Elephant Rumblings: 8 days until pitchers and catchers

MLB news roundup

Good morning everyone, rise and shine!

The countdown to baseball continues with mere days until pitchers and catchers report. 8 days to be exact, and then just five more days after that until the full team reports. The roster feels pretty set but there is still enough time for one final move. We shouldn’t expect any major splashes but the team has made late additions in the past.

The club is more or less set on the position player side of things. They’ve solidified the hot corner with the signing of the reliable Gio Urshela and have everyday options at every other position except left field, which looks set to be a platoon with Seth Brown and Miguel Andujar. They just switched gears at backup catcher a couple of days ago when they acquired Johnny Pereda from the Marlins and designated Kyle McCann for assignment. He hasn’t been claimed as of this posting so he could still remain with the organization at Triple-A, but for now Pereda is the new backup catcher to starter Shea Langeliers.

Looking at the pitching staff, the club has done a good job this winter fixing up the starting rotation. The additions of Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs join JP Sears and Mitch Spence in the starting five, but that fifth and final spot is still up in the air. In-house options Joey Estes, Osvaldo Bido, and Hogan Harris will be fighting each other for that fifth and final spot, but you can never have enough pitching.

Then there’s the bullpen. The front office has already added to that group this offseason with Jose LeClerc and Noah Murdock. They’ll join All-Star closer Mason Miller as likely bets to be on the team when camp breaks. Others like Tyler Ferguson, TJ McFarland, and Michel Otanez are also heavy favorites to land a spot in the bullpen. If the club is planning to go with relievers then that leaves a couple spots open for one final addition or two.

There are still relievers on the market looking to find a home for the coming season. The team probably won’t real in big names like Craig Kimbrel or Kenley Jansen but there are other options out there if the team wants to make one final addition to the bullpen. They’ll need all the arms they can collect this coming season and you can never have enough pitching.

What do you guys think? Should the Athletics make one or two final moves before camp starts? Discuss below, and have a great day A’s fans!

A’s Coverage:

• Why the San Francisco Chronicle is calling the A’s what they are: Sacramento’s MLB team
• Athletics suffer early 2025 blow after ditching Oakland as request rejected
• Who is going to backup Shea Langeliers?
• Former Mets, A’s GM takes shot at Athletics’ ownership
• MLB owners should focus ire on deadbeat owners like John Fisher, not free-spending Dodgers ($)
• Despite the A’s residency, Giants still consider Sacramento their home turf

MLB News & Interest:

• Yankees sign Carlos Carrasco to minor league deal
• Mariners resign Jorge Polanco to 1-year deal
• Rays acquire right-handed reliever Alex Faedo from Tigers
• MLB fires umpire Pat Hoberg for shared betting account
• Players who could move to the 60-day IL once spring begins
• Former Orioles infielder Rich Dauer passes away at 72
• The Brewers’ Post-Adames infield options
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Not bad odds all things considered:

Owch:

The Hall of Fame is a cool place: