The strength of the defending American League West champion Oakland Athletics roster is their depth and it came as no surprise today that Shane Peterson and Jemile Weeks got sent to Triple A Sacramento.
With Peterson he’s an outfielder and already on the roster are Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick, Chris Young and Seth Smith. In the minors he also spent some time at first playing in 123 games over five seasons, yet Brandon Moss is a lock for the starting spot.
Bob Melvin has difficult task of determining which outfielder to use as the designated hitter and who will sit. For Peterson at the age of 25 with no major league experience it didn’t make sense for him to sit on the bench and not get any at-bats, which is why he ended up in Sacramento.
During the spring in 25 games he hit .396 with 19 hits, nine runs scored, six doubles, a triple, a home run, five walks and 11 strikeouts.
As for Weeks he got off to a fast start this spring in looked like he had put his miserable 2012 season behind him when a shoulder injury sidelined him. During his absence Eric Sogard and Adam Rosales made the most of their opportunity leaving Weeks behind. Scott Sizemore also is getting an extended look at second after returning from a knee injury that forced him to miss all of 2012.
Jed Lowrie acquired from the Houston Astros has locked up the starting shortstop role as Hiroyuki Nakajima hasn’t adjusted well at the plate or on defense and has recently spent time at third and second.
As for Weeks he hit .370, with 10 hits, two doubles, a home run, six rbi, walked four times and struck out once. The good news for him if either Sogard or Rosales struggles he’ll get a call up rather quickly.
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