The A’s had nothing to lose when they claimed Miguel Andujar off waivers over the winter.
But with Opening Day rapidly approaching, the largely under-the-radar move keeps looking better and better.
Andujar has been one of the A’s hottest hitters in camp, and on Wednesday he hit a pair of home runs and drove in four runs in Oakland’s 12-5 win over the Anaheim Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.
Andujar, 29, appeared poised for stardom with the New York Yankees when he was runner-up to Shohei Ohtani for the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018.
But injuries and inconsistency have mostly derailed Andujar’s career path every since.
Andujar has appeared in more than 36 games in the majors just once since that breakout rookie season, and has bounced from the Yankees to the Pirates and now to the A’s, where he’s battling for a roster spot as a corner outfielder, DH and first baseman.
After a strong winter for Licey of the Dominican League, Andujar has opened camp on a tear.
Oakland A’s outfielder Miguel Andujar #22 is congratulated after hitting his second home run during the spring training game between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 6, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo: John Medina/Special to the Bay Area News Group)
With his pair of home runs off of Angels starter Patrick Sandoval, Andujar raised his Cactus League average to .421 (8 for 19) and has a hit in six of the seven games he’s played in.
It’s a small sample size, but Andujar is starting to look as if he could have a career revival similar to that of Brent Rooker. Rooker, also once a highly touted prospect, was claimed off waivers before last season and ended up being the A’s All-Star representative.
Andujar doesn’t need to be an All-Star to help the A’s this season.
The team scored the fewest runs in the majors a year ago, and the only AL teams to hit fewer home runs were the Tigers, Royals and Guardians.
Andujar hit 27 homers with 92 RBI with a slash line of .297/.328/.855 as a rookie. He’s continued to terrorize pitchers in the minors – he’s a career .318 hitter in Triple-A with one homer every 22 at-bats. He spent most of last season at Triple-A Indianapolis where he hit a minor league career-high .338 with 16 home runs and, 86 RBI. He appeared in 30 games with the Pirates, batting .250 with four home runs and 18 RBI.
— The A’s announced before the game that Luis Medina, one of the leading candidates to join Paul Blackburn, JP Sears, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling in the rotation, will open the season on the IL.
Manager Mark Kotsay said results of an MRI exam revealed a Grade 2 sprain of the MCL in Medina’s right knee. Medina was injured during his outing on Monday against the Reds.
Medina, 24, had mixed results as a rookie last season. He went 3-10 with a 5.42 ERA in 23 appearances (17 starts) but throws in the mid-90s and was much more consistent in the final month of the season.
Also vying for the No. 5 spot to open the season are Joe Boyle, Mitch Spence, Joey Estes, Royber Salinas or Kyle Muller.
Boyle, a sensation in three late-season starts last season, made his third Cactus League start and didn’t hurt his cause. The 6-foot-7 right-hander didn’t allow a hit and struck out three in three innings. He allowed one run and walked three.
Oakland A’s starting pitcher Joe Boyle #35 delivers a pitch during the spring training game between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 6, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. (John Medina/Special to the Bay Area News Group)
Boyle retired the first three batters he faced, including three-time AL MVP Mike Trout on a called third strike to end the first inning.
Overall, he’s allowed just two earned runs with eight strikeouts in 8.1 innings this spring.
Estes entered the game in the seventh and retired all nine batters he faced on just 19 pitches.
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The pitch count is even more impressive considering five of the outs he recorded were strikeouts.
The 22-year-old right-hander, who made two appearances with the A’s late last season, has allowed one run and just three baserunners over his first seven Cactus League innings and has been a strike-throwing machine. Only four of the 42 pitches he’s thrown so far this spring were outside the strike zone or not put in play.
— The A’s put the game away with a five-run ninth inning that included a two-run inside-the-park home run by outfield prospect Lazaro Armenteros. It was the first Cactus League hit in seven at-bats for Armenteros, a 24-year-old Cuban defector who signed for $3 million as a 17-year-old in 2016. Armenteros made his Double-A debut last season.
– Second baseman Zach Gelof singled, and has reached base at least once in all eight Cactus League games he’s played in.
Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof #20 at bat during the spring training game between the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 6, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. (John Medina/Special to the Bay Area News Group)
– Wood is scheduled to make his second Cactus League appearance on Thursday against Cleveland. The veteran lefty allowed three runs in two innings against the Royals on March 1.
– Four of the Angels’ runs came on a grand slam by Trout off of veteran reliever Scott Alexander.