It’s not impossible, but it’ll be difficult to replace Ramón Laureano as he serves his four-game suspension for his role in the benches clearing brawl between the A's and Astros on Sunday.
However, between Chad Pinder and Mark Canha, at least defensively, the A’s should be OK.
Watch this catch by Canha on a deep fly ball hit by Evan Longoria in the bottom of the sixth of Friday night’s game against the Giants:
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Canha was on the ground for a while, but appeared to be fine and was back in the game hitting moments later.
The catch was very Laureano-esque if you ask me.
Canha also has been pretty productive at the plate, collecting15 hits in 18 games this season, and he has proven he’s a diverse option in the outfield. He can even be used as the designated hitter if needed.
Oakland Athletics
If that doesn’t work, there’s always Pinder who showed off his own defensive skills against the Los Angeles Angels earlier this week.
A’s manager Bob Melvin has always appreciated versatility, so knowing he has a couple options to fill that void helps.
[RELATED: Why A's will miss Laureano greatly upon suspension]
Laureano reportedly won the appealed on his original six-game suspension after he had an on-field confrontation with Astros’ hitting coach Alex Cintrón who, as Laureano admitted, made a comment about the A’s centerfielder’s mother. He served the first of his four-game suspension Friday.
Cintrón is serving his 20-game suspension for his role in the incident.