The A’s announced this evening they’ve placed six players — catcher Austin Allen, infielders Jed Lowrie and Chad Pinder, and pitchers A.J. Puk, Lou Trivino and Kirby Snead — on the COVID-19 injured list. Infielders Nick Allen and Christian Lopes and reliever Sam Selman have been added to the roster as COVID replacements.
Austin Allen, Snead and Puk were already on the restricted list. That’s the procedure for players not vaccinated against COVID-19 for teams traveling to Toronto, where the A’s played a weekend series. They weren’t counting against the 40-man roster at that point, which is why Oakland only brought up three replacements today upon losing Lowrie, Pinder and Trivino.
It’s not clear whether the latter trio of players tested positive or is out due to viral symptoms or contact tracing procedures. They join outfielder Stephen Piscotty on the COVID IL, where he landed last Friday. Under the league’s 2022 health-and-safety protocols, players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence from the club, though it’s possible to be reinstated in less time if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician). Players who are experiencing symptoms but do not test positive can return in shorter order if their symptoms abate.
Nick Allen, Lopes and Selman join the active roster as designated “substitute players.” The A’s will be able to send them back to Triple-A Las Vegas without having to pass Lopes or Selman — neither of whom had been on the 40-man roster — through waivers. All three players will at least get a big league look for the next few days as the A’s play without some regulars due to health and safety protocols.
Allen will be making his major league debut if/when he gets into a game. A third-round pick out of a San Diego high school in 2017, he signed for an overslot $2MM bonus and has been one of the better prospects in the Oakland system ever since. Allen has appeared among Baseball America’s list of the A’s top 30 farmhands every year since being drafted, and he currently checks in 7th on the organizational ranking. BA placed a rare 80 grade on his shortstop defense this winter, writing that Allen could be a Gold Glove-caliber defender at the toughest infield position.
Listed at just 5’8″, 166 pounds, Allen predictably doesn’t offer much from a power perspective. Yet if he meets expectations defensively, he won’t need to make much of an impact at the plate to be a viable regular. Allen has also posted a lower than average strikeout rate at every minor league stop, and he’s off to a nice start in 12 games with Las Vegas. Even if his current promotion proves brief, he could unseat veteran Elvis Andrus at some point this year. Andrus hasn’t done much offensively over the past few seasons, although he’s hit very well through this year’s first couple weeks.
Lopes is also up for his first MLB call. The 29-year-old has played ten minor league seasons since being selected in the 7th round of the 2011 draft. A right-handed hitter, Lopes owns a .265/.364/.422 line in parts of five Triple-A campaigns. He has appeared in the Blue Jays, Rangers and Diamondbacks farm systems and signed a minor league deal with Oakland this past offseason. He has experience at all four infield spots and both corner outfield positions, with the overwhelming majority of that time coming at second base.
Nick Allen SZN
Nick Allen born in 1888 and passed away 80 years ago apparently just made the Oakland A’s. I wonder if that will be acceptable to Canada?
He was promoted to “living”
Covid claims another one
I knew the A’s were desperate for bodies, but I never dreamed they’d start digging ones up
Wrong Nick Allen in the link, unless the Federal League is back
Could be the same one…if you believe in reincarnation.
Isn’t it amazing this site took every single one of my posts out of my
comments? Gee wiz, whose side are you on? I guess I know the answer to that
MLBTR you are cowards for not posting what is received. You don’t post what you don’t like. I’m ashamed of you. I’m ashamed of myself for liking this site. I’m done with you
What’s the answer? Who’s side are they on?
Also, just remind me, what are the “sides” again? What side is George Soros on? I hear he gives people money, and that’s a train I can get in choo choo mfkers
Let the Nick Allen Era officially begin.
Great they just played the Jays in Toronto and probably got them all covid.
Can’t be. No one is allowed in there who is unvaccinated. That protects everyone else, remember?
Grow up
Mask up!
U a clown
little extreme there bud
Or Canada gave them covid and they brought it back to the usa with them.
Sucks. Hope they are all good to go soon.
Huh didn’t know Selma’s was over there
Oh wow… This awful virus will be here with us forever… Thank goodness we have a vaccine, accepted by some and for others that can’t get vaccinated – or simply won’t – well… I guess we all have our choices to make…
Natural selection will make the world a better place.
So whens the winter of death suppose to happen exactly?
Lol. So was Darwin a big vaccine guy?
Social Darwinism was not invented by Darwin. Social Darwinism is an application of his concept of natural selection to things like political views, so his views on vaccines aren’t relevant
Nick Allen’s skeleton on the plane right now
Have the A’s gotten so cheap that they only want to replace half of their injured players?
Puk/Allen/Snead were already on the Reserve list because they had to be vaxxed to enter Canada.
It’s a 2 for 1 special, limited time only.
Nick Allen is quite a story. Many players return from serious injuries but coming back the bigs at 134 years-old and being dead for decades is quite a feat. I wonder how he’ll relate to the modern day player.
Hi, I’m Artemus Ward Allen, but my friends call me “Nick”. Wut?
Jesus Christ Nick Allen got so old from the last time I saw him in spring training .
Little Ivermectin and they’ll be good as new.
That what caused it in the first place using fake medicine.
The use of ivermectin in humans won a noble prize.
How is that relevant? It won for its use in treating parasitic diseases, not COVID. Penicillin’s use won a Nobel too, should we use that for COVID?
FaKe MeDiCiNe
Anyone know if MLB put in any specific rules for when games get postponed due to a COVID outbreak?
What if the A’s lost another 10-13 players? It’s not exactly a crazy scenario- is it just going to be MLB ruling on a case by case basis, or is there some set criteria?
I’m just imaging some team either getting gutted (or what if they just are unlucky and get hit in the wrong place- I would guess some teams have no more than 3 or 4 catchers on their 40 man roster.
Interesting. Here in Baltimore, no Covid related issues to date this season. We start a series with the A’s tonight in Oakland. Just took 2 of 3 from Yankees. Possible momentum? With A’s Covid misfortunes, do we have an advantage? Take 3 of 4? Maybe?
So… Canada says it’s protecting people by only letting vaccinated players in and barring unvaccinated players from their country. Immediately vaccinated players enter Canada and catch Covid. Wow.
clown world, eh….
cue the music and the dancing clowns….
baaababa badddadadb bop bop bada…
ah you know how it goes…
The players should boycott playing in Toronto.
The US does the same thing.
If the unvaccinated players came in and caught it, they’re far more likely to be hospitalized than the vaccinated. Canada doesn’t want to put extra strain on their healthcare system dealing with them. They have their own citizens to treat.
yes, yes. All those unvaccinated professional athletes clogging up hospitals.
Are you saying the rule shouldn’t apply to MLB players who come to Canada even though it applies to everyone else, just because they might be less likely to get sick? Because that’s what it sounds like.
What’s the matter here ? It’s Easter and y’all questioning the resurrection of Allen ?
I get the subtlety. Touche, my friend!
Isn’t it amazing all of my conservative statements are” Your comment is awaiting moderation.”
Where is baseball and anyone conservative going ?
Where is this site going?
All of my posts have been eliminated
I don’t like you Anthohny Franco, where is the first amendment?
What business do “conservative” and “liberal” statements have on a baseball website? Get a room or keep it in your pants or whatever. The saying fits. It’s not the place.
Two of my comments yesterday never made it out of the “awaiting moderation” holding cell. I don’t know what the objection was, but there was nothing conservative about them, so your conservative persecution theory is probably baseless, Coily.
This is a baseball site not a political site. Please don’t say anti-vaxx because most conservatives are vaccinated.
common sense is common sense baseball fan or not…
grow up.
weak cop out for critical thought.
your all the same!
you’re*
Arc you are wrong about that . Most conservatives I know including myself that I know are not down with the shots. Most that I know did were tricked into it by threats of job loss. I myself faced job loss and said no thanks I quit.
Every conservative I know got vaccinated so that says more about who you hang out with. If 2/3 of Americans already vaccinated it shows many conservatives got a shot. Not sure why you afraid of a vaccination. Those stories about people dying or getting sick from a vaccination is just BS.
Are your morals keeping you warm at night? Paying for your housing? They aren’t keeping you from being hospitalized from COVID. What a true hero!
The first amendment is absolutely irrelevant to a baseball forum and its users who have all agreed to the terms of service implicitly, if not explicitly.
But seeing it brought up in this context will never not be funny. So thanks!
Do you want a tissue, snowflake?
Man up and stop whining.
Probably because you got reported for spreading falsities you read from unverified news sources or regurgitated lies that Tucker Carlson told you, meaning you refuse to live in reality. But play the victim card.
Doesn’t matter. The A’s MLB and AAA teams are about the same skill level
And yet they just took three out of four from the Rays and have a .500 record.
Probably using tests made in china.
a’s really ran out of players so they’re bringing people back from the dead?
The A’s found a loophole: dead players don’t need to be paid the MLB minimum. They’re looking to fill out their rotation with Old Hoss Radbourn and Addie Joss.
Rachel: This is a list of players that I want to invite to Spring Training this year.
Board Member #1: I’ve never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime.
Charlie: Most of these guys never had a prime.
Board Member #2: This guy here is dead.
Rachel: Cross him off then.
It’s brilliant that the A’s are using these special COVID rules to their advantage. They are basically cycling through their prospects to see who should stick. September in April. Bravo.
They’re sickly. Sickly of playing in Oaktown.
All hail the unvaxxed, the only true Americans left
By the logic of your stupid opinion, 77% of America, including wannabe dictator Trump and a big chunk of GOP voters, are not true Americans. That’s 256.8m people.
New tanking procedure is to spread the covid
They still putting players on the disabled list due to a cold? Really? This is why sports are getting weaker due to this kind of mentality they have. Won’t be surprised if we start seeing whiffle ball, rather than actual baseball due to the ball hurting a lot of players.
Just put some dirt on it and play ball! Stop crying over a common cold!