Spence tries his luck in Vegas in bid for rotation spot

LAS VEGAS -- The famed Las Vegas Strip, where endless hopes for good luck and grand fortunes fill the area’s many casinos, serves as a backdrop to Las Vegas Ballpark. It was a rather appropriate setting for Mitch Spence to take the mound, given what is at stake for him.

After a matinee 7-4 loss to the Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix on Friday, the A’s began a two-game exhibition series at the home of the Las Vegas Aviators -- the club’s Triple-A affiliate. In the nightcap of the split-squad day, Spence resumed his bid for a spot on Oakland’s Opening Day roster by facing a Brewers lineup loaded with young talent, including MLB Top 100 prospects Jackson Chourio (No. 2), Tyler Black (No. 46) and Joey Ortiz (No. 63).

“I’ve never been to Las Vegas before, so it’s been a really fun experience,” Spence said. “It’s everything I thought it would be from seeing it through pictures with all the fancy hotels. One of the nicer places I’ve pitched in.”

While the scenery briefly changed, the mentality remained the same. Because Spence was a 2023 Rule 5 Draft pick by the A’s, he must make their Opening Day roster out of Spring Training or be offered back to his original club (the Yankees), who can send him back to the Minors. So, essentially, every time the 25-year-old right-hander appears in a game this spring, positive results are of the utmost importance.

Increasing his workload in his third spring start, Spence continued putting together a solid body of work by allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts over four innings in the A’s 5-4 loss to Milwaukee. In addition to showing off a sinker that topped out at 96 mph, Spence was efficient, getting through his outing on 47 pitches. He also generated mostly weak contact throughout, with an average exit velocity of 80.7 mph on 11 balls hit in play against him.

“I felt good,” Spence said. “Every time I’ve gone out, the stuff has gotten a little bit sharper. I’ve moved the fastballs around, and today I felt like I had better command of the breaking ball.”

After two perfect innings on 19 pitches in which he struck out three batters and did not allow a ball to leave the infield, Spence ran into trouble in a two-run third that was partially the result of some shaky defense behind him.

Sent back for a fourth inning, Spence quickly got through it on six pitches, ending it by inducing a double-play ball by Joey Wiemer on his curveball, a pitch he also utilized as the put-away pitch on two of his four strikeouts.

“Early in counts, I try to just force weak contact and get guys out quick,” Spence said. “Then, I can use my curveball and slider with two strikes to try and put them away.”

In a battle for the final spot in Oakland’s starting rotation that has already seen one competitor drop out with Luis Medina sustaining a knee injury, Spence, ranked the A’s No. 26 prospect by MLB Pipeline, appears to be in good position to crack his first big league roster. He holds a 3.00 ERA through three spring outings with nine strikeouts and two walks over nine innings pitched.

Should Spence not make the rotation, he is also a candidate for the bullpen, where he could provide multiple innings at a time in a swingman-type role.

“Mitch has done a nice job,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He knows what’s in front of him in terms of having to make this team out of Spring Training as a Rule 5 guy. He’s going out every day to showcase himself. We’d like him to be a part of this roster. He’s obviously accomplished a lot in the Minor Leagues with the Yankees.

“It’s going to be a tough decision, for sure. There are options. If we have an opportunity to put him in the bullpen and use him as a long guy, we’ll assess that at the end of spring.”

Andujar's tear

Miguel Andujar continued to strengthen his roster case by crushing a pair of home runs on Friday night. Both were two-run shots, the first on a 3-2 changeup from Carlos Rodríguez sent a Statcast-projected 414 feet to left-center, and the second a 398-foot blast to left off Janson Junk.

The two-homer game was the second in the past three days for Andujar, who is now hitting .435 this spring with four homers, 10 RBIs and a 1.415 OPS.