Athletics Designate Tyler Ferguson For Assignment
The Athletics announced that right-hander Tyler Ferguson has been designated for assignment. That opens a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Brooks Kriske, who had his contract selected earlier today.
Ferguson, 32, has been on the club’s 40-man roster for almost exactly two years. The A’s selected his contract on May 7th of 2024. He took an unusual path to the big leagues. He was drafted by the Rangers in 2015 but never climbed higher than High-A with that club before getting released in 2019. He then bounced around, spending some time in Indy Ball and in the minors with various clubs.
He finally made it to the show with the A’s and has been shuffled between Triple-A Las Vegas and the majors since then. He has logged 110 2/3 big league innings in that time, allowing 4.47 earned runs per nine. His 25.4% strikeout rate is fairly strong but he has also walked 12.6% of batters faced.
Despite the lack of control, he did earn some leverage work, racking up four saves and 22 holds. However, he’s gotten out to a poor start this season. His one major league outing resulted in four earned runs allowed in an inning and a third. In the minors, he has a 6.17 ERA in 11 2/3 Triple-A innings.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put him on waivers sooner. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year, so perhaps he could garner interest from clubs looking for extra depth arms. He has a five-pitch mix, with his four-seamer and sinker averaging around 95 miles per hour. His most-used secondary pitch is a sweeper. He also throws a changeup and a cutter.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
Athletics Select Brooks Kriske
The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Brooks Kriske. Fellow righty Tyler Ferguson was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding active roster move. A 40-man move will be necessary to open a spot for Kriske. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com reported earlier that Kriske would be called up.
Kriske, 32, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason. He has been with Triple-A Las Vegas so far this year. He has faced 67 batters and struck out 25 of them, a huge 37.3% rate. He has also given out 11 walks, a 16.4% pace, and thrown two wild pitches. He has a 2.25 earned run average in 16 innings.
The lack of command has been a consistent feature in his career. He has 39 2/3 major league innings under his belt with a 9.53 ERA, with a 16.8% walk rate playing a role in that. In 167 2/3 Triple-A innings, he has a huge 36% strikeout rate and a nice 3.70 ERA but a 12.4% walk rate. He spent 2022 and 2023 in Japan, where he had a 2.31 ERA and 26.9% strikeout rate but also walked 15.1% of batters faced.
The A’s will be latest club to try to take a chance on the stuff. His four-seamer averages about 93 miles per hour but isn’t his primary pitch. He throws his splitter about half the time, with the four-seamer and the cutter roughly splitting the remaining half. The combo clearly allows Kriske to miss bats but also the zone. If it doesn’t work out for the A’s and they want to bump him off the roster later, Kriske is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Braves Trade Jonah Heim To A’s
The Braves announced they’ve traded catcher Jonah Heim to the Athletics for cash. He was just designated for assignment this evening when Atlanta welcomed Sean Murphy back from the injured list.
The A’s subsequently announced the trade as well, placing Shea Langeliers on the paternity list in a corresponding move. They already had an opening on the 40-man roster after losing infielder Andy Ibáñez on waivers to the Mets last week. They’re off tonight but will presumably have Heim available for tomorrow’s series opener in Philadelphia.
Heim goes back to the team for which he made his MLB debut six years ago. Originally an Orioles draftee, he was traded to the Rays and then to the A’s (for infielder Joey Wendle) while in the minor leagues. The switch-hitter reached the Majors during the shortened season, playing in 13 games. The A’s traded him to the Rangers the following offseason as part of the Elvis Andrus/Khris Davis swap.
That turned out to be an excellent pickup for Texas. Heim struggled as a rookie in 2021 but broke through as a capable starting catcher the following year. He took another step forward in ’23, earning an All-Star selection and winning a Gold Glove while hitting .258/.317/.438. Heim was the starting catcher for the Rangers’ World Series run that season.
His production has taken a nosedive over the last couple years. Heim combined for a .217/.269/.334 batting line in more than 900 plate appearances between 2024-25. Although his strikeout rate was mostly unchanged, his walk rate dipped slightly and he lost a couple points on his hard contact percentage. Texas non-tendered him last winter, cutting him loose for what would have been his final season of arbitration.
Heim signed a $1.25MM free agent contract with Atlanta early in Spring Training. Murphy was rehabbing from last fall’s hip labrum surgery. The Braves needed a short-term backup but would have had a tough time carrying three catchers once Murphy returned to join Drake Baldwin. Heim showed reasonably well over 12 games, hitting .231/.311/.410 with one home run in 45 plate appearances. He had an even number of walks and strikeouts (five apiece). The defense was a little more concerning, as he failed to catch any of the 13 runners who attempted to steal against him. He didn’t commit any passed balls but was behind the dish for six wild pitches in 103 innings.
Like the Braves, the A’s have one of the best starting catchers in MLB. Langeliers will be back within the next three days or so. Austin Wynns has backed Langeliers up all season, but he’s out to an .086 start without an extra-base hit through 13 games. The A’s probably wouldn’t have assumed Heim’s salary only to carry him on the roster for a few days. Both he and Wynns have over five years of service time and could refuse a minor league assignment while collecting their remaining salaries. Wynns is playing on a $1.1MM arbitration deal.
Mets Claim Andy Ibáñez
The Mets have claimed infielder/outfielder Andy Ibáñez off waivers from the Athletics, per an announcement from the A’s. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reported the move prior to the official announcement. The A’s designated him for assignment a few days ago. The Mets have an open 40-man spot after designating Carl Edwards Jr. for assignment earlier today. Ibáñez is out of options and will need to jump onto the active roster, so they will need to make a corresponding move in that regard when he reports to the team.
Ibáñez, 33, is a utility guy who provides defensive versatility. His offense has been mercurial and is currently at a low ebb. He had solid seasons in 2021 and 2023, with a swoon in 2022. Over the 2024 and 2025 campaigns, he slashed .240/.297/.355 for the Tigers. That production led to an 85 wRC+, indicating he was 15% worse than league average. Detroit could have retained him via arbitration but non-tendered him instead, sending him to free agency.
Teams around the league still believe in his potential. The Dodgers signed him to a one-year, $1.2MM deal in January. The designated him for assignment a couple of weeks later, which may seem odd, but was by design.
Ibáñez has just over three years of service time. Players with at least three years of service have the right to reject outright assignments after clearing waivers. However, if they have less than five, they have to walk away from their salary commitments. The Dodgers were hoping that the contract was enough for other teams to pass on him. Once he passed through waivers, he wouldn’t want to walk away from the $1.2MM, so he would surely stick around as non-roster depth.
The A’s interrupted that plan, claiming him back in February. He stuck around for a few weeks but hit .118/.167/.118 in 18 plate appearances. Despite that poor showing in recent weeks, the Mets are going to take a shot on him.
Ibáñez will at least provide some flexibility off the bench. He has experience at all four infield spots and the outfield corners. His shortstop work consists of just nine innings but he has over 1,000 innings at second base and almost 800 at third, with good numbers to boot. Combining that with improved offense would be ideal but it’s been a few years. His most recent above-average offensive season was 2023, when he hit .264/.312/.433 for a 103 wRC+.
The Mets have operated with narrow infield flexibility for much of this year. They opened the campaign with Francisco Lindor at shortstop, Marcus Semien at second and Bo Bichette at third. First base has been shared by a rotation of Jorge Polanco, Mark Vientos, Jared Young and Brett Baty. with Young and Baty also playing some outfield. The Mets have mostly been playing without a bench infielder. Bichette was effectively the backup for Lindor, while guys like Baty or Vientos could cover third for Bichette. Baty could also cover second if Semien missed time.
The picture has been shuffled in recent weeks. Lindor, Polanco and Young have all hit the IL recently, as has outfielder Luis Robert Jr. That leaves the Mets with Ronny Mauricio at short, while Bichette and Semien still hold their positions. Mauricio has struck out in nine of his 22 plate appearances so far this year. The Mets called up infielder/outfielder Eric Wagaman today when Robert hit the IL but Wagaman is more of a corner guy. Ibáñez gives them some more cover in the middle infield. Wagaman has options and could be sent back out when Ibáñez joins the team.
Photo courtesy of Scott Marshall, Imagn Images
A’s Place Max Muncy On Injured List Due To Broken Finger
4:05pm: Muncy did indeed suffer his injury against the Rangers on April 13 and tried to play through it, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com.
4:00pm: The Athletics placed infielder Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list due to a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand, per a team announcement. Fellow infielder Brett Harris is up from Triple-A to take his place on the active roster.
The 23-year-old Muncy — not to be confused with the unrelated Dodgers third baseman of the same name — was the Athletics’ first-round pick in 2021 and has been their primary third baseman so far in 2026. He’s out to a decent .239/.308/.402 start. Muncy has smacked a pair of homers, gone 2-for-3 in stolen base attempts, and added five doubles and a pair of triples. He’s walked at a below-average 5.8% clip and struck out in an alarming 35.6% of his plate appearances. He’s been a thorn in the side of left-handed pitching, in particular, tallying five extra-base hits and five walks in only 34 plate appearances against southpaws.
It’s not entirely clear when Muncy suffered the injury, though his performance gives us a good clue. He had a mammoth showing in spring training (.380/.466/.800, five homers in 58 plate appearances) and sprinted out of the gates with a .317/.349/.533 showing in his first 63 trips to the plate during the regular season. Muncy was hit on the hands by a Nathan Eovaldi pitch on April 13, and his bat his since gone in the tank. He’s mired in an awful 3-for-32 stretch and has fanned 15 times in his past 41 turns at the plate. The original diagnosis at the time was a bruised left hand, but it’s fairly common for swelling to obscure a fracture in the immediate aftermath of a hit-by-pitch.
Muncy has yet to firmly cement himself as an everyday player in the big leagues and probably won’t do so unless he’s able to whittle down that sky-high strikeout rate. (He had a 34.9% strikeout rate even in that torrid stretch of 63 plate appearances to begin his season.) He knocked Triple-A pitching around at a hearty .325/.397/.504 clip in 141 plate appearances last year and has been consistently productive in the minors since reaching the Double-A level. Strikeouts haven’t been a major issue in the upper minors — he’s fanned at just a 23% clip in Triple-A — perhaps giving cause for optimism that he can eventually scale back his strikeouts in the majors.
Even if Muncy doesn’t settle in as a regular at the hot corner, there’s enough pop in his bat and enough versatility in his defensive repertoire that he could profile as a utility option. He has experience at shortstop, third base and second base. Scouting reports have long pegged him as an adequate shortstop who could handle second or third if needed. His hit tool is below average, but he’s generally credited with average power, if not slightly better. He’s not a burner on the bases but has above-average speed, sitting in the 72nd percentile of big leaguers this season.
The A’s haven’t provided a timetable, but a broken finger in the infielder’s glove hand seems like it’ll sideline him for more than a minimum stint. In the interim, the A’s can go with a combination of Harris and Darell Hernaiz at third base. They could also slide Jeff McNeil over to the hot corner in order to clear some playing time at second base for Zack Gelof, although the 26-year-old Gelof has struggled immensely since a promising rookie showing back in 2023.
Athletics Designate Andy Ibanez For Assignment, Reinstate Brent Rooker
Outfielder Brent Rooker is back with the Athletics after missing a little over two weeks with an oblique strain. The club has designated infielder Andy Ibanez for assignment to clear a roster spot for Rooker, per a team announcement. Rooker is batting fourth as the DH today against the Rangers.
The Dodgers gave Ibanez a one-year, $1.2MM deal in January. They tried to get him through waivers in February, but the A’s swooped in and claimed him. It was a reasonable move considering Ibanez’s solid production as a platoon bat in recent years with the Tigers. The veteran struggled in his brief time with the club, though. Ibanez hit just .118 in 11 games. He spent time at every infield position except shortstop.
After a couple of seasons with the Rangers, Ibanez came to the Tigers via waiver claim heading into 2023. He earned semi-regular work for the first time as a big leaguer, delivering a 103 wRC+ across 383 plate appearances. Ibanez’s numbers tailed off the following season, though not against lefties. The righty swinger posted a .802 OPS vs. southpaws in 2024. Detroit leaned harder into the platoon approach last year, limiting Ibanez to just 52 at-bats against righties. He slashed a respectable .258/.311/.403 in 124 ABs against lefties.
The A’s got the memo about Ibanez’s splits. It just didn’t work out for them in a tiny sample. The infielder went 2-for-16 against lefties. Ibanez was 0-for-1 with a walk in his scant chances against righties. The club was able to take advantage of the veteran’s defensive versatility, as he drew starts at first, second, and third base. Ibanez has been a plus defender by Defensive Runs Saved at all four infield spots for his career.
With Ibanez DFAed, the A’s will have five days to trade him or put him on waivers. He could be attractive to a team hunting for infield depth, though the price tag is a bit higher than a typical waiver claim. If he makes it through waivers, the A’s could look to stash him in the minors, if he permits it. Ibanez has been outrighted in his career, so he has the right to reject a minor league assignment and opt for free agency. However, since he has fewer than five years of big league service time, he would have to walk away from the remainder of his $1.2MM salary in electing that right.
Photo courtesy of Scott Marshall, Imagn Images
A’s Place Denzel Clarke On Injured List
The Athletics placed center fielder Denzel Clarke on the 10-day injured list before today’s loss in Seattle. Colby Thomas was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take the vacated active roster spot.
Clarke is dealing with a bone bruise in his right foot. Manager Mark Kotsay told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com that the issue relates to a lingering injury to his big toe that Clarke has battled for some time. It reached a point where the defensive stalwart felt better shutting things down rather than continuing to play through the discomfort.
This is Clarke’s first full season at the MLB level. He’s living up to his reputation on both sides of the ball. Clarke has rated highly in center field and had another of his patented home run robberies to take one away from Drake Baldwin on April 1. The 6’3″ Clarke is among the most talented defensive players in the sport. His bat is well behind, and he’s hitting .170 while striking out 24 times in 60 plate appearances (40%).
Lawrence Butler got the start in center field today against Logan Gilbert. The A’s had turned to Zack Gelof at the position for the first two games of the Seattle series. A career-long second baseman, Gelof has begun working in the outfield this year after the A’s traded for Jeff McNeil to handle the keystone.
It’ll likely be Gelof taking the bulk of the center field work. Butler can play there on occasion, with Carlos Cortes drawing into right field on those days. The righty-hitting Thomas will also be in the mix after a strong start to his year in Triple-A. Thomas was batting .309/.397/.574 with five homers in 17 games for Las Vegas. He debuted last season and popped six homers in 132 plate appearances, but he struck out 49 times (37.1%) en route to a meager .267 on-base mark.
Phil Garner Passes Away
Former three-time All-Star and longtime manager Phil Garner passed away on Saturday at age 76. A statement released by Garner’s family praised the medical care given to Garner during his fight with pancreatic cancer, and said that “Phil never lost his signature spark of life he was so well known for or his love for baseball which was with him until the end.”
Debuting with the Athletics in 1973, Garner hit .260/.323/.389 over 6136 plate appearances and 1860 games with the A’s, Pirates, Astros, Dodgers, and Giants during his 16-year career as a big league player. He became Oakland’s everyday second baseman in 1975 and received his first All-Star nod in 1976, but he was dealt after that season as part of a nine-player trade with the Pirates.
Garner played both second and third base (with some appearances at shortstop) during his four-plus years in Pittsburgh. His best season in terms of both personal and team accomplishments came in 1979, when Garner had a career-best 3.9 fWAR while hitting .293/.359/.441 with 11 homers and 17 steals for the Pirates’ World Series-winning team, which remains the last Buccos club to win a championship. Garner was a huge part of that title run, delivering a phenomenal .472/.537/.722 slash line over 41 PA during the postseason.
The Pirates traded Garner to the Astros partway through the 1981 campaign, and he went on to have several more successful years in a Houston uniform before his production declined in 1987. The Dodgers acquired Garner in a trade partway through the 1987 campaign but the change of scenery didn’t spark his bat, and Garner then played 15 games with the Giants over his final year as a player.
Garner’s gritty and grinding playing style made him a fan favorite, and perhaps all you need to know about Garner is that he was known as “Scrap Iron,” a nickname coined by former Pirates announcer Milo Hamilton. The blunt and tough-but-fair approach stuck with Garner in his post-playing days, as he went onto a successful second career as a manager over 15 seasons with the Brewers, Tigers, and back in Houston with the Astros.
As a skipper, Garner posted a 985-1054 career record, beginning with a 92-win season as Milwaukee’s manager in 1992. This was the only winning record Garner would post in eight seasons with the Brewers and three seasons in Detroit (from 2000-02), but he broke through in 2004 after being hired to take over an Astros team that had a 44-44 record.
Houston went 48-26 the rest of the way under Garner, and fell just short of a World Series appearance after losing the NLCS to the Cardinals in a memorable seven-game battle. The Astros beat St. Louis in a rematch the next season for the first pennant in Houston franchise history, though the Astros were swept by the White Sox in the World Series.
We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to Garner’s family, friends, and many fans.
Athletics Place Brent Rooker On Injured List
The Athletics announced today that outfielder/designated hitter Brent Rooker has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain. Infielder/outfielder Zack Gelof has been recalled as the corresponding move.
It’s not an especially surprising development. Rooker appeared to injure himself on a swing yesterday, reaching for his side. He was removed from the game with the A’s announcing his issue as right flank discomfort. Gelof was scratched from the Triple-A lineup, which suggested he would likely be called up to take Rooker’s place.
The A’s haven’t announced how long they expect Rooker to be out but obliques can be pesky injuries for baseball players since they play a notable role in rotating the body, which is important for swinging and pitching. Rooker is out to a slow start this year, with a .146/.245/.293 line, but in a small sample of 49 plate appearances. In a much larger sample of 1,839 plate appearances from 2023 to 2025, he hit 99 home runs and slashed .268/.343/.509.
The one benefit for the A’s is greater positional flexibility, as Rooker is usually the designated hitter. They can now use that spot to move guys in and out, lightening their workloads from time to time. Gelof has only played second base in his big league career but has been dabbling with some outfield work lately. The A’s have mostly been using Jeff McNeil at second. He’s the oldest regular position player, so perhaps he will get some more time as the DH.
Gelof has shown power in his big league career but has also been punched out in a third of his plate appearances. He’ll need to get that down to become a viable big leaguer. For what it’s worth, his minor league season has started well. He has only been punched out at a 13% clip in his small sample of 54 trips to the plate, which has helped him produce a monster .366/.519/.732 line. No one should expect him to hit like that in the majors but any improvement in the strikeout department should be a big help.
If the A’s want to try him in the outfield, their current mix includes Tyler Soderstrom, Denzel Clarke, Lawrence Butler and Carlos Cortes. Using Rooker’s vacated DH spot could allow the club to potentially spread some at-bats to that group and Gelof.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images
A’s Notes: Rooker, Ginn, Perkins
The Athletics are sending Brent Rooker for imaging tomorrow, writes Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The slugger gestured toward his right side/hip area on a foul ball in the first inning of today’s win over the Yankees. Rooker exited the game after a brief conversation with trainers and skipper Mark Kotsay.
The preliminary diagnosis is right flank discomfort. The obvious concern is a potential oblique strain. Those usually require multi-week absences for hitters. Even moderate oblique strains can cost more than a month. The A’s will have a better idea tomorrow whether that’s in play.
Rooker has had a tough start to the season. He’s hitting .146 with 17 strikeouts in 49 trips to the plate. He did have a monster game against the Astros on Sunday, slugging both of his home runs and driving in six of his eight total RBI. He capped that game with a three-run, walk-off shot in the tenth inning off Bryan Abreu.
If Rooker needs an injured list stint, infielder Zack Gelof seems the favorite to replace him on the roster. The A’s scratched him from today’s Triple-A lineup. Gelof has been on an absolute tear to begin the minor league season, hitting .366 with a .519 on-base mark and four home runs over 54 plate appearances.
Gelof is primarily a second baseman and has gotten some outfield work this spring and in the minors. If Rooker misses time, the A’s could give 34-year-old second baseman Jeff McNeil some DH reps. Gelof or Carlos Cortes could grab some extra right field work if the A’s want to mix in a few semi-rest days for Lawrence Butler after last fall’s knee surgery.
The A’s took two of three from the Yankees this week. They’re staying in New York for a weekend set against the Mets. Former Mets draftee J.T. Ginn will start tomorrow’s series opener against Clay Holmes. It’ll be Ginn’s first start of the season after three relief appearances. The A’s needed a new fifth starter after optioning struggling righty Luis Morales earlier in the week. Ginn is seemingly getting the first opportunity.
Jack Perkins was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas before Thursday’s game, with Michael Kelly optioned out in a corresponding move. Perkins is up for the first time this season and seemingly ticketed for the long relief role which Ginn had played. The righty has worked 7 2/3 innings over three Triple-A appearances this year, striking out nine but issuing seven walks. Perkins started four of his first 12 big league outings last season. He turned in a 4.19 earned run average through 38 2/3 frames.