The Oakland A’s were doing a good job of staying healthy this spring until Tuesday. The A’s suffered two injuries with Hiroyuki Nakajima and Adam Rosales getting hurt.
Nakajima jokingly downplayed his injury to the Japanese media as a cramp, but Rosales’ injury got him put on the 15-day DL.
Rosales was a part of the wide-open competition for the job opening at second base and was strongly considered a lock to make the Opening Day 25-man roster because of his versatility. Along with his versatility, Rosales was hitting .324 with three home runs during the spring.
The A’s were beginning to narrow down their spring roster after sending Jemile Weeks to Triple-A. With Weeks gone, Scott Sizemore, Eric Sogard, Hiroyuki Nakajima and Andy Parrino are still competing for the remaining roster spots that remain open before Opening Day.
Although Weeks was out of the picture, the A’s still had many tough decisions to make with the competitions for the middle infield spots.
So there lies the blessing in disguise to Rosales’ injury. Rosales going on the DL opens up a roster spot for two weeks, giving Bob Melvin more time to figure out his 25-man roster.
With Rosales inactive, the A’s can take more time to answer their questions about their 25-man roster. One of the questions is whether or not Nakajima is ready for the majors. Another question is whether or not Sogard can continue his hot spring in the majors. Another is whether or not Lowrie should be a utility guy or a starter.
With all those questions around the roster, the A’s are fortunate to get more time to get it right. It is unfortunate it had to be with the cost of Rosales for two weeks.
Rosales will surely take a roster spot upon his return from injury, but it will buy the A’s time to make up their minds.
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