A's Manaea might wear mask during games, wants to 'zazz' it up

Sean Manaea is putting safety first on the diamond.

The Oakland Athletics left-hander will consider wearing a mask on the mound once the season gets going.

"I don't really know if we're required to wear it on the field," Manaea said, according to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. "But I might as well try it out, just to see what it's like."

Manaea wore a mask during his throwing drills in Oakland on Sunday. If he does don the extra safety gear during games, he'll try and make sure it stands out.

"I saw a couple of guys wear the neck (masks) and I thought that was pretty cool," he said, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. "To be able to wear something different and zazz that up might be fun to rock."

Major League Baseball has not made masks mandatory for players during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, despite rising COVID-19 numbers in many states. But several notable players across the league, including Mike Trout, have been sporting the face coverings during the early stages of summer camp. Manaea's teammate, reliever Yusmeiro Petit, also wore a mask for his throwing session this weekend, according to Gallegos.

The 28-year-old Manaea missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, but returned late in the year to make five regular-season starts for the Athletics.