The A’s announced they’ve designated catcher Manny Piña for assignment in lieu of reinstating him from the 10-day injured list. Oakland selected the contract of infielder Tyler Wade with the vacated 40-man roster spot, optioning Kirby Snead in a corresponding move.
Piña came over from the Braves as a salary offset in the offseason Sean Murphy deal. Oakland agreed to take on Piña’s $4.5MM salary while hopefully breaking him as a veteran backup to Shea Langeliers. Unfortunately, the left wrist issues that cost Piña all but five games last season resurfaced. He lost the first couple months of this year, returned to appear in four games, then went back on the shelf.
The 36-year-old is apparently again healthy. Oakland since promoted top catching prospect Tyler Soderstrom to split time with Langeliers. With the A’s fully turned towards a youth movement, they no longer have space on the active roster for Piña.
He’ll quite likely be released in the next couple days. He’ll go unclaimed, leaving the A’s on the hook for the roughly $1.5MM still to be paid out. At that point, he could look for other opportunities in free agency.
Wade has shuffled on and off the Oakland roster a few times this season. The left-handed hitter carries a .255/.309/.314 line in 55 big league plate appearances. He’s hitting .251/.356/.318 at Triple-A Las Vegas.
It’s too bad Pina got hurt plus the A’s are going younger in light of their Vegas’ relocation. Good luck!
Pina was designated for assignment on Monday. Ruiz is scheduled to be reinstated from the injury list tomorrow, so I suspect Tyler Wade will be back on the DF A Highway within 48 hours.
Father Time trying to tell ya to retire with that wrist pina. He’s a solid backup for sure but only if he remains healthy, which clearly is an issue