AP File Photo: Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell reaches for the ball against the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game Sunday, July 9, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–With powerful Cleveland coming to Oakland on Friday night the A’s face a  Cleveland team on top with a leading 47-40 record in the AL Central. The A’s bring a new crop of players a group of young players who can make a difference in the Cleveland series and in this second half of the season, Ryon Healy who came up least season, Jaycob Brugman, Matt Chapman, Bruce Maxwell, Chad Pinder, Franklin Barreto and Matt Olson.

The A’s have decided to use their own formula and the A’s used some of the veterans this season to see if they could get any mileage out of them with Matt Joyce, Raiai Davis, and Trevor Plouffe and these guys didn’t perform. Then to everyone’s surprise catcher Stephen Vogt was cut and the A’s wanted to bring in Bruce Maxwell as the starting catcher.

Maxwell was in the minors but he’s come up and he’s hitting about .290 since he’s been back and he’s been playing very well. With Healy the A’s needed to find a spot for him and they put him at third base with Matt Chapman and they have Yonder Alonso at first base. Healy is also the DH and a lot of young guys don’t like to DH but like to play in the field as well but Healy is good of a defensive player as Chapman.

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