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Oakland A’s may get Marcus Semien back soon

By David Hill

OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 21: Marcus Semien #10 of the Oakland Athletics hits a home run during the game against the Los Angeles Angels at RingCentral Coliseum on August 21, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 5-3. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 21: Marcus Semien #10 of the Oakland Athletics hits a home run during the game against the Los Angeles Angels at RingCentral Coliseum on August 21, 2020 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Angels 5-3. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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The Oakland A’s may get some help in their lineup soon as Marcus Semien may be close to returning.

The Oakland A’s lineup has taken a few hits over the past few days. Marcus Semien had been sidelined since August 29 due to soreness in his side. Matt Chapman has been dealing with a hip issue that forced him to leave Sunday’s game. After being relatively healthy all year, the injuries are starting to pile up in Oakland.

However, there is some good news. Semien is slated to take batting practice on Monday and could return to the lineup shortly thereafter.

After putting together an MVP caliber season in 2019, Semien has disappointed thus far in 2020. Through 151 plate appearances, he had posted a .229/.285/.379 batting line, hitting four doubles and five homers while stealing three bases.

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However, Semien was starting to get on track at the plate after an extremely slow start to the season. He had produced a .260/.337/.494 batting line in his last 85 plate appearances, hitting three doubles and five homers. While he may not have replicated his stellar 2019 campaign, he was starting to heat up with the A’s needed him.

The A’s have to hope that Semien can return to that form. They need his bat in the lineup, having scored a total of six runs in their three losses without him. Semien may not be the answer to everything that ails the A’s lineup, but he could certainly help.

This is also an important stretch for Semien going forward. He is slated to become a free agent this season and needed a strong follow-up to his 2019 production. That has not been the case this season, but his last 85 plate appearances were something that his representation could point to in negotiations. A hot end to the year would not only help the A’s, but his case moving forward as well.

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Marcus Semien may return to the Oakland A’s lineup soon. That cannot happen fast enough.