We all know at this point that offseason acquisition Alex Wood has been tapped to start Opening Day on March 28th in Cleveland against the Guardians. It’ll be Wood’s first Opening Day assignment in his 11 year career as a major league starting pitcher, something that Mark Kotsay was fully aware of when making the decision to go with Wood for Game 1:
“It was awesome telling Alex,,” said Kotsay. “You could see the emotion that he was feeling. He’s been on rosters to be able to do it for the last 11 years, so it was great to reward him. We targeted him this offseason. He wanted to come here and pitch. Everything just felt right about this.”
The announcement that Wood would be the starter for Opening Day came as a slight surprise to many A’s fans. That said, it seems like Kotsay is giving Wood the honors because of his decision to come to Oakland in the first place. Wood probably would have gotten other opportunities with clubs trying to win now, which is clearly not something the Athletics are trying to do this year. Instead Wood came to the club with the stated desire to help the young guns develop, acting as their teacher, guru, teammate, and veteran all bundled up into one.
The other option that was likely being considered was former All-Star Paul Blackburn. The right-hander has been looking especially sharp this spring and just turned in the best start from an Athletic this spring when he fired off six no-hit innings against the Chicago Cubs. Blackburn would have likely started the first game last year but an injury forced him down for the early portion of the season. Now his second opportunity will go to his new teammate.
Elsewhere on the field, it seems likely that Carlos Perez will open the year as the backup catcher to starter Shea Langeliers. Perez was solid enough as a backup last season, playing in 66 games while slashing .226/.293/.357 with six home runs. Not a world beater by any means but you can do a lot worse for a backup catcher than that. There was a question of who the backup would be to Langeliers at the beginning of camp, with a lot of eyes on top prospect Tyler Soderstrom and the possibility he could break camp with the club. Instead Soderstrom was optioned to Triple-A just a few days ago. So Perez is likely the backup, at least to start the year.
Other than that there’s not much news to report, guys. We’re almost at the end of the week and end of spring training. Can’t wait for real baseball.
There is nothing worse for baseball than gambling. That's what I've always said, and that's what I'll say when I'm podcasting in the DraftKings Sports Podcast Booth in the Luxor Level of the Las Vegas A's stadium.
Allen probably keeping his job at shortstop for now after a big spring:
Some top A's hitters this spring: Nick Allen .333/.500/.917 Hoy Park .472/.474/.639 Miguel Andujar .357/.372/.738 JJ Bleday .366/.435/.610 Seth Brown .400/.444/.560 Zack Gelof .313/.365/.625 Shea Langeliers .372/.417/.558
— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) March 20, 2024
Seconded:
It's happening. Oakland is about to prove hella doubters wrong.
When people complain that liberal & diverse cities can't get things done, tell them about the deep support the Oakland Ballers have received from public servants & elected officials who work for the city of Oakland. https://t.co/7ve3vfE5P0
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