The wide-open battle for the A’s starting third baseman job took an unfortunate turn for veteran Aledmys Diaz, who could open the regular season on the injured list.
Diaz, easily Oakland’s highest-paid position player at $8 million this season, was diagnosed Friday with a strained groin suffered on Wednesday that manager Mark Kotsay said will sideline him at least “2-to-3 weeks.”
Jordan Diaz and Darell Hernaiz, Diaz’s two biggest competitors at third base who had been struggling, each factored into Oakland’s 12-8 spring training win over Seattle on Saturday. Diaz, who entered the game 1-for-8, doubled and scored twice. Hernaiz, the team’s No. 9 prospect according to MLB.com, had a hit, scored and drove in a run after starting the spring just 1-for-10.
Diaz had a disappointing first season in Oakland, with career-worst numbers for average (.229), on-base percentage (.280) and slugging percentage (.337) after signing a team-high $14.5 million, 2-year free-agent contract. The eight-year veteran played in two games this spring — going 1-for-3 — before a groin injury forced him to be scratched from Wednesday’s lineup. He underwent an MRI on Thursday and the results Friday revealed it wasn’t just a minor injury.
Seth Brown, whose $2.6 million salary makes him Oakland’s second-highest paid position player, had two hits and drove in two on Saturday. Backup catcher hopeful Kyle McCann homered and had two RBIs for the A’s.
Mitch Spence, whom the A’s made the No. 1 pick in December’s Rule 5 draft, solidified his chances of sticking on the roster by was sharp while picking up the win. The former Yankees right-hander started and threw three scoreless innings while striking out two.