The Athletics will hold back pitchers Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir during the first week of spring games, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Neither player is dealing with an injury, but the team has opted to bring them along slowly to kick things off. The move will also allow the Athletics to get a better look at the players competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. Those players will likely pick up innings in place of Kazmir and Gray.
Gray, 25, is coming off the biggest workload of his major-league career. He posted a 3.08 ERA over 219 innings.
The 31-year-old Kazmir made 30 starts last year. It was the first time since 2007 Kazmir reached that milestone. He put up a 3.55 ERA over 190 1/3 innings.