano and finishing one-game out of the playoffs, the Mariners signed third baseman Kyle Seager to a seven-year extension, nabbed major league home run champ Cruz in free agency and added a suitable pair of outfielders in Justin Ruggiano and Seth Smith. Suddenly the Mariners are being viewed as one of the favorites, not just in their division but the entire American League. Most of Seattle's roster is set headed into spring, with two notable exceptions: shortstop and one spot in the starting rotation. Chris Taylor and Brad Miller are vying for the starting job at shortstop. Taylor is the better glove, Miller has more potential at the plate. Most of Seattle's starting rotation is set with Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and Happ. The fifth spot will likely come down to Taijuan Walker, Roenis Elias and Erasmo Ramirez unless another unknown pops up as Elias did last year during spring training.
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Houston Astros
Manager: A.J. Hinch (first season).
2014: 70-92, (fourth place).
Training Town: Kissimmee, Florida.
Park: Osceola County Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 21/25.
He's Here: Manager A.J. Hinch, SS Jed Lowrie, C-OF Evan Gattis, OF Colby Rasmus, C Hank Conger, RHP Dan Straily, RHP Luke Gregerson, RHP Pat Neshek, 3B Luis Valbuena.
He's Outta Here: Manager Bo Porter, OF Dexter Fowler, C Carlos Corporan, RHP Michael Foltynewicz.
Going campin': The Houston Astros look to take another step toward contention this season after making a 19-game improvement last year to end a stretch of three straight 100-loss seasons. They have yet another new manager - their fourth full-time skipper since 2009 - in Hinch and are finally putting some money into the team after years of playing stripped down following trades to restock the once-barren farm system. They acquired Gattis and signed Rasmus to add more power to a lineup which ranked fourth in the majors with 163 homers in 2014 led by Chris Carter's 37. Houston also addressed its bullpen issues by signing Gregerson and Neshek, a pair of relievers who both had sub-2.15 ERAs last season. They didn't make any improvements to a rotation led by veteran Scott Feldman which got a boost last season by the development of Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh. Two players to watch will be right fielder George Springer and first baseman Jon Singleton. Both were rookies last season and Springer was great, with 20 homers and 51 RBIs in 78 games before he was injured. But Singleton failed to show the power he displayed throughout the minors and hit just .168 in 95 games.
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Texas Rangers
Manager: Jeff Banister (first season).
2014: 67-95, last place.
Training Town: Surprise, Arizona.
Park: Surprise Stadium.
First Workout: Feb. 21/26.
He's Here: Banister, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Kyuji Fujikawa, RHP Yovani Gallardo, RHP Anthony Ranaudo, C Carlos Corporan, INF Kyle Blanks, OF Ryan Ludwick, OF Delino DeShields, OF Nate Schierholtz.
Hes Outta Here: Manager Ron Washington, OF Alex Rios, OF Daniel Robertson, C J.P. Arencibia, LHP Scott Baker, RHP Robbie Ross Jr., INF Luis Sardinas, RHP Alexi Ogando, LHP Neal Cotts.
Going campin': After its most losses since 1985, Texas goes to camp with a new manager, a few new pitchers and hopes that the big-money additions for last season (slugger Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo) stay healthy this year. Yu Darvish and lefty Derek Holland are back at the top of the rotation after missing significant portions last season with injuries. If all those key pieces come back strong, maybe last year will indeed prove to be the anomaly that many Rangers officials believe it was after the success of the previous four seasons (consecutive World Series appearances, an AL wild-card game, and a 163rd-game tiebreaker loss). General manager Jon Daniels pulled off a big deal last month when long-coveted Gallardo was acquired in a trade from Milwaukee, and there are other rotation options with Detwiler (free agent) and Ranaudo (trade with Boston). World Series closer Neftali Feliz is back in that role after an ill-fated attempt at being a starter and Tommy John surgery.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
