The 2020 MLB season is sure to see some creative pitching arrangements throughout the league. Between the short sprint of a 60-game schedule rather than the normal six-month marathon of games, and an abbreviated preseason training period that made it difficult for everyone to properly stretch out and warm up toward full workloads, traditional roles and strategies might not hold up, especially in the early going.
Indeed, the Oakland A’s are looking into some alternative setups for their own staff. They are considering the use of some piggyback starters, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle, and Slusser also notes that they’re “building up a lot of relievers to throw multiple innings in the 60-game [schedule].