3 questions the Athletics have yet to answer during spring training

Who will back up Shea Langeliers?

All signs seem to point to Carlos Perez earning the backup catcher role to start the year. He has the experience advantage over Kyle McCann and thanks to spending last year in Oakland, he has a level of familiarity with the pitching staff that McCann doesn't.

Whether the Athletics front office determine that to be an asset is unclear. For one thing, Perez has been atrocious at the plate during spring training. Through 14 games, he's hitting just .107/.194/.179 with an almost 26% strikeout rate.

He's neither hitting for power or contact and his primary skill set at this point seems to be veteran leadership. It's always great to have that kind of guy in the clubhouse, especially in one like the Athletics have that's filled with younger guys and role players.

Part of the problem is that McCann hasn't truly seized the role. He's been hitting a bit better than Perez, posting a .733 OPS in his 16 games, but he's striking out nearly 42% of the time. If he was doing that in Oakland, that'd be one thing. But he's doing it against a bevy of minor league pitchers in Arizona.

McCann has run high strikeout rates in the minors and has typically been able to make up for it with a little extra power. Unfortunately, a strikeout rate that high isn't going to work at the highest level. It's possible that McCann just won't be able to hit major league pitching and at that point, it doesn't matter how good his defense is.

PREDICTION: Carlos Perez earns the backup role to start the season and Kyle McCann heads back to Triple-A. Tyler Soderstrom flounders in Las Vegas and is traded at mid-season.

Who will be the Athletics' fifth starter?

As of right now it's down to either Kyle Muller or Joe Boyle, thanks to injury problems for Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk, and Freddy Tarnok.

When Medina comes back, he will probably get the chance to earn the spot back. Until then, Muller and Boyle are sparring for the chance to open the year in the A's rotation.

Last week, Boyle seemed like a strong candidate. He'd always dealt with control issues in the minor leagues but after the A's acquired him from the Reds halfway through 2023, he seemed to have gotten them under control.

During his stint in the A's minor league system and during his cup of coffee in September, he cut his previous walk rates in half. An 8.3% walk rate in the major leagues isn't good, but for Boyle it was a major step forward.

He looked sharp in his first three spring training starts but his last two appearances have not gone as well. Boyle has 9 walks in his last 7 innings pitched and he now has a 4.12 FIP and a 19.4% walk rate.

Similar to Boyle, Muller's first three spring starts were strong. And likewise, his most recent start was not. Muller gave up 6 runs on 9 hits in his last outing, going just 3 innings against the troubled Rockies offense.

His spring ERA now sits at 4.91, and his 4.46 FIP doesn't encourage a ton of excitement. Muller struggled mightily in Oakland last year, pitching to a 7.60 ERA and losing his rotation gig midway through the year. He wasn't much better out of the bullpen, posting a 5.82 ERA in 17 innings.

It's unclear whether Muller has a future in the major leagues but the one advantage he has in this specific competition is that he doesn't have any minor league options left, while Boyle has all three of his.

The A's can send Boyle back to Triple-A without penalty if they have specific areas they want him to work on. Muller will either be in the majors or be designated for assignment. It's not clear that the front office wants to risk losing Muller just yet but if he pitches poorly to start the year, he's going to quickly run out of leash.

PREDICTION: Muller earns the nod in the Opening Day rotation and Boyle starts the year in Triple-A. When Medina returns, Muller shifts back to the bullpen.

Who will be the Athletics' starting shortstop?

Nick Allen has spent the past two years struggling at the major league level. He has a strong glove - FanGraphs gives him a combined +9 Defensive Runs Saved at short over the past two years, while Statcast gives him +7 Outs Above Average over the same time frame.

Despite the strong defense, Allen has hit just .214/.260/.289 with 8 home runs and 8 steals in 206 career games in Oakland. He entered spring training with a re-tooled swing that seems to be working for him. Allen is up to a 1.417 OPS with 4 walks and 0 strikeouts, though it's a small sample size as he missed a couple weeks with a back injury.

While Allen was out, Darell Hernaiz got plenty of opportunities to win the job. He's gotten 47 plate appearances this spring and is currently hitting .302/.319/.326 in Arizona. He has a couple bad errors and isn't hitting for any power, but has looked decent against major league pitchers.

The problem for Hernaiz at the moment is that he seems to profile similarly to Allen, but with slightly worse defense. Hernaiz has some versatility and can play third base, but the A's just filled that hole by signing JD Davis, who will take the job from Abraham Toro.

Since the A's don't need a third baseman, nor do they need a second baseman thanks to Zack Gelof, both Allen and Hernaiz will be limited to primarily shortstop duty. Thanks to Allen's revamped approach, he should get the leg up to open the year, but any streak of poor performance will open the door back up to Hernaiz.

PREDICTION: Nick Allen opens the year as the primary shortstop, while Abraham Toro earns the backup infielder job. Darell Hernaiz starts the year in Triple-A Las Vegas and has to work his way back to Oakland based on performance.