Projecting the Oakland A's 2015 Opening Day Roster

Nick HouserJan 27, 2015

Once spring training is all said and done, the Oakland A's will roll out a 25-man roster nearly 40 percent different than the 2014 version.

Of course, it's hard to know exactly how an Opening Day roster in April will look two full months ahead. There are too many variables. Injuries could happen. Heck, trades can still happen. Guys who should be locks can stink up spring training. Guys lowest on the totem pole could impress.

No one knows in January.

Let's take a stab at it anyway. Doing so may refresh your memory of who's still left from the last regime and provide you with a little info on the new guys and position battles to watch for come spring training.

Infield

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Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images

Zobrist will play second base but as seen here, he can play in the outfield, too.

At first base, Ike Davis takes over the role Brandon Moss vacated. Davis hits best against righties and struggles against southpaws.

Billy Butler will be the team's primary designated hitter but is also a first baseman. Stephen Vogt can also play first base if needed. Moreover, recent acquisition Mark Canha can play first base and both corner outfield spots. Nate Freiman will compete for the backup or platoon role at first, but because there are so many other options and he is limited in versatility, he'll have a tough road ahead of him.

Melissa Lockard of OaklandClubhouse.com and I discussed this via Twitter. You can check out the conversation here.

Unless he's needed elsewhere, Ben Zobrist is penciled in at second base. He can play multiple positions—as seen above playing the outfield for the MLB All-Stars during the Japan All-Stars series—so it's always a possibility he plays elsewhere.

Marcus Semien has a shot at earning the starting shortstop role after Jed Lowrie signed with the Houston Astros and the A's flipped Yunel Escobar to the Washington Nationals. Of Semien, Billy Beane said "this is a guy we've thought highly of over the years," in quotes captured by MLB.com's Jane Lee.

Semien's biggest competition will be Eric Sogard, who started at second base in 2014.

If Sogard fails to outplay Semien at shortstop or play so well it forces Zobrist into left field, he should be the team's backup infielder. He can play second, short and third base and plays above-average defense.

Lastly, Brett Lawrie will play third base. There is no competition at this position.

Catcher and DH

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USA TODAY Sports

After an injury and time at first base, Stephen Vogt returns to catching duties.

Let's knock the designated hitter role out quickly, because it's easy. It's Billy Butler.

The A's could also use Coco Crisp (or anyone for that matter) as a DH and play Butler at first base.

As for catchers, Stephen Vogt won the last-man-standing competition after the A's traded Derek Norris to the San Diego Padres and John Jaso to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Vogt's backup will be newcomer Josh Phlegley.

For a look at just who Phlegley is, check out this analysis by Spencer Silva of Athletics Nation. Here's an excerpt from Silva's piece regarding Phlegley's power:

"
The past two seasons he's been one of the International League's (AAA) preeminent sluggers. His ISO (isolated slugging percentage) jumped from .107 in 2012, to .281 in 2013, and .256 in 2014. Those marks were the second- and third-best in the entire league.
"

Outfield

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Craig Gentry should man left field.

Of all the turnover, the outfield positions remain nearly unchanged.

Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick return to center field and right field, respectively. Craig Gentry and Sam Fuld—who played in backup roles one season ago—will vie for the starting left field job.

According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, Gentry and Fuld will split time. According to the A's official depth chart, Fuld is the No. 1 contender at this point.

I'd argue Gentry should be the guy.

In six years, he's a career .273 hitter with a .346 on-base percentage. In fact, while with the Rangers, he continued to thrive, hitting better and better as Texas gave him more opportunities. There's no need to platoon Gentry, either. He hits .264 against right-handed pitchers and .282 against southpaws.

Fuld, meanwhile, has hit .230 against righties and .251 versus left-handers.

Give Gentry the full shot; Make Fuld the fourth outfielder.

As Lee points out in the article linked above, the versatile Ben Zobrist can also be used in the outfield if needed and "Mark Canha will also be closely watched in Spring Training as a possible outfield candidate, particularly since he must remain on the A's active roster all season or be offered back to the Marlins."

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Starting Rotation

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Sonny Gray anchors the top of the rotation after a stellar 2014 season.

Here's what we know: Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir will start us off.

Here's where it gets tricky.

Veterans like Drew Pomeranz and Jesse Chavez are trying to stick in the rotation. Meanwhile young arms like Jesse Hahn, Chris Bassitt, Sean Nolin, Kendall Graveman and Arnold Leon are hoping to gain a coveted spot.

Chavez had a phenomenal first half in 2014. Pomeranz also pitched well before he injured himself. Unless these two absolutely tank or a youngster annihilates all competition, it's a safe bet that the two veterans will take the third and fourth spots in the rotation.

Now left is one spot for five guys.

There's really no way to tell who gains the spot. In 2012, Jarrod Parker was a maybe for the fifth spot while the A's worked Tommy Milone out. Both forced their way into the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation. Last season it was Chavez who unexpectedly earned a spot.

So much could happen between now and the end of spring training.

I asked A's minor league blogger Chris Kusiolek via direct message on Twitter about who he felt had the best chance to earn the fifth spot. He said he feels Hahn is a lock for the rotation and listed Leon as a sleeper of sorts.

On Hahn, Melissa Lockard wrote, "he should slot into the A’s rotation next season barring a disastrous spring."

Bullpen

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Bob Levey/Getty Images

Fernando Abad looks to carry a quality 2014 performance over into the new season.

If the rotation is tricky to predict, the bullpen is even harder.

First, let's assume Jesse Chavez, Drew Pomeranz and Jesse Hahn capture spots in the rotation, taking them out of the equation.

Next, let's get the obvious guys out of the way.

Sean Doolittle has a shoulder injury that will sideline him to start the season. As for the givens, bullpen spots will go to Tyler Clippard, Ryan Cook, Eric O'Flaherty, Fernando Abad and Dan Otero. That's five spots of a potential seven.

Evan Scribner could land a spot by seniority, and he's proven to be serviceable. But if anyone gets bumped out by a new arm, it's Scribner. Scribner is out of options, so if he doesn't make the team, the A's could lose him. That could factor in as a potential tiebreaker.

I'm going on an assumption again here, but I'm going to predict Scribner makes the Opening Day roster. However, once Doolittle returns, he's a candidate for ultimately being designated for assignment.

That leaves two spots still and plenty of remaining competition.

In looking at myriad analysis on Chris Bassitt (like this one), I see him starting in Triple-A. This is not because he sounds bad on paper, but because the other candidates simply sound stronger. Sean Nolin seems like he may be in a similar position. Unless he dazzles, a stint in Triple-A may be good for him after missing significant time in 2014.

I could see Kendall Graveman earning a spot in the bullpen. He pitched out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays last season. That said, I'd prefer to see him as a starter.

It's only a hunch, but I think Arnold Leon wins the final spot in the bullpen.

At 26 years old, it's time to see what Leon—who has experience pitching in the World Baseball Classic—can do at the major league level. He's been in the A's minor league system since 2008 and has quality stuff.

My guess would be all of the fringe players pitch to about the same caliber and the final call is the young guns stretch out as starters, consistently pitching in Triple-A.

Again, at this point it's a crap shoot.