Doug Fister’s first start with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate went quite well, as the veteran right-hander tossed five innings of one-run ball and allowed just four hits and no walks to go along with seven strikeouts. Of the 11 balls put into play against him, seven were hit on the ground (63.6 percent rate). Fister reportedly has a June 21 opt-out in his contract with the Angels, so the Halos can get another couple of looks at him before making a decision on whether to promote him to the Majors, though his first outing was certainly encouraging.
More from the AL West…
- Mariners ownership gave GM Jerry Dipoto a “unanimous go for it” when he approached them about pursuing an extension with shortstop Jean Segura, Dipoto said at yesterday’s press conference announcing the deal (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). “I can speak for [CEO John Stanton] and [president Kevin Mather] as well. When I brought it to them the first time, I know it was shared with the ownership group to give them the ok to roll ahead with negotiations, everybody was absolutely in back of the negotiations or the proposal each step of the way. They were all for it.” Dipoto acknowledged that a full no-trade clause isn’t something he considers “typical” in extension talks, but Segura’s agent, CAA’s Nez Balelo, explained that due to the three previous trades in his Segura’s still-young career, it was an important element to secure.
- The Athletics are promoting outfield prospect Jaycob Brugman to make his Major League debut this weekend, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s not yet clear what the corresponding roster move will be, though Brugman was added to the 40-man roster, so Oakland needn’t necessarily designate someone for assignment in order to bring him up. Ranked as the organization’s No. 21 prospect by MLB.com and No. 24 by Baseball America, Brugman is off to a fine start in Triple-A Nashville, slashing .288/.373/.364 through 150 plate appearances. He’s capable of playing all three outfield positions and possesses roughly average pop and speed, per the previously linked scouting reports. The 25-year-old Brugman is pegged as more of a fourth outfielder than a starter by both reports but will inject some youth into what is currently a fairly old mix of outfielders.
- Slusser also notes that Sean Doolittle is expected to be activated from the disabled list as the 26th man for one of the two games of Saturday’s doubleheader. The A’s will need to drop back down to 25 players, so Brugman could be optioned out quickly after his first look in the Majors. However, Slusser also notes that relievers Frankie Montas and Josh Smith are both candidate to be sent down as well. Speculatively speaking, if both are optioned, Oakland could once again have a four-man bench, though it’d be shifting back to a 12-man pitching staff in that case. (Related: Oakland Athletics depth chart)
Fister needs to come up with the Angels. We can’t live off of our minor league pitching for the rest of the season. I just hope he is better than Lincecum.
Segura wanted security as his defensive ratings are bound to take a beating with Robbie slowing down at 2b.
I fail to see how that could possibly be related. Segura’s metrics aren’t great and will probably further decline, but not due to Cano in any way
He’s trolling
For a team who’s never had all their intended starters on the field at one time due to injuries and roster cuts, they are only 1 game under .500 and in the race. With the exception of King Felix, the injuries and roster cuts have worked as “addition by subtraction”. Much of this team is assembled using pieces from the “reject pile”. They could be the dark horse of the AL.
Especially with another potential wildcard team, Detroit, apparently close to sell mode even though they have the same record as the M’s and are actually in their division race.
Detroit is not in sell mode, they just aren’t buyers. They will not abandon the goal to take the division and will not trade unless the overall team is improved for less cost.
Gary I am not going to argue with anything you just said. All I will say is, everything you just said I can say the same thing about the Angels.
Brugman’s done ok, but I’ve said it for years, in the A’s org your better off being the 25th best prospect than a top prospect. The top prospects never seem to get much of a chance
Their treatment of Matt Olson this year has been utterly horrible.