Elephant Rumblings: Fowler optioned; A’s roster taking shape

A’s Coverage:

• Slusser: Dustin Fowler optioned after nice spring for A’s...
• Slusser: A’s unfazed by slow springs for Matt Chapman, Khris Davis...
• Castrovince: Versatile Pinder’s spring turning heads...

Best of AN:

• fatrolf: Oakland A’s Player Profile - Jurickson Profar...
• Hall: Oakland A’s option Dustin Fowler to Triple-A...
• Oakland A’s 2019 Community Prospect List #25: Jonah Heim pops onto the radar...

MLB News:

• Kaplan: Astros pitcher Franics Martes suspended 80 games for PED...
• Topkin: Rays have “maintained regular contact” with free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel...
• Morosi: Charlie Morton to retire at end of contract with Rays...

Baseball Interest Stories:

• Rosenthal: Sensitive times in Seattle, as Ichiro and the Mariners ponder what’s next... ($)
• Szymborski: Seven Hopefully Not-Terrible Spring Trade Ideas...
• Buchanan: ‘He couldn’t come back’ - The confusing tax fiasco that led Merrill Kelly and other foreign players to leave Korea... ($)
• McDaniel: More 2019 Draft Rankings Updates...
• Kelly: 9 historic encores to root for in 2019...

Today in Baseball History:

• 1886 - Frank Baker is born in Trappe, Maryland. A third baseman and left-handed hitter, Baker will guide the Philadelphia Athletics to three World Series championships. He will be nicknamed “Home Run” during the 1911 World Series, in which he will hit a go-ahead home run off Rube Marquard in Game Two and a 9th-inning game-tying home run off Christy Mathewson in Game Three. Baker will lead the American League in home runs for four consecutive seasons, twice lead the league in RBI, and bat .363 in six Series. Baker will earn Hall of Fame honors in 1955.

Best of Twitter:

• This should be a fun series, and adding Rickey Henderson and Ken Griffey Jr. only makes it better...

• If you thought the Chris/Cris Carter thing was weird...

• This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest seasons in Oakland Athletics history...