MESA, Ariz. - Marcus Semien is the A’s everyday shortstop, but this spring, there is a non-roster player in camp who started at shortstop over Semien at Cal 10 years ago.
“I sat on the bench a lot,” Semien said of his freshman year.
Former Bears shortstop Michael Brady is no longer an infielder, though. He converted to pitching during his second season with the Marlins organization after a brief and unsatisfying stab at catching. “They asked him to try it and I think he was a catcher for like a day and said, ‘I want to be a pitcher,’ ” said Zach Neal, who played with Brady in the Marlins’ system and is rooming with him this spring.