A's Announce Two Pitchers for Saturday's Spring Opener
The Athletics will open their spring slate of games on Saturday, February 22 against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex. With the opener just a day away, Martín Gallegos of MLB.com is reporting that prospects J.T. Ginn and Brady Basso are in line to pitch in the first game.
That may not be great news for them--at least not immediately.
The way the A's have tended to operate, they'll use guys that they plan on sending to minor-league camp early in spring, in order to get as much of a look at them with the big-league staff as possible before sending them out. For Ginn and Basso to be the first pitchers up, that likely means that they'll be included in one of the first rounds of cuts from the roster, too.
At points during the offseason, both Ginn and Basso were projected to make the A's Opening Day roster according to Roster Resource, but the A's have made some additions this winter that have seemingly pushed them out of the roster mix for the time being.
Ginn was projected to land in the rotation, but with the additions of Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs, it would take an injury or two for him to re-enter the mix. For Basso, he was seen as more of a long relief type to begin the year, but with José Leclerc, Rule 5 pick Noah Murdock, and non-roster invite Dylan Floro being added, it's more unlikely for Basso to start the year with the club.
The one piece of good news is that they're being used early in the game, so they do appear to be in the A's plans, just not in the immediate future.
Last season in the spring opener against the Colorado Rockies, Joe Boyle was the starting pitcher, and was followed by Joey Estes and Osvaldo Bido. All three pitchers began the 2024 campaign in the minor leagues, as did Michel Otañez, who would pitch part of the eighth, and Tyler Ferguson who would finish it off.
All of those pitchers ended up in Oakland last season, but not one began the year with the club.
Basso could have one way onto the roster at the beginning of the season, however. If the A's are looking to utilize a long-man out of the bullpen, it would likely be down to either himself, or fellow lefty Hogan Harris.
To make room for either of them on the roster, one of Murdock or Grant Holman would have to miss out. Murdock would be placed on waivers and then offered back to the Kansas City Royals due to his Rule 5 status, while Holman could just report straight to Triple-A.
In addition to having one long-man on the roster that could go numerous innings, adding either Harris or Basso would also give the A's a second left-hander in the bullpen to pair with T.J. McFarland. Of course, the front office could identify a southpaw either on the free agent market or via trade as camps rolls on, too.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.