OAKLAND – Matt Olson, called up by the A’s Friday to take the spot vacated by the demotion of starter Cesar Valdez, can’t remember when first base hasn’t been his natural position.
He’s learned to adapt. He spent 90 games in right field last year for Triple-A Nashville, and when he was promoted to Oakland he made twice as many starts in right (four) as he did at first.
So it was no surprise to have A’s manager Bob Melvin talk about Olson’s versatility in discussion the promotion. The A’s already have one left-handed hitting first baseman in Yonder Alonso, so versatility is going to be key in how many at-bats Olson gets.