Forst Satisfied with Athletics Trade Deadline Additions of Minor, La Stella

The A's could have three or four doubleheaders in September, and the Monday addition of left starter Mike Minor was made to give the A's a sixth starting option for the stretch run toward the American League West title.

With the A’s facing what could be a handful of doubleheaders in the final four weeks of the season, general manager David Forst said that the acquisition Monday morning of left-handed starting pitcher Mike Minor from the Texas Rangers “was a good fit” In Oakland.

Minor, who comes at the cost of two 2019 draftees not on the A’s 60-man roster, hasn’t won a game all year at 0-5, but his last time out the 2019 All-Star threw six scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team with the best record in baseball currently.

“He pitched really well against the Dodgers on Friday night,” Forst said. “We thought he was a good fit now, with all the uncertainty going forward or the potential for a number of doubleheaders down the road.

“I think it was critical that we were able to complete this deal for Mike. And whether he pitches as a starter or a reliever, or both. I think he’s going to be valuable for the last month.”

The start against the Dodgers notwithstanding, the left-hander had mostly a miserable first five weeks of the 2020 season, owning a 5.60 ERA. Reports out of Texas said that he was having difficulty commanding his best pitch, the changeup, although he threw it well against Los Angeles. A year ago, Minor was 14-10 with a 3.59 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 208.1 innings.

“A look at his stuff revealed there’s not a huge difference between what he’s doing now and what he did last year,” Forst said. “I would say we’re optimistic that he has every opportunity to pitch as well as he has prior to the first handful of starts this season.”

Forst, who said the A’s pursued Minor after the 2017 season before the lefty ultimately signed with the Rangers following a good season with the Royals, talked with Minor after the trade.

“He was great, he was excited to be here and he was up for anything,” Forst said.

For the A’s to know how they will use Minor, will take, as Forst put it, “more certainty about our situation.”

The situation is this: The A’s are staying in Houston once again Monday night with the knowledge that the first two scheduled games of the Seattle series in T-Mobile Park to complete this road trip have been postponed. It’s possible the A’s and Mariners could play a doubleheader Thursday before Oakland returns to the Coliseum for a weekend series with the newly revamped Padres.

“We’ll be able to sit down with him and talk about where he fits,” Forst said. “In the meantime, he was happy to be flexible.”

With one postponement Thursday against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, one Sunday in Houston against the Astros and the first two games of the Seattle series at a minimum being postponed, it seems as if the A’s will have multiple doubleheaders to play in the final four weeks of the season.

The A’s do have off days on Sept. 14, 17 and 21, so those could be used to make up games, but multiple doubleheaders seem inevitable. Already there is a Sept. 12 doubleheader in Oakland to make up for Thursday's game, which was over the A's protesting social injustice.

The Astros are in town Sept. 7-10 and a doubleheader could take place then in the wake of Sunday's postponement, although Sept. 14 may remain a possibility with both teams off and both teams in the State of Texas, the A's due to finish a three-game series against the Rangers in Arlington on Sept. 13 before a scheduled off-day ahead of a Sept. 15 series opener in Colorado.

That being the case, adding starting pitching depth became a sudden priority for the A’s, who added one other 2019 All-Star, second baseman Tommy La Stella, Friday with the trade deadline may be one reason the A’s traded for Minor. Forst said the club did have other talks, none of which come to fruition.

“We set out to accomplish a couple of goals, to boost our rotation depth as well as well as to add a left-handed presence to the lineup,” Forst said. “I think under difficult circumstances I think our team did a good job in our group in identifying players. I’m looking forward to seeing all these guys back out on the field. We’ve got the month of September to look forward to.”

NOTES

--Forst said he talked Monday with shortstop Marcus Semien, who had his 275-game consecutive games played streak end in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader thanks to discomfort in his left side. “It’s hard to judge how he feels because he’s been in a hotel room,” Forst said, identifying the problem as being “not muscular, not soft tissue” and not a stress fracture. “He did say there’s a little less discomfort today. Forst said that Semien had played with some level of this pain on the left side in recent years, but played through it. He suggested the possibility that cooling down after Game 1 Saturday, then gearing up for Game 2 might have produced a level of pain Semien couldn’t play through.

--The A’s planned to stay in Houston overnight Monday, after which the A’s and Major League Baseball will decide on what happens next.

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

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