A’s option Vimael Machin and Seth Brown to Triple-A

The Oakland A’s entered Sunday with four more cuts to make before the end of spring training, and they took care of two of them after the afternoon’s game.

The A’s optioned infielder Vimael Machin and outfielder Seth Brown to Triple-A, the team announced.

Neither of these moves come as surprises given the last couple days of news. Veteran Jed Lowrie made the roster, leaving no room for Machin to begin the year in Oakland. And outfielder Ka’ai Tom, who can’t be sent down to the minors as a Rule 5 draft pick, had a great spring that was easily enough to earn a look in the majors in April. Brown being sent down to Las Vegas effectively means Tom has made the team, by process of elimination as the last position player left in camp.

But none of this means we won’t see Machin or Brown in Oakland at some point this summer. Both are promising hitters who had solid springs, including three homers and a .972 OPS for Brown (No. 18 on our Community Prospect List). The contact-oriented Machin sports a .286 average, a tiny 11.5% strikeout rate, and 9 RBI that rank third on the club. When the A’s inevitably need reinforcements during the six-month marathon of the season, it’s nice to know this pair will be available in the minors to step up.

Spring roster update

Players in —italics are non-roster invitees, meaning they’re either CPL prospects or minor league free agent depth. Players in strikethrough have been cut from major league camp. Players with asterisks** can’t be optioned to the minors, either because they’re out of options or they’re Rule 5 draft picks.

Note that RHP Mike Fiers will begin the season on the injured list, so really only two more cuts are needed to get down to 26 players. Also, there is already an open 40-man spot for non-roster invitee Jed Lowrie to take.