A quarter of the A’s Opening Day roster finds itself on the COVID-19 injured list as the team prepares for its home opener Monday night against the Baltimore Orioles.
The A’s announced Monday afternoon that closer Lou Trivino, infielder Jed Lowrie, outfielder Chad Pinder, southpaw relievers A.J. Puk and Kirby Snead, and catcher Austin Allen have been placed the COVID-19 IL, where Stephen Piscotty has been since Friday. That makes seven of the team’s top 28 players unavailable for the near future.
In corresponding moves, shortstop prospect Nick Allen, along with southpaw Sam Selman and infielder Christian Lopes were called up to Oakland. Catcher Christian Bethancourt, relievers Zach Logue and Ryan Castellani, and infielder Drew Jackson were also called up to the A’s Friday when Puk, Snead and Allen were placed on the restricted list as the team entered Toronto, which doesn’t allow unvaccinated players to appear at the Rogers Center.
Allen has been among the organization’s top prospects since the A’s picked him in the third round of the 2017 MLB first-year player draft. The 23-year-old is known for his glovework, but has got off to a hot start with Triple-A Las Vegas at the plate after batting .500 during spring training. In 12 contests with the Aviators to start the campaign, Allen is slashing .319/.396/.404 with nine runs scored, a double, a homer and two RBI. He’ll probably never have big power numbers, but the 6-to-7 BB-to-K ratio to begin the year is encouraging that he’s developing a keen eye at the plate. The A's have financial incentive to play him this season, as Elvis Andrus' $15 million option for 2023 guarantees if he accrues 550 plate appearances this season.
Oakland is looking like one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season, as it leads the Major Leagues in runs scored (53) entering play Monday despite an offseason fire sale. Upstart players like 23-year-old outfielder Cristian Pache and catcher Sean Murphy have sparked the offense, while the bullpen has been a pleasant surprise despite being a bunch of unknown commodities.
The A’s offense has got off to a remarkable start, leading MLB with a .368 batting average with runners in scoring position and an AL-best eight multi-run homers through 10 games.
