OAKLAND -- Given that they used 34 different hurlers in 2022, the A’s know that counting on the same five starting pitchers who began the season in their starting rotation is unrealistic. To get through a full season, pitching depth is going to be key.

Adrián Martínez pitched exclusively as a starter with Oakland last season. Though he is not currently a member of the rotation, if he continues to pitch like he did in his season debut on Sunday, it’s more likely than not that he’ll find his way back in that mix at some point in 2023.

Coming on in the seventh inning of the A's 6-0 loss to the Angels at the Coliseum, Martínez fired three scoreless innings to finish the game and spare the bullpen. The right-hander was efficient throughout, retiring nine of his 10 batters faced and allowing just one hit with one strikeout in what was really his first outing in a competitive game setting since a relief appearance for Team Mexico against Canada in the World Baseball Classic on March 15.

“What he did today with three innings pitched, he pounded the zone and got ground balls,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “He had some swing-and-miss. I was impressed with the outing from Adrián, for sure.”

The mentality switch from starting to relieving is an adjustment. Martínez, however, does have some familiarity with it, having pitched in relief for his lone WBC appearance.

• Repping Mexico in Classic a dream come true for Martínez

Sitting in Mexico’s bullpen during games throughout the Classic, Martínez spent plenty of time picking the brain of veteran pitchers on the team such as Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos. In Mexico’s clubhouse, his locker was situated just a couple of stalls down from Dodgers ace Julio Urías, which naturally led to conversations about pitching.

“It was a good environment,” Martínez said in Spanish of playing for Team Mexico. “Gallegos with St. Louis, I asked him a lot about his routine for coming out of the bullpen to pitch. We talked a lot about that. I talked a lot with Urías, too, just about how he goes about attacking hitters.”

If Martínez had any rust from his lack of action over the past few weeks, it did not show. He efficiently completed the three frames on 40 pitches, 25 of which went for strikes, generating 18 swings and four whiffs.

One notable development from Martínez’s outing was his slider. He threw it 12 times, and plans on integrating it more after having experimented with it this offseason. Already possessing an elite pitch in his changeup, which according to Statcast got 9.8 inches more drop than similar changeups at his velocity last season, the highest among all Major League pitchers, the thinking for Martínez is that if he can fully develop the slider as a third pitch, it will make him that much more effective when pitching in longer stints.

The improved slider is expected to come in handy should Martínez find himself back in the rotation. For now, he’ll continue to build up his workload in a multi-inning role out of the A’s bullpen.

"The goal is to get back into the rotation and I’m working towards that,” Martínez. “Right now, I’m just trying to take advantage of the opportunities I get in the bullpen because anything can happen. Just do the work I’m asked to do.”

Waldichuk’s rocky debut
Left-hander Ken Waldichuk's best start of his young career came in his final outing of ‘22 against the Angels at the Coliseum, and he seemed to pick up where he left off against them early on Sunday. But after starting out with three scoreless innings, Oakland’s No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline was bitten by the home run ball his second time through the order, first allowing a three-run homer to Logan O’Hoppe in the fourth and back-to-back homers to Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the fifth.

"Almost going six innings was something that I could kind of build off of,” Waldichuk said. “I just have to execute against those guys in the heart of the order, especially on that third time through."