Relievers Who Can Be Starters

Sep 29, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Jesse Chavez (60) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the 6th inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A’s have a ton of depth. In more ways than you think. They’ve got 7 guys to pick from in the rotation and more guys to pick from in the bullpen than you can count on your fingers. But there’s another factor that the A’s have. They have guys who can successfully go from the bullpen to rotation and be successful at it. There are other teams out there that have this, but we’re A’s fans around here so we’re going to focus on our guys. Here are the relievers who can be starters.

The first pitcher that can go from the bullpen to the rotation is Jesse Chavez. Chavez is the man to go to when a starter isn’t doing well and you need someone to give you a lot of innings. He’s the guy they called on to come in and face the Yankees for multiple innings in the 18 inning game the played back in June. He already pitched a lot of innings, and if a pitcher gets sick or something comes up to where someone needs to fill in, Chavez is the guy. He can spot start, which means he can go on the mound and start a game on short notice. Chavez isn’t bad either. He is the type of guy that can give you not just multiple innings, but multiple quality innings. He is as good as you can get from a bullpen pitcher. On other teams he might even be a decent no. 4 or no.5 rotation guy. Jesse Chavez gives the team even more depth in the rotation, depth that other teams can’t see because it’s hidden in the bullpen.

The next guy that can go from bullpen to rotation is a guy who might not get to have a spot in either. Evan Scribner is just like Chavez, a bullpen guy who can go multiple innings and can spot start. The difference here is that Chavez is the better pitcher, so Scribner ends up the odd man out, but he gives the A’s even further depth. Think about it, the A’s have two extra starters that can fill in if a starter goes down. And if in some unfortunate event, the A’s need to replace the two replacement guys, they have a guy in the bullpen who can replace the replacement guys. And they have a guy in triple-A to replace the guy the guy who replace the original replacement guys. Now that’s depth!

The final guy is Drew Pomeranz. He can be both a starter and reliever. He isn’t a reliever now, seeing as Bob Melvin said he’s definitely going to be a starter, but if he misses a spot in the rotation, which he most likely will, he can get a spot in the bullpen. He will most likely start in triple-A as a starter, but if he does become a part of the bullpen, he will be yet another guy who can be a starter. Pomeranz isn’t technically a reliever, but I put him in this article because he has the potential to be either, and in case he ever does become a reliever with the A’s, he’d only be adding that much more depth.

The A’s are known for having depth, but this season they have so much depth, they may be able to dig deep enough to get themselves a trip to the World Series.