MESA, Ariz. -- From the day after his 18th birthday, when he signed as a first-round pick until a rather sudden departure last November, Trevor Plouffe's professional life was spent in a Minnesota Twins uniform and his Spring Trainings in Florida. This spring, all that has changed.
Plouffe, 30, is wearing the green and gold of the A's these days, training alongside his new teammates in the Arizona desert and trying to get back on track after an injury-plagued 2016 season that wound up being his last in Minnesota.
The colors and the venue have changed, but the A's believe that is all that has changed and that they have brought in a third baseman with some pop, a veteran with leadership to offer.