Who Wins The Final Spot In A’s Pen?

A’s Manager Bob Melvin mentioned this week that six of the potential seven bullpen spots in Oakland were filled. That leaves one open spot for an enormous amount of suitors. With that being the case it is inevitable that one or more transactions will be made to accommodate all of the arms on board including a few players possibly finding themselves on other teams to start the season. That being said, here is a list of the relievers competing for the final spot, players who will find themselves at Triple-A Sacramento to begin the season, and the player(s) who will find themselves on other teams come March 31.

Mar 2, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher

(50) throws during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The relievers that presumably already have their spots locked up: Jim Johnson, Ryan Cook, Sean Doolittle, Luke Gregerson, Dan Otero, and Jesse Chavez.

Relievers competing for the final spot in the bullpen: Fernando Abad, Tommy Milone, Josh Lindblom, Drew Pomeranz, Evan Scribner, Fernando Rodriguez, Joe Savory, and some others who are just seeing big league spring training but have no shot.

The winner: Depending on how everything plays out I believe Joe Savery will win the job out of Spring Training. The A’s currently only have one lefty in the bullpen with the departure of Jerry Blevins.

Triple-A Sacramento: Abad, Milone, and the other left-handed pitchers will go down to Triple-A Sacramento. With such little depth at the big league level the A’s will need to stockpile all the left-handed arms they can. Along with them Rodriguez and Lindblom will move to Triple-A Sacramento as well.

Other teams: Evan Scribner will be the unfortunate casualty of a crowded bullpen. With solid big league numbers and great minor league numbers, Scribner will draw plenty of interest after being DFA’d by the A’s since he has no options left.

Joe Savory was recently claimed by the A’s from the Philadelphia Phillies. He was surprisingly DFA’d by the Phillies even though he had solid numbers. If he can continue to perform in Phoenix he will win the final spot in a deep bullpen.