A’s roster moves: Toro to IL, Alvarez recalled

A’s losing their leadoff man

The A’s announced a roster move a few hours ahead of their second game against the Twins, placing third baseman Abraham Toro on the IL with a hamstring problem:

It’s another tough injury blow to a team that’s dealt with a seemingly endless amount of injuries this year. Toro has had easily his best season in the big leagues to date with the A’s here in 2024. Once a top prospect for division rivals Houston and Seattle, Toro came to the A’s via a quiet November trade with Milwaukee and has finally made good on his promise as a big leaguer. In 73 games Toro is slashing a solid .260/.303/.386 while being a consistent bat at the top of the lineup. It’s turned into a nice investment and one that could pay off for years as Toro is still under contract through 2026. Losing him will hurt the offense and make the team look elsewhere for a new leadoff hitter, at least temporarily. For what it’s worth the club is going with shortstop Max Schuemann for today’s contest.

Taking Toro’s place on the roster will be Armando Alvarez. Once a former Yankees farmhand, the soon-to-be 30-year old Alvarez found his way to Oakland this offseason on a minor league contract and will now join a big league dugout for the first time in his eight seasons of pro baseball. The righty-swinging Alvarez is hitting .311/.401/.528 with eight home runs this season for the Aviators, a solid performance even with the hitter-friendly environment of the PCL. While he’s not in today’s lineup we should definitely be expecting to see Alvarez at some point in the near future, maybe even today. It’s worth seeing what the kid can do. After all, we pretty much know what we’re going to get from Aledmys Diaz and Tyler Nevin, the two players likely to get the bulk of third base reps while Toro is down. But it would be worth seeing if Alvarez can bring something more to this club. Let’s hope the team doesn’t shy away from the youth too much.