:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66993764/1211658375.jpg.0.jpg)
The Oakland A’s announced their initial 60-man player pool on Sunday. Only the players on this list are eligible to participate in the 2020 season, whether in the majors or at the off-site training camp that’s functionally replacing the minor leagues this summer. The team’s MLB camp has its first workout at the Coliseum on July 4.
For more on what exactly this 60-man pool is and how it works, click here for our full explanation. To summarize, players must be part of the pool in order to be called up to the majors, and also to be involved in trades. The list submitted Sunday is not permanent and can be altered as the year goes on — players can be removed via normal transactions (trade, DFA, release etc.), and new ones can be added to any open spots (via signing, trade acquisition, or simply promoting from within, etc.).
The A’s pool includes almost their entire 40-man roster, plus some other prospects and depth guys from within the organization. For now there are only 54 players, with six open spots. Those vacancies may be left open for as long as the team wants, so there’s no rush to fill them just for the sake of it — though in this case a few more names were only left out for procedural reasons and will be officially announced in the next few days.
Here is the full list. Players in italics with asterisks** are not on the 40-man roster. Players indented with --hyphens are reporting to off-site training camp (which might not be in Stockton after all) rather than MLB camp at the Coliseum. Five extra players listed in [[brackets]] will reportedly be named in the coming days (more info below), bringing the list to 59.
| Pitchers | Hitters |
|
Starters Frankie Montas (R) Sean Manaea (L) Mike Fiers (R) Chris Bassitt (R) Jesus Luzardo (L) A.J. Puk (L) Paul Blackburn (R) Daniel Gossett (R) Daniel Mengden (R)** --Grant Holmes (R) --Daulton Jefferies (R) --James Kaprielian (R) --Tyler Baum (R)** --Parker Dunshee (R)** --Brian Howard (R)** Relievers Liam Hendriks (R) Yusmeiro Petit (R) Joakim Soria (R) Jake Diekman (L) T.J. McFarland (L) Burch Smith (R) Lou Trivino (R) J.B. Wendelken (R) Lucas Luetge (L)** Jaime Schultz (R)** Jordan Weems (R)** --[[Wandisson Charles (R)]]** --[[Miguel Romero (R)]]** |
Catchers Sean Murphy (R) Austin Allen (L) Jonah Heim (S) Carlos Perez (R)** --Kyle McCann (L)** --[[Tyler Soderstrom (L)]]** Infielders Matt Olson (L) Marcus Semien (R) Matt Chapman (R) Tony Kemp (L) Franklin Barreto (R) Sheldon Neuse (R) Vimael Machin (L) Jorge Mateo (R) Ryan Goins (L)** Nate Orf (R)** --Nick Allen (R)** --Logan Davidson (S)** --[[Robert Puason (S)]]** Outfielders Khris Davis (R) Mark Canha (R) Ramon Laureano (R) Stephen Piscotty (R) Robbie Grossman (S) Chad Pinder (R) Seth Brown (L) Skye Bolt (S) --Dustin Fowler (L) --Greg Deichmann (L)** --Buddy Reed (S)** --[[Luis Barrera (L)]] |
Note: Mengden is listed as non-roster for now because he’s still on the 60-day injured list, though he’s now healthy and will need to be activated at some point.
As for the remaining six spots, they are mostly accounted for. According to various reports, five of them will go to these players, all of whom are minor league prospects and will train at the off-site camp:
- RHP Wandisson Charles
- RHP Miguel Romero
- C Tyler Soderstrom
- SS Robert Puason
- OF Luis Barrera
Barrera is the only 40-man roster member not listed in the initial pool, but it’s for travel reasons. He, Charles, and Romero will be added to the pool when they get back into the country, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle. Soderstrom, this summer’s 1st-round draft pick, hasn’t yet officially signed, but he will on Monday and then he’ll be added, says Slusser. Puason is expected to be named as well, according to Jesse Sanchez of ESPN.
That leaves one more spot open, or maybe two if someone is DFA’d to make room for Mengden’s activation.
Who are they?
Many of these 59 names will be familiar to all A’s fans, but some of them are lesser-known to the casual observer. For more info on the top minor league prospects, check out our Community Prospect List Top 31, or browse our archives for full writeups about each youngster. Of the top 20 names in our prospect rankings, 16 will ultimately be present in the pool, and that doesn’t count Soderstrom (who wasn’t here yet when we voted) (more info on Soderstrom).
As for the minor league free agent depth (Luetge, Schultz, Weems, Perez, Goins, Orf), we’ll take a closer look at them next week, but for now here’s a rundown on most of them.
Finally, there were a few new acquisitions over the offseason. For anyone who doesn’t follow the hot stove and isn’t already familiar with them, here’s more on lefty reliever T.J. McFarland, catcher Austin Allen, and infielder Tony Kemp.
When the regular season begins in late July, the A’s will have to choose 30 players for their Opening Day active roster. They all must be part of the 60-man pool, and on the 40-man roster. Here’s a prediction on who will make the cut.
