Former Oakland Athletic Franklin Barreto will try to get his groove back as he works his way into the Los Angeles Angels line up after being traded to the Angels this week for Tommy LaStella (photo from Athletics Nation)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s had quite a few unusual events happenings the last few days in Texas. The A’s and Rangers postponed the game last Thursday to show support for the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, relating to the shooting of Jacob Blake.

The A’s traveled to Houston to face the Astros for a three-game series. The A’s and Astros are the two teams in the AL West fighting for the top spot. They did not play Friday night to show support for the protests in Kenosha.

The two teams played a double-header on Saturday. Under the new rules for 2020, each game was shortened to seven innings. Things did not go well for the Green and Gold as the Astros won both games and moved to within 2 1/2 games of the West’s top spot.

Also, Marcus Semien, the A’s seemingly indestructible shortstop, missed the second game with an injury. Semien had played in about 250 consecutive games. The damage is not too severe, and Marcus should be back in the lineup soon.

On Sunday, the team announced that someone in the A’s traveling party was tested positive for Covid-19. The team did not say if it was a player or a member of the staff. The game with Houston was postponed.

The A’s immediately were quarantined at the hotel in Houston. The team was not scheduled to play on Monday. No A’s have tested positive after the one positive test on Saturday. Individuals who have tested positive must test negative twice before rejoining the team per MLB protocol.

The team may continue isolating instead of traveling as scheduled because of its potentially long incubation period. The Tuesday and Wednesday games with the Mariners have been postponed.

In other news, the A’s made a trade with the Angels last week. The A’s acquired second baseman Tommy LaStella. LaStella, who hits from the left side, is 31 years-old. He was an All-Star last season and was hitting about .273 at the time of the trade.

LaStella is a pending free agent after the season. The A’s sent Franklin Barreto to the Angels. The 24-year old Barreto played well in Triple-A ball. His slash line was .285/.357/.505, with 53 home runs in 1285 plate appearances. However, he could not produce at the Major-League level. The Angels are hoping a change of scenery will work wonders for him.

The A’s made a trade with the Texas Rangers on Monday. They acquired left Mike Minor in exchange for two prospects. Minor has struggled this season. His record is 0-5 and has a 5.60 ERA. In his last start against the Dodgers, Minor went six innings and pitched well. The A’s are hoping that he can find his 2019 form.