OAKLAND — Throughout the course of a successful season, even the best teams are going to run into some good fortune. That’s no different with the A’s.
Sure the A’s (67-46) current improbable playoff run can largely be attributed to possessing one of the most potent offenses in baseball along with a shutdown bullpen, it’s the situations that led to some of their top performers emerging that have been truly remarkable.
Let’s go back to spring training, when these events began taking place, and check out a timeline in order to get a better idea as to why the A’s find themselves as the best team in baseball since June 16 at 33-10 and holding an American League wild-card spot.
March 19: Cotton goes down, A’s get Cahill
Jharel Cotton was expected to be a key part of the rotation and looked like the top starter in spring training. After posting a 3.75 ERA with 16 strikeouts and six walks through 12 innings, the right-hander was likely to enter the season as the No. 3 starter. But after leaving a start early a few days before because of elbow soreness, the worst-case scenario came to fruition — Cotton was diagnosed with an UCL strain and required Tommy John surgery.
With the options behind Cotton young and not plentiful, the A’s signed Trevor Cahill to a minor league deal later that day. The right-hander has been more than serviceable. He has been their second-best starter behind Sean Manaea at 4-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 13 starts. He has been especially dominant at home: 3-0 with a 0.99 ERA in seven starts.
March 28: Dull lands on DL, Trivino lands on radar
With a nagging right shoulder issue slowly progressing, reliever Ryan Dull began the season on the disabled list. Having Dull and Liam Hendriks (groin injury a few weeks later) unavailable when Yusmeiro Petit went on family emergency leave in mid-April created an opportunity for Lou Trivino. Trivino was considered nothing more than a potential September call-up during spring training, but he got the call in April and took advantage.
As lights-out as All-Star closer Blake Treinen has been this year, Trivino is not too far behind at 8-1 with a 1.16 ERA and four saves in 45 appearances. He has 62 strikeouts over 54 1/3 innings, and has formed a three-headed monster in the back end of the bullpen along with Treinen and Jeurys Familia.
April 8: Boog runs into the wall at Angel Stadium, Canha goes on a run to bat flippin’ season
The A’s were 4-7 to start the season and opening day center fielder Boog Powell was placed on the disabled list with a right knee strain after crashing into the center-field wall in Anaheim trying to chase down a home run by Justin Upton.
Still not comfortable bringing up Dustin Fowler from the minors, the A’s decided to call up Mark Canha to take Powell’s spot on the roster. Having put up the best numbers of any A’s hitter this spring, Canha took advantage of the opportunity by not only proving he can play a capable center field, but also providing a spark with his bat and forcing himself from a platoon to an everyday role. Canha is batting .258 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs, and his propensity to flip his bat on home runs has become a hit with his teammates.
May 18-19: Injuries to Anderson and Triggs lead to Montas and Jackson emerging
At 23-22, it looked as if a nightmare was developing in Toronto at the time. On back-to-back days, the A’s lost starting pitchers for an extended period of time as Brett Anderson and Andrew Triggs were pulled from their starts because of arm trouble. Anderson had a 7.63 ERA over four starts at the time, while Triggs was 3-1 in nine starts, but carried a 5.23 ERA.
After struggling in the big leagues as a reliever in 2017, it was around this time that Frankie Montas was evolving into a legit starting pitcher at Triple-A Nashville. Montas had put together a nice stretch in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer in five starts, then translated that success to the majors when he was called up a week later to take Triggs’ spot in the rotation. The right-hander has locked up a spot in the rotation, going 5-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 10 starts.
Edwin Jackson was signed to a minor league deal a little over a week after these injuries and later made history by getting the call-up and playing for his 13th major league club. More importantly for the A’s, the veteran is pitching extremely well in his 16th big league season at 3-2 with a 2.87 ERA in eight starts.
July 7: Third time’s a charm for Martini after Joyce lands back on DL
Starting to gain some steam at 49-40, the A’s were in Cleveland when Matt Joyce’s recurring back issue put him on the disabled list (he’s still there). The injury might have been a factor in Joyce’s numbers being down all around. Even his best skill, getting on base, was missing with a .311 on-base percentage. In comes Nick Martini.
After getting sparse playing time with one hit over five games in two previous major league call-ups earlier in the season, Martini took off his third time up. The 28-year-old rookie immediately began to get on base at a high rate, moving into the leadoff spot and eventually supplanting Dustin Fowler as the center fielder against right-handers. Martini has gotten on base in 12 of 18 games since July 7, batting .292 with a .435 on-base percentage, eight RBIs and nine runs.