Elephant Rumblings: A flurry of debuts

MLB news roundup

Happy Wednesday, Athletics Nation!

The A’s have lost 12 of their last 13 games, but don’t say they aren’t trying to shake things up: the roster moves have been fast and furious lately. As Jason Burke at SI.com tweeted yesterday, an Athletic has made their MLB debut in each of the last four games.

Yesterday, we saw Drew Avans take over for Lawrence Butler at right field late in the game. Avans came over from the Dodgers organization during the offseason and has hit for a 117 wRC+ through 48 games in Triple-A this season. He got his first big league hit off Astros reliever Forrest Whitley in the top of the ninth, so the 28-year-old outfielder is currently batting 1.000.

On Sunday, catcher Willie MacIver made his debut, starting in place of Shea Langeliers. I like that he possesses a certain swagger that to me is reminiscent of Josh Reddick. MacIver is also 28 and also got a hit in his MLB debut, an RBI single that made the difference in the A’s 5-4 win over the Phillies. Mac has been raking in Triple-A, with a 157 wRC+ through 147 plate appearances. Formerly in the Rockies system, he might actually be happy to be with the A’s.

The debut of utility man Logan Davidson has been long in coming. The 27-year-old was the A’s top draft pick in 2019 and has made some improvements at the plate more recently after years of struggling. He was a mess in his first game on Saturday, striking out, getting thrown out at the plate, and committing obstruction on the field, causing Nico to wonder if we might have just seen the worst debut in league history. But Logan made up for it in Sunday’s win, going 2-for-3 with a double, run, two RBIs, and a walk. Better late than never! And fitting for someone born on December 26.

Friday saw the most notable debut of the bunch from outfielder and No. 5 ranked A’s prospect Denzel Clarke. Known for his athleticism and touted for his defensive skills, Clarke came up by popular demand in part to shore up the A’s very weak outfield defense. That’s all very well, but players need to hit at least a bit. It took Clarke 12 plate appearances to get his first MLB hit on a weak grounder in yesterday’s game. Up to that point he had struck out nine times. Hopefully Denzel will loosen up and settle in a bit soon.,

It’s nice to see all of these new faces to keep things interesting as the A’s followed up Sunday’s desperately needed win with a fresh trouncing in Houston yesterday. Hopefully things will turn around soon with the help of these reinforcements.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s Punched By Astros 11-1
• A’s acquire Sean Newcomb, place Nick Kurtz on IL
• A’s 2024 MLB Draft Pick Getting Top-100 Consideration
• MacIver has ‘dream come true’ debut in a familiar place
• Latest Athletics injuries and transactions

MLB News & Interest:

• MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers dethroned as our top 3 sees a major shakeup ($)
• Pohlad Family Continuing To Meet With Potential Buyers Of Twins
• May’s hottest pitching prospects — one for each organization
• Rockies Release Scott Alexander
• Rosenthal: Nationals remain among MLB’s bottom feeders despite lengthy rebuild ($)
• The last of his kind? As Kenley Jansen chases 500 saves, no closers threaten behind him ($)
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Roster moves.

Kurtz, Wilson, Rooker figure in weekly highlights.