SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Dustin Fowler is striving to remain in the A's plans despite literally being moved aside.

If Fowler makes the Opening Day roster, he'll likely occupy a backup role in the outfield, responsible largely for playing the corner positions. Gone are the good old days of 2018, when Fowler filled the left-handed-hitting half of a center-field platoon from early May through July. The A's posted a 30-15 record in games he started en route to a 97-65 season.

"He was here for a reason last year," A's manager Bob Melvin said Monday before Oakland's 4-3 Cactus League loss to the D-backs. "And performance dictates whether he's going to be here this year."

Fowler was 1-for-3 against the D-backs, and his hit made quite an impact. After lining out to second base in the second inning against Arizona ace Zack Greinke, he lined a Matt Andriese pitch over the right-field wall for a solo homer in the fourth inning. Fowler nearly recorded an infield single with a sharp sixth-inning grounder off right-hander Josh Duplantier's glove, but he was thrown out by a step. His contact indicated that he accomplished the goal he expressed pregame by "shortening my swing and making it less loopy."

Fowler, 24, will continue to receive opportunities to prove himself. Whether they're meaningful opportunities remains to be seen. Citing aspiring reserve candidates such as Fowler and infielders Franklin Barreto and Jorge Mateo, Melvin said, "Those type of guys, you want to get a lot of at-bats early in camp because later on it's basically more so for the starters."

Center field belongs to Ramón Laureano, who started 42 of Oakland's final 52 games last year and compiled a slash line of .288/.358/.474 in 48 games last year. Melvin said that he is leaning toward opening the season with an eight-man bullpen, which means that Oakland's bench will consist of three players.

Entering his seventh professional season, Fowler understands that such scenarios are typical in Spring Training.

"Every one who's getting his shot has deserved everything he's gotten," Fowler said. "So you can't be negative about that. If you lose your spot, there's a reason for it. Someone did better or you can get better at something. All you can do is work on the stuff you need to work on, keep gaining on your strengths and in the end, if you do everything you need to do, it'll work out."

Fowler, who hit .224 in 69 games last year, is likely behind Laureano, Nick Martini, Stephen Piscotty and Mark Canha on the outfield depth chart. Utilityman Chad Pinder, who's capable of everything except pitching and catching, is likely to be one of the three reserve players, and one of those spots will go to a second catcher, as well. None of this bothers Fowler, who has two Minor League options remaining.

"The more you think about that, the worse you're going to play," Fowler said. "With me, I'm just trying to stay healthy, and I'm happy I'm healthy. I'm just doing everything I can to try to make the team, but if I don't, you work as hard as you can to get back up there as soon as you can."