Triggs, who notched his second Cactus League victory in an 8-3 split-squad win over the Giants on Saturday, is a strong candidate to open the season in the starting rotation, Susan Slusser of SFGate.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 29-year-old's candidacy for a rotation role remains strong despite an uneven outing against San Francisco, one in which he allowed two earned runs on two hits, three walks and a hit batsman over 3.2 innings while recording four strikeouts. In the wake of Jharel Cotton's season-ending elbow injury and prospect A.J. Puk's reassignment to the minors, Triggs is in an even better position, but his ability to work as both a starter and long reliever were already giving him a leg up prior to that pair of developments. Even if Puk is promoted in relatively short order once the season commences, Triggs' versatility would allow him to slide into the bullpen role he's filled in exactly half of his 36 appearances with the Athletics across the last two seasons.