Nick Martini

A knee injury sidelined Martini for the first two months of the season, preventing him from building on the small-sample promise he showed in his rookie campaign in 2018. He was sent to the minors once healthy and only appeared in six big-league games for the Athletics before being waived in late August. The Padres picked him up and gave him 96 plate appearances down the stretch, in which he hit a modest .244/.344/.317. He did manage a much better .328/.432/.482 line for Triple-A Las Vegas, though it's hard to get excited about a 29-year-old's work in the minors. He's at least hit righties well in his limited big-league action, posting a .297/.395/.420 line over 256 plate appearances. Martini was claimed off waivers twice this offseason; first by the Reds and then by the Phillies. It seems more likely than not that he gets optioned to Triple-A to wait as depth in case injuries strike the big-league roster.

Martini joined the Athletics as an unheralded 27-year-old on a minor-league contract last offseason. Following a hot start at Triple-A Nashville, the outfielder went on to win a role on the strong side of a platoon in the big leagues over the summer, hitting an impressive .296/.397/.414 in 179 plate appearances (only 11 of those were against southpaws). He may fill a similar role at the start of this season, though there are reasons to be skeptical of his ability to repeat his performance. His line was propped up by a .379 BABIP, and his expected batting average according to Statcast was a mediocre .260. His batting average will have to remain high for him to be a fantasy asset, as he doesn't do much else. He's never hit more than eight homers in a season throughout his professional career and has never stolen more than 11 bases.