For only the second time in eight tries, the Athletics were winners at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on Saturday (ATH 3, NYM 1). Righty J.T. Ginn held Juan Soto and the Mets to one run in 5 1/3 innings in his first MLB start of 2025. Tyler Soderstrom continued his blistering start to the season with an RBI single. He’s hitting .321/.397/.679 in the early going.
“That’s the kid we’ve been waiting to see,” manager Mark Kotsay said about Ginn (via MLB.com), who the A’s acquired from the Mets in the Chris Bassitt trade a few years ago. “He showed a little bit of a glimpse last year of the bulldog competitor that he is. He stepped up for us today. That’s a really good team over there. He did a great job getting into the sixth inning and really pitching well for us.”
More notable than the win and Ginn’s performance was the A’s outfield alignment Saturday. Brent Rooker started in right field in place of Lawrence Butler, who sat against Mets lefty David Peterson. It was Rooker’s first start in the outfield since last May 30 in part due to a forearm injury that required surgery in the offseason. He’d started 114 straight games at DH prior to Saturday.
The A’s had Rooker play some outfield in spring training (14 innings in left field) though he’s not a good defender, even before you factor in the forearm injury. In 937 career innings in the outfield, Rooker is at minus-16 defensive runs saved and minus-15 outs above average. That’s not quite “worst defensive outfielder in baseball” territory, but it’s not far off either.
And yet, it appears there is more outfield in Rooker’s future. Potentially a lot more outfield. First baseman Nick Kurtz is currently bludgeoning Triple-A and knocking on the door of a promotion. Kurtz hit his seventh home run of the season Saturday and is hitting .386/.417/.860 in 13 Triple-A games. Those seven homers lead baseball. No player at any level has more, MLB included.
Kurtz, 22, was expected to move quickly through the minors when the A’s selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in last summer’s draft. He’s living up to those expectations. Kurtz is a .379/.464/.821 hitter with 11 home runs in only 24 professional games. Our R.J. Anderson ranked him the best prospect in the A’s system before the season. Here’s his write-up:
Kurtz displayed resilience during his platform year at Wake Forest, overcoming a slow start and a shoulder injury en route to being selected No. 4 overall in 2024. He pairs well-above-average power with a patient approach that saw him draw a free pass nearly as often as Barry Bonds did in 2002. On paper, that gives him a strong offensive foundation that lends itself to middle-of-the-order projections. Some scouts expressed concern that Kurtz was too willing to take pitches, a counterintuitive flaw that could work against him as a professional. The recent history of first-round collegiate first basemen is wretched (CJ Cron, picked back in 2011, qualifies as the biggest success), but your mileage may vary on holding that against Kurtz. MLB ETA: Late summer 2025
Very soon the A’s will have to figure out a way to get Kurtz, Rooker, and Soderstrom into the lineup together. Kurtz and Soderstrom are first base-only guys, so one will have to DH and one will have to play first. That pushes Rooker to the outfield on a full-time basis. With Butler signed long-term and entrenched in right, left field would likely be Rooker’s regular position.
Rooker in left means Miguel Andujar, who’s hitting .304/.347/.391 in the early going, doesn’t have a spot unless the A’s return him back to third base, where he began his career and where he rates as a poor defender. Gio Urshela and Luis Urías are hitting a combined .208/.264/.271 at the hot corner this year. Given that, maybe it’s worth moving Andujar back to third.
Shifting Kurtz or Soderstrom to the outfield appears to be a non-option. Soderstrom has never played the outfield at any level in the minors. Kurtz played one game in right field in college and eight innings in left field in the Arizona Fall League last year. That was apparently enough for the A’s to never try it again. Kurtz has played first base (and DH) only in Triple-A. If the A’s are planning to play or Kurtz or Soderstrom in the outfield, they aren’t preparing them for it.
Soderstrom began his professional career as a catcher and he caught 21 games in Triple-A as recently as last year, though he’s a poor defensive catcher, and the A’s seem happy with him at first base. Also, moving Soderstrom to catcher wouldn’t solve anything. Shea Langeliers is a workhorse and one of the A’s best players. He’s the clear-cut No. 1 behind the plate.
The Athletics are running into the “too many good players” problem, which of course is not a problem. It’s a good thing. It also remains to be seen how quickly Kurtz will contribute at the MLB level. Many quality prospects have struggled in their first taste of the big leagues and needed time to adjust. Butler, Langeliers, Rooker, and Soderstrom are all evidence of that.
Andujar at third and Rooker in the outfield would make for a sketchy defense, but what other choice do the A’s have at this point? They could look to trade Krutz or Soderstrom for a player who fits their roster better, specifically a young third baseman, though that does not appear to be in the cards. The A’s will have to jam some square pegs in round holes for the time being.
At 6-9, the A’s are in last place in the AL West. They are 4-3 on the road and 2-6 at Sutter Health Park, where there have been 87 runs scored and 22 home runs hit in eight games. The A’s have had trouble keeping runs off the board this year and Kurtz doesn’t figure to help in that department. Still, he is inching closer to a promotion. Enough for the A’s to put Rooker back in the outfield.
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