MESA, Ariz. -- A vital element in the A's offense fell into place Wednesday as manager Bob Melvin announced his intent to place Matt Chapman second in the batting order.
"The two spot's the new three," Melvin said somewhat jokingly. But he wasn't kidding about his plans for Chapman, who made his first Cactus League appearance in Oakland's 5-3 setback administered by the Dodgers.
Chapman's assignment to the No. 2 position wasn't overly surprising. The third baseman batted second in 51 of Oakland's final 52 games last season as he compiled a .278/.356/.508 slash line to complement his 24 home runs, 68 RBIs and team-high 100 runs scored.
"You're seeing a lot of guys, the premier guys on other teams, hit 'two' more nowadays," said Melvin. A partial list includes Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, Colorado's Charlie Blackmon and St. Louis' Paul Goldschmidt.
Stephen Piscotty is a leading candidate to inherit the batting order's third position from Jed Lowrie, who signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Mets. Khris Davis, who's still nursing an injured left calf, remains a fixture in the cleanup role.
Melvin allowed himself some flexibility, which is a wise move for a manager before March. He indicated that he might tweak the batting order if the A's were to face a particularly challenging right- or left-hander.
"Chappy will probably end up in the two spot, even though he's in the three spot today," Melvin said. "It's going to be a little bit of a work in progress. ... At this point, I don't have anybody that I'm penning into the number three spot, like we had in the past with Jed and K.D. three-four. You look up and down our lineup. It's still going to be a very productive lineup throughout."
Chapman, who has recovered on schedule following left shoulder surgery which he underwent last December, filled the designated hitter role and went 0-for-2 with a walk against the Dodgers. This, he said, helped him "get my timing back a little bit. I'm piecing it together on the fly."
Chapman worked the count to 3-2 before striking out in the first inning and walking in the third. He popped up in his final plate appearance to end the fifth inning. "I feel like I took competitive at-bats, especially my first two," he said.
Chapman's return to third base appears imminent.
"By this weekend, I'll be playing third base," Chapman said.
Said Melvin, "He's right on the timetable that we thought, maybe even a day or two ahead."