3:40pm: Martin Gallegos of MLB.com relays more information about Smith’s injury, which initially came without designation. It’s a bone bruise that Smith incurred during a slide on Monday night. He’ll be in a walking boot for an undetermined amount of time before returning to baseball activity.
1:39pm: The Athletics announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, with lefty A.J. Puk being reinstated from the Covid IL. Outfielder Mickey McDonald was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas. Infielder Kevin Smith went to the 10-day IL while southpaw Zach Logue was optioned to Las Vegas.
Puk was one of six A’s players who landed on the Covid IL on Monday, with no indication given at that time as to which players had actually tested positive and which were just close contacts or experiencing symptoms. With Puk being the first of that group to return, it’s possible that he was just a close contact and not one of the positive cases. Players who test positive are subject to a 10-day absence, though it’s possible to reduce that if the player has gone 24 or more hours without a fever, received a pair of negative PCR tests, and been given approval from a team physician and the MLB/MLBPA joint committee (a panel of one league-appointed and one union-appointed physician). Players who are experiencing symptoms but do not test positive can return in shorter order if their symptoms abate. The lefty had a rough season in 2021 but has started off well this year, throwing 4 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate.
As for McDonald, as soon as he gets into a game, it will be his MLB debut. Selected by the A’s in the 18th round of the 2017 draft, he was recently ranked as the #32 prospect in the Oakland system by Baseball America. BA’s report on the 26-year-old (27 in June) notes that he “fits the A’s mold as an older, under-the-radar performer without an obvious carrying tool.” They note that he gave up switch-hitting to hit exclusively as a lefty in 2021, with excellent results. In 106 games last year between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .305/.402/.390 for a wRC+ of 113. He’s never hit more than two homers in a minor league season, but has made up for that lack of pop with good plate discipline and some speed (18 steals last year). He can play all three outfield positions and even a bit of third base. For an Oakland club that traded away many of their established players, McDonald will join the group of inexperienced guys getting an audition to see what they can do.
Smith and Logue were both acquired by the A’s from the Blue Jays as part of the Matt Chapman trade. Smith is hitting .161/.212/.226 over 33 plate appearances so far this year. Logue has thrown 1 1/3 scoreless innings in his first taste of MLB action.
Always makes me smile to see a guy make his MLB debut, especially after a lengthy stay in the minors.
It is a rare chance to see a person’s dream come true right before your eyes.
*SACRAMENTO SQUIRRELS
Just here to say FU to John Fisher
Was just discussing with my dad, the new rule change sets up an even better rivalry in the bay that could’ve grown into even more history for the sport. But no. Sadly. Battle of the Bay will die.
Did the Stadium efforts in Oakland fall through? Does that mean they are heading to Las Vegas? Las Vegas Golden A’s? Because they would have to worry about being a small market team anymore.
A’s owners only care who will buy them a billion dollar stadium so Vegas looks like they are out of it because of Raiders 1.5 billion stadium took all the excess money.
And that’s the thing: Las Vegas (if they could theoretically have their own MLB franchise) will have the absolute dead-last TV Market in all of professional baseball. The A’s would be stupid enough to move to LV if they think they will have a better financial situation or long-term stay. Now one thing that should be noticed is there’s a good reason why MLB hasn’t had a relocation since 2004. (Albeit that most recent relocation didn’t even involve “TV Markets” or “fan apathy”). The A’s and pretty much all 30 teams could care less about how many fans actually come to the games. As long as an MLB teams fans have access to watching on TV or listening on the Radio, they’re already making a lot more money over that than relying on tickets and attendance. And the fact that MLB SUGGESTED the A’s to “inquire/look for” locations was pretty much desperate move to at least speed up the process of building their ballpark.
Vegas seems like a logic to place for any team to go too. MLB is trying to think out of the box on places to have teams/expansions. Vegas doesn’t have any close cities to compete with for “territorial rights”. Anaheim or Los Angeles are the closest main cities. Henderson, Nevada is the closest “city” in reality of a proximity 14 miles. California cities are 214+ miles away. That is including the drive over the mountain from California to Vegas. Anyways, Vegas is thriving and will get only bigger over the years. The growth in Las Vegas, is quite shocking. It’s nearly living like in Beverly Hills, CA but 5x bigger and flatter. Baseball is allowing gambling like NFL, NBA, and other sports. What better way to create revenue by building slot machines inside a baseball stadium? These days, slots can have a TV screen on them to watch the game as they spend 1,000 dollars on slots. There is other things a MLB could do that no other organization could or willing to do, pull tabs, betting, and/or 50/50. If any organization interested in Vegas, should battle the MLB and MLBPA for gambling license so they could thrive as a mid-market to “luxury” market like the Dodgers, Yankees, etc. It would be a huge battle for the organization to win over the commissioner of MLB and the owners, but it would create another revenue for other clubs. MLB needs to go with the changes and people would sit on the slot machines for hours with a beer, than to watch a 5 hour baseball game with a beer.
Its only short-time before they finally get to their future 3B Zach Gelof….
I would not expect to see Gelof in the majors this year.
Long season but playing well this early in the season. Go A’s (Fisher or not Fisher).
No idea why the A’s were/are acting like Kevin Smith is good? I feel like anyone at AAA can put up the same numbers. At least we didn’t trade a superstar or anything for him
Well, if any team is equipped to deal with COVID, it’s the A’s. When your attendance is less than 3,800 (as it was last night) social distancing is easy.