Athletics rotation if Jarrod Parker misses start of season
By Matt Fisher
When your number one and number two pitchers go down with injury, speculation runs rampant as to what your club will do.
With Jarrod Parker seeing Dr. James Andrews about forearm discomfort and A.J. Griffin seeing a specialist in Scottsdale because of elbow discomfort, the Oakland A’s will likely be testing out their famed starting rotation depth right out of the gate. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle throws out this hypothetical starting five for the Athletics.
So that gives you an idea of rotation if Parker does miss start of season: Gray, Kazmir, Straily, Chavez, Milone are in line right now.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) March 17, 2014
Tommy Milone has two seasons’ worth of starting experience, although he had been used as a swingman during parts of last season. Scott Kazmir is a free agent acquisition, signed by Oakland to a 2-year, $22 million contract after experiencing a sort of renaissance while with Cleveland last season. Kazmir made 29 starts and put up a 4.04 ERA, but was excellent in the second half.
The biggest question mark will be Jesse Chavez, the six-year bullpen veteran, who has started all of two games in his career. Last season, Chavez pitched in 35 games out of the ‘pen, putting up a 3.92 ERA over 57.1 innings. Reports out of Oakland are that Chavez will begin stretching out as a starter beginning Wednesday.
Sonny Gray, the outstanding rookie righty, has only twelve starts under his belt, but had a 5-3 record with a 2.67 ERA last season. As it stands, Gray is slated to open the season for Oakland.