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Highly-touted left-handed rookie Jesús Luzardo and veteran right-hander Mike Fiers — who worked out together in South Florida during baseball’s shutdown — weren’t permitted on the field yet due to a “pending issue,” said manager Bob Melvin prior to workouts on Sunday.
That word, “pending,” weighs heavy with possibilities — and Melvin ruled out injury. This could most likely mean that the test results are simply lagging at the lab.
The A’s are not at liberty to disclose test results, but if Luzardo and Fiers tested positive, they’d need to sit out for at least two weeks and test negative for the virus twice before being cleared to join the team again.
That, of course, could jeopardize the state of the team’s prized rotation heading into opening day on July 24. It’s not known if either pitcher is considering an opt-out, but it seems very unlikely. Luzardo, Oakland’s longtime top prospect and American League Rookie of the Year candidate, has been itching to dive into the big leagues. Fiers has little to no reason to opt out. He’s been a key leader for this young pitching staff and is a free agent after this season, so opting into the season may improve his market.
A.J. Puk is about a step behind the rest of the pitching staff, Melvin said, but pitchers who have been cleared for camp are on track to pitch living batting practice on Wednesday. Pending test results, varying timelines, and moving pieces aside, Melvin isn’t concerned now that the rotation the A’s envisioned is in danger of fracturing.
“Not at this point,” he said. “If it goes on a little bit longer, maybe, but not at this point.”
Pitchers such as Liam Hendriks and Chris Bassitt claim they’d be ready to face hitters as soon as possible. Left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea said his arm strength and stuff feels about where it should be three weeks prior to a season — with some minor tweaks to be had. Right-handed starter Frankie Montas posted videos of himself on social media throwing 100 mph, and after getting a sore hand in their bullpen session, catcher Sean Murphy verified that Montas’ arm strength seemed not too far off.
A’s bench coach Ryan Christenson is responsible yearly for crafting spring training’s complex schedule. Summer camp 2020 is proving to be the ultimate scheduling jigsaw he may ever piece together. Not only is the training time allotted sliced in half, but Christenson has to juggle staggered arrival times and, out of the gate, snafus with intake testing hold-ups.
Pitchers and catchers reported on the Fourth of July with the rest of the 42-man squad planning to take the field not long after on Sunday afternoon. News of Luzardo and Fiers’ stalled arrival followed news Sunday morning that, due to Saturday’s holiday, A’s position players who tested on Friday weren’t cleared to take the field on Sunday. This forced the A’s to postpone their first full squad workout until Monday, possibly.
“It feels like we’re five days behind with position players right now,” Melvin said. “That’s not really the case, but it feels like it.”
