The Athletics have placed infielder Vimael Machin on the injured list and selected the contract of veteran infielder Pete Kozma from Triple-A Las Vegas, per a club announcement. Oakland didn’t provide an injury designation for Machin, which suggests he’s been placed on the Covid-19-related injured list. He won’t count against the 40-man roster while on that list.
Kozma, 33, will be returning to the big leagues for the first time since 2018. He’s logged 113 games with the A’s top affiliate in 2021 and posted a .244/.307/.337 batting line in 500 trips to the plate.
Offense has never been a strong point for Kozma, a defensive standout with the Cardinals from 2011-15. Kozma was the everyday shortstop in St. Louis in 2013, when the Cardinals made it to Game 6 of the World Series before falling to the Red Sox. Outside of that season, however, Kozma has been primarily used as a bench piece or an up-and-down depth option. He’s only topped 100 plate appearances twice in his career: 2013 (448 plate appearances) and 2015 (111).
It’ll likely be a short stay on Oakland’s 40-man roster for the veteran Kozma, but the A’s are in need of some infield help with Machin on the injured list and with primary shortstop Elvis Andrus sustaining a fractured fibula that required surgery. He can handle any of shortstop, second base or third base over the final weekend’s worth of games. Kozma technically remains arbitration-eligible now that he’s on the roster, but it’s quite possible he’ll simply be outrighted and become a free agent at season’s end.
I think I know who the Angels new shortstop is for 2022!
Machin is on IL with non covid-19 related stomach illness.
Pete Kozma, the man who sent the Nationals home in the 2012 NLDS.
“Welcome my son, welcome to the Machin
Where have you been? It’s all right, we know where you’ve been!”
It wasn’t an infield fly!
Says he is only 33, but it sure feels like he’s older than that. Good for him for grinding it out and getting back to The Show, even if it’s only for this weekend.
Yeah, Pete’s probably the Ross Detwiler of position players for me. I could swear that both of them are around 50.
Not an A’s fan but I’m pleased with this news
If I was the A’s, I’d had given a taste to glove sensation Nick Allen who’s surely to be into account in 2022 as Elvis Andrus is more suitable for a bench role at this point. With so many arbitration eligible players – some free agents too – imminent changes are looming, It will be quite the winter for the Oakland A’s.
Call up Nick Allen for a weekend to start the arbitration clock early? So, blow a few hundred thousand dollars (maybe millions) for a 3 game series?
F*** Pete Kozma
– Nats fans
Still get flashbacks to that game
I love it!!!!
Finally. It’s Kozma time!!!!