Elephant Rumblings: Adam Oller vies for a rotation spot

Happy Friday, Athletics Nation!

To say that the A’s rotation is in flux right now is quite an understatement. Chris Bassitt has already been traded to the Mets. Rumors abound that Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas could follow. James Kaprielian is likely to miss most of April due to shoulder irritation.

All of this uncertainty puts righty prospect Adam Oller squarely in the mix to begin the season as an A’s starter. Yesterday, Adam spoke with Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle about his strong Spring Training debut and his outlook on the possibilities that lie ahead.

Oller, who came to the A’s via the Bassitt trade earlier this month, impressed for two innings in his first showcase for the A’s on Wednesday. His fastball sat in the mid-90s and he struck out four of the eight batters he faced. Three of those K victims went down swinging.

Oller said that his heart rate was also in the mid-90s as the team arrived at the ballpark before the game: “It was like 95” beats per minute, Oller said. “I was like, ‘I’m just sitting down. This isn’t good.’”

The nerves were understandable. Oller was making his first-ever start with a major league club before a crowd of 8,779 fans, including his father.

“I got the first out and was like, ‘OK, we’re here, we’re good, everything is fine, just go ... but the nerves warming up … that’s hands-down probably the most people I’ve ever thrown in front of. So it was awesome.”

Oller struck out 138 batters in 120 innings in AA and AAA last year, though he said he was not “fastball-dominant” during his time in the Mets organization. Check out Kawahara’s story for more details on the A’s plans for his fastball, what else he feels he needs to work on, and comments from manager Mark Kotsay on where he stands in the spring competition.

Athletics Nation congratulates Adam on his promising debut! Let’s see what he can do in his next outing, hopefully feeling a bit more settled in and confident.

A’s Coverage:

• Hall: Spring Game #6: Manaea strong, both Allens shine, but A’s lose
• Hall: A’s second round of spring cuts sends three top prospects to minors
• Kawahara: Adam Oller brings mid-90s heat, mid-90s heart rate to A’s spring debut ($)
• Gallegos: The latest on Athletics top prospects
• Martin: Kotsay on return of extra-innings rule: ‘It’s exciting’

MLB News & Interest:

• The Athletic: New York exempts pro athletes, performers from vaccine mandate affecting Nets, Knicks, Yankees and Mets ($)
• Polishuk: Andrew Miller Announces Retirement
• Dierkes: 31 Players On Track For Arbitration Hearings
• Brown: Ex-Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt on his new brewery and the ‘buffalo mentality’ that got him through a personal storm ($)
• Dodd: ‘I don’t want to lose memories’: A father’s mission to remember his son through 365 games of catch ($)
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

Love the intimate perspective here.

Realistically, this tweet should be expressed in a more subjunctive mood. But yes, this could be amazing.

But will they be in the same battery when the regular season begins?

Please don’t spoil our fun ... does Oakland really want to be bereft of a major league sports franchise? That sounds awful.

Two things I can’t get enough of: young Rickey and old-school A’s jerseys.

Soft floor, hard floor, I’ll take either at this point.