MESA, Ariz. - Manager Bob Melvin didn’t mince any words after the A’s four-error game Friday, calling the team’s defense “putrid.”

“We missed three cutoff men,” he said. “It was one thing after another. I have so many minuses on my card. It’s really frustrating.”

Oakland made 126 errors last season, most in the majors, so the defense has been a major area of emphasis this spring, with early morning workouts daily and extra infield sessions before games.

The A’s, however, lead the majors this spring with 38 errors overall and 17 in the past eight games.

“We’ll continue to work,” Melvin said. “And it will be addressed. We can’t beat ourselves. We might not be a great defensive team, but we can’t be a bad defensive team. We have to make the routine plays. Pick it up, throw it to the next guy. That’s what we’ll continue to work on.”

Shortstop Marcus Semien, who led the majors with 35 errors last year but his rate dipped significantly the final month or two of the season; he’s made three errors this spring, including a throwing error Friday. He bounced two throws in the A’s loss to the Angels and has had some trouble with low throws in general lately.

“You’re going to have times when you make low throws,” Semien said. “I had a couple today. It’s no big deal.”

“A little bit short on some of his throws,” Melvin said. “Just a matter of letting it go.”

Semien said he believes the A’s will turn things back around defensively.

“We’ve had some bad hops, we’ve had some things not go our way, but we’re not going let that get us off track from what we’re trying to do this season,” he said. “Errors are going to happen. It’s part of the game. You don’t want it to happen, but if it does, you figure out the cause, fix it in practice and move on.”

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @susanslusser