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The Oakland A's made a routine roster move Tuesday, activating catcher Stephen Vogt from the family medical leave list. To make room, they optioned backup catcher Matt McBride to Triple-A Nashville, leaving rookie Bruce Maxwell on the roster as the second backstop.
It's unclear what caused Vogt to take a few days off, and frankly it's none of our business so don't worry about it. He's back now, and he brings with him a 109 OPS+ in 79 games. Meanwhile, Maxwell is 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts so far in his MLB career.
It might seem odd that the A's are keeping two catchers who both hit lefty, but that's because they aren't scheduled to face a left-handed starter for quite a while. Things can change as rotations get shaken up, but right now they might be seeing righties for two weeks straight: Rangers (Martinez, Darvish), Indians (Bauer, Tomlin, Kluber), Angels (Shoemaker, Weaver, Lincecum), Cubs (Arrieta, Hendricks, Hammel), and Orioles (Gausman, Worley, Gallardo). That leaves little room for the 31-year-old McBride, who isn't hitting much anyway (.558 OPS) despite showing good hustle and fundamentals. Maxwell is going to get his chance to stick.
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The A's also made a move on Monday before their 7-6 loss to the Rangers. RHP Jesse Hahn was optioned back to Triple-A after an excellent spot start, and utilityman Max Muncy was brought back up to beef up the bench.
As for Hahn, this is just the usual numbers game, as the A's don't have space to carry around a sixth starter while Rich Hill is healing from his blister. Presumably the rotation will continue to be patched together on a week-by-week basis for the time being. Dillon Overton and Zach Neal also stand as potential options to make Hill's next start if need be, since Hahn will be ineligible to return for 10 days unless someone (like Hill) goes on the DL. The A's have a day off Thursday and another Monday, which could also affect their rotation plans.
Muncy has played 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, and RF for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds this year. He's batting .257/.366/.314 in 41 plate appearances for the A's so far with 2 doubles, 6 walks, and 3 strikeouts.
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