Worth noting

• In addition to Bruce Billings, the A's also reassigned Sonny Gray and Justin Thomas on Saturday.

• Addison Russell, Oakland's No. 1 prospect according to MLB.com, got his second start of the spring on Saturday, batting ninth and in the designated-hitter spot.

"When you bring a kid like that into camp, one of the top prospects, he's here for a reason," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "I want to get him some at-bats. I think for a youngster, sometimes the DH role can take away some of the nerves and get him more comfortable. He's done a nice job, though. He doesn't look like he's 19 years old. He doesn't act like it, either. It's always nice to reward somebody like that."

In his first 12 at-bats of the spring, Russell has four hits and a pair of RBIs.

• Melvin said Tommy Milone is using part of this spring to learn how to pitch differently in smaller parks while away from Oakland. The 26-year-old finished with a 2.74 ERA at the Oakland Coliseum last season but struggled on the road with a 4.83 ERA.

"You can't help but look at the numbers, because of the way his style of pitching plays at bigger ballparks like ours," Melvin said. "He throws a lot of strikes, and maybe at times you go a little bit out of the zone more in some smaller parks, where balls in the air end up getting out of the park. I know he's working to get more ground balls, too."

• Seth Smith and Josh Reddick spent time Saturday taking grounders at first base during workouts.