Tyler

Soderstrom

It appears to be a matchup-specific wrinkle with Langeliers moving up to the leadoff spot to face Rangers southpaw MacKenzie Gore. Nick Kurtz moves into the second spot in the order with Colby Thomas hitting third and Tyler Soderstrom in the cleanup spot. Lefty Carlos Cortes retreats to the bench following Friday’s two-homer effort.

Soderstrom had a breakthrough game at the plate on Saturday, starting with a two-run blast off Kodai Senga in the third inning. He added a base hit in the fourth, then padded the A’s lead with a three-run blast off Luke Weaver in the eighth for his second homer of the game and first two of the season. It was only a matter of time for the 24-year-old slugger to get going.

Soderstrom took Arizona prospect Zane Russell deep in the third inning for his third round-tripper of the spring. The 24-year-old middle-of-the-order masher is currently a top-10 option at first base in fantasy drafts this spring following last year’s 25-homer, eight-steal breakthrough campaign.

The A’s pushed a pair of runs across against Alek Manoah in the second as Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers each drew walks with the bases loaded. That prompted a pitching change to Aneurys Zabala. Soderstrom got ahead in the count 2-0 and then unleashed the fury with a blast to right-center that increased the A’s lead to 6-0. He finished the day 1-for-2 plus a walk. For the spring, the 24-year-old slugger is slashing a monstrous .450/.500/.800 with two homers and eight RBI in his first 20 at-bats.

Soderstrom took Padres ace Michael King deep in the opening frame for his first big fly of the spring exhibition season. It traveled an estimated 410 feet and left his bat at 113.3 mph, per Statcast. The 24-year-old former backstop signed a seven-year, $86 million contract extension during the offseason and will be an integral run-producing component of an Athletics core that is one of the more exciting young nucleuses in baseball.

Soderstrom smacked a one-out single off of Cal Quantrill in the first inning then came around to score on an RBI double by Jeff McNeil. He then added to their lead with a two-run single in the second before trotting home on Brent Rooker’s two-run blast. Soderstrom finished the day 2-for-3 and is off to a 3-for-7 (.429) start to the spring season.

Couldn’t have saved this until tomorrow, eh? Soderstrom looked like trade bait after Nick Kurtz pushed him off first base, but he adapted to left field much better than anyone would have expected and it seems like he’ll be just fine there for the long term. He also broke through offensively in hitting .276/.346/.474 at age 23, and while the ballpark switch helped there, he actually fared better in road games than at home (.837 OPS to .804). Soderstrom would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time after next season and free agency following 2029. Passan says the new deal could make out at $131 million over eight years.

Soderstrom doubled in the fifth inning to drive in a run before scoring on a base hit by Jacob Wilson. He later knocked a base hit in the seventh. The 23-year-old slugger has had a stellar season with the A’s, hitting .278/.348/.473 with 24 homers, 73 runs scored, and 91 RBI across 607 plate appearances.

Soderstrom returned Tuesday from his groin tightness with two hits off the bench, and the 23-year-old talent will make his return to the starting lineup for the first time in five games. J.J. Bleday will get Wednesday off with Soderstrom back.

Thomas remained in the game in left field after hitting for Colby Thomas in the sixth. It was his fourth straight game out of the starting lineup, but one imagines he would have started tonight had the Red Sox been throwing a right-hander. He will see one in Lucas Giolito on Wednesday.