Possibilities for Athletics Back-End Rotation Starters
With Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin both on the recovery path, and neither due back before May, it leaves the Oakland Athletics with a void in back-end pitching for the first month or so of the season. So here are some possibilities on what the A’s may do.
With Jeff Samardzija, Scott Kazmir, Sonny Gray being the only certainties in the A’s rotation, even with many belieiving Samardzija or Kaz could be traded prior to the 2015 season, it leaves the Athletics rotation at a crossroad. Whether or not to put pitchers like Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Chavez and Brad Mills in the rotation.
Pomeranz pitched in 20 games for the A’s last season, with 10 starts, and had some great outings. But, prior his 69 innings last season were the second most of the 26-year-old’s young career, with 96.2 IP in 2012 with the Colorado Rockies being his biggest workload.
Pomeranz could be the team’s fourth starter and I’d be thrilled with that. Pom Pom was one of my favorite performers from last season and was as consistent as they come in his appearances.
Another option could be Chavez, who began 2013 as a starter but was relieved of his duties as the wear and tear got to him, towards the end of the season. After posting a sub-three ERA through the first three months of the season, a 5.30 ERA is July would lead to Chavez being sent to the pen. There, his struggles would continue as his level of comfort looked to be an issue.
As with Pomeranz, prior to 2013 where Chavez pitched 146 innings, he hadn’t seen as heavy of a workload (67.1 IP being his highest). Obviously, you wouldn’t need either pitcher to have a full-season’s workload since they’d just be temporary fill-ins but it does concern me.
Another the option the A’s have is starting pitcher Brad Mills, who re-signed with the club this off-season. Mills posted a 4.41 ERA with the club last season, but was waived by the team and picked up by Toronto Blue Jays.
The last option the Athletics could possibly go with is signing a cheap pitcher and seeing how they fair in spring training and so-forth. A possibility there could be a pitcher like Wandy Rodriguez, who is coming off back-to-back injury-plagued seasons. Rodriguez is healing a surgically repaired knee, and would be a low-cost, low-risk option with the A’s having a long list of starting pitching, as well as Parker and Griffin waiting in the wings.
Prior to 2014, when Rodriguez only made six starts, he had sub-four ERAs in seven straight seasons dating back to 2008. His 205.2 innings pitched in 2012 were tied for most in his career as he put up a 3.76 cumulative ERA between pitching for the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates.
There are plenty of choices for the A’s to run with and it’ll be exciting to see which decision they wind up making. What do you think the A’s should do?