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65 BAY AREA NEWS GROUP PLAY BALL THEA'S Players to watch + projected opening day roster BY JOHN HICKEY SeanDoolittle TheA'sspent2015mostlywith- out Doolittle because of a shoul- der injury, and his absence was a strain on the entire team. With the club forced to cut and pas te to ge t t hro ugh the ni nth inning, one-run wins became one-run losses. And Oakland won back-to-back games only once in the firs t 4 4 gam es, by which time the season was effectively over. Oakland management brought in a flock of new bullpen arms in right-handers Ryan Madson, John Axford and Liam Hendriks, and left-hander Marc Rzepczynski. The idea was that if Doolittle can't close, there are other options. But if Doolittle can't close, the A's game plan still is in trouble. The good news is that the left- hander is throwing hard without feeling any excess strain, and that indicates he will be ready for the ninth inning, leaving the seventh and eighth for the aforemen - tioned group, plus holdover Fer- nando Rodriguez and long man Felix Doubront. That would take a load off a starting rotation that hasn't proven beyond ace Sonny Gray that it's ca - pable of gobbling up lots of innings. Danny Valencia The right-handed-hitting third baseman provided power with 11 homers in 47 games last year after coming over from Toronto in early August. The question now is wheth - er or not it was a fluke. Valencia has been a journeyman player until now. Is he ready at 31 to fill a spot in the middle of the Oakland lineup for the next six months? Rich Hill Seldom has so much been asked from a pitcher who, briefly, was playing in an independent league last summer. But after a brilliant four-game stint with the Red Sox in September, Hill is being counted on to begin the season as the No. 2 starter behind Sonny Gray. Hill, 36, has experience and finally seems to have found the right combination by moving his takeoff foot to the right side of the rubber and adjusting his arm angle. He has yet to show he can have success over a full season. Khris Davis If there was one position that was up for grabs last season in Oakland, it was left field. The addition of Davis was Oakland's major offseason move to address that. He's a right-hander with power, although the Coliseum may drain some of that. Davis had 21 homers in the second half of the season last year with the Brewers. Coco Crisp From the time he joined the A's in 2010 through the 2013 season, the team had a .554 winning percentage (245-197) with Crisp in the starting lineup, the equiva - lent of 90 wins per season, which generally is enough for a team to make the postseason. But in the past two years, Crisp has started only 140 games combined because of injuries, and the A's were 66-74 in those contests. JHICKEY@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM MOST TRADABLE JoshReddickhas patrolled right field for the A's since 2012, bringing both a Gold Glove and home run potential to the club. However, this is his final season before heading to free agency, and he wants a contract extension. The A's have talked a good game about getting him one, but if it doesn't happen, Reddick likely will be dealt at the trade deadline if the A's aren't in the hunt. PITCHERS No. Name B/T Ht/Wt IP W-L SV ERA WHIP WAR Comment 61 John Axford R-R 6-5/220 55.2 4-5 25 4.20 1.58 0.8 Closer for Rockies last year; brings 99 mph fastball to back end of bullpen 40 Chris Bassitt R-R 6-5/220 86.0 1-8 0 3.56 1.26 1.2 Luckless in terms of W-L in 2015; upside remains high 62 Sean Doolittle L-L 6-2/210 13.2 1-0 4 3.95 1.24 0.1 Healthy again, he moves back into closer's role with velocity intact 53 Felix Doubront L-L 6-2/240 75.1 3-3 1 5.50 1.50 -0.6 He'll be in the pen, but he can start in a pinch if needed 49 Kendall Graveman R-R 6-2/200 115.2 6-9 0 4.05 1.42 1.2 Needs to put fewer men on base and stay healthy 54 Sonny Gray R-R 5-10/190 208.0 14-7 0 2.73 1.08 5.8 Three opening day rosters, three opening day starts; that says it all 32 Jesse Hahn R-R 6-4/215 96.2 6-6 0 3.35 1.17 1.0 Has rebounded impressively from last year's injury; velocity up to 96 mph in spring 31 Liam Hendriks R-R 6-0/200 64.2 5-0 0 2.92 1.08 0.9 Has shown he can pitch in seventh and eighth with fastball adding velocity of late 18 Rich Hill L-L 6-5/220 29.0 2-1 0 1.55 0.66 1.6 A new setup and delivery have him entering season as No. 2 starter 44 Ryan Madson L-R 6-6/225 63.1 1-2 3 2.13 0.96 1.7 With injury troubles behind, he's a hard-throwing late-inning option A's didn't have in 2015 33 Fernando Rodriguez R-R 6-3/235 58.2 4-2 0 3.84 1.14 0.3 Tied for AL lead in effectiveness when pitching with inherited runners last year 35 Marc Rzepczynski L-L 6-2/220 35 2-4 0 5.66 1.54 -0.8 Situational le y who can hold his own vs. RHs, too CATCHERS No. Name B/T Ht/Wt HR RBI SB AVG OBP/SLG WAR BABIP Comment 19 Josh Phegley R-R 5-10/230 9 34 0 .249 .300/.449 1.6 .283 One of best-throwing catchers in AL; also provides much-needed power 21 Stephen Vogt L-R 6-0/225 18 71 0 .261 .341/.443 3.5 .290 Favorite target of A's pitchers; had big first half, weak second half at plate INFIELDERS No. Name B/T Ht/Wt HR RBI SB AVG OBP/SLG WAR BABIP Comment 17 Yonder Alonso L-R 6-1/230 5 31 2 .282 .361/.381 1.8 .313 One of AL's top defenders, he doesn't hit for power; high on-base pct. is his game 16 Billy Butler R-R 6-0/260 15 65 0 .251 .323/.390 -0.9 .282 Struggled for first five months last year; A's can't wait that long for him to produce 20 Mark Canha R-R 6-2/210 16 70 7 .254 .315/.426 1.1 .289 Came out of nowhere to add power to middle of A's lineup 8 Jed Lowrie S-R 6-0/180 9 30 1 .222 .312/.400 1.0 .233 A er a year away, he's back to try and lock down second base, add punch to lineup 10 Marcus Semien R-R 6-0/195 15 45 11 .257 .310/.405 2.7 .312 Dramatically cut down on errors during second half of season 28 Eric Sogard L-R 5-9/180 1 37 6 .247 .294/.304 0.8 .283 He's lost his starting job at second base, but he can back up second, third and short 26 Danny Valencia R-R 6-2/210 18 66 2 .290 .345/.519 1.7 .329 Valencia has bounced around plenty; he'd like to believe he's found a home at third base OUTFIELDERS No. Name B/T Ht/Wt HR RBI SB AVG OBP/SLG WAR BABIP Comment 1 Billy Burns S-R 5-9/170 5 42 26 .294 .334/.392 2.8 .339 Came into his own as a rookie; center field belongs to him now 3 Chris Coghlan L-R 6-0/195 16 41 11 .250 .341/.443 1.9 .284 Has some power; outfielder who can fill in on the infield 4 Coco Crisp S-R 5-10/185 0 6 2 .175 .252/.222 -0.7 .218 Past two years have been filled with injuries, but he's healthy and can play LF, CF, DH 2 Khris Davis R-R 5-10/195 27 66 6 .247 .323/.505 0.8 .285 An infusion of right-handed power is what A's offense needed 22 Josh Reddick L-R 6-2/195 20 77 10 .272 .333/.449 3.5 .278 Heading into his free agency year, Gold Glover poised for a big season