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Joe Boyle To Begin Season In A’s Rotation

By Nick Deeds | March 26, 2024 at 11:47pm CDT

A’s right-hander Joe Boyle is set to open the season in the Oakland rotation, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle) this evening. He’ll be the club’s fifth starter behind veterans Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, and Paul Blackburn as well as southpaw JP Sears.

Boyle, 24, was a fifth-round pick by the Reds in the 2020 draft and made his big league debut with the A’s back in September. The hulking 6’7”, 240-pound hurler made the most of a three-start cup of coffee down the stretch in 2023 as he pitched to a sterling 1.69 ERA with a 3.13 FIP across 16 innings of work. In that time, Boyle struck out 25% of batters faced while walking 8.3%. Both of those rates were noticeably lower than his minor league numbers. The right-hander’s powerful arsenal, headlined by a triple-digit fastball, allowed him to breeze through the minor leagues with a career 35.4% strikeout rate at the time of his call-up. That being said, he also struggled badly with his control throughout his time in the minors; his MLB debut was the first time he had walked less than 10% of the batters he faced at any level since his seven-inning stint in rookie ball back in 2021.

Given the excellent start to his big league career back in September, it’s perhaps not a shock to see the A’s offer him a chance to claim a more permanent spot in the rotation to open the season. With that being said, Boyle’s work this spring did little to inspire confidence in his ability to maintain his command as a starting pitcher. Boyle posted a worrisome 5.89 ERA across six starts and 18 1/3 innings of work this spring. While spring training stats typically aren’t particularly indicative of regular season performance, the fact that Boyle walked a whopping 15 batters during camp is sure to raise some eyebrows in conjunction with the control issues he demonstrated during his time in the minor leagues.

It’s not the first time in recent years the A’s have offered a high-octane arm with concerns regarding his command a spot in their Opening Day rotation; right-hander Shintaro Fujinami signed with the club out of Japan last winter and four disastrous starts with the club before being moved to the bullpen. Fujinami walked 12 batters while posting a 14.40 ERA in 15 innings of work across those four turns through the rotation, but after his pronounced struggles to begin the season managed to settle into a bullpen role with a 3.94 ERA and 3.71 FIP in his final 48 frames last year. Should Boyle falter during his time in the rotation, the A’s could take a similar route and see how he performs in relief if they don’t decide to simply option the youngster to the minors and allow him to continue working on his command as a starter.

On the other hand, if Boyle is able to maintain anything close to his big league debut over a full season in 2024, the deadline deal the A’s swung to acquire him from the Reds in exchange for lefty reliever Sam Moll would be nothing short of a coup. Gordon Wittnmyer of the Cincinnati Inquirer discussed this evening the circumstances surrounding the deal, adding that the Reds initially rebuffed Oakland’s proposal of Boyle as the return in a Moll trade with A’s GM David Forst acknowledging that Cincinnati declined to include Boyle “a couple of times” before eventually agreeing to the swap.

Had the Reds not come back to the negotiating table, Wittenmyer notes, it’s possible that Moll could have wound up pitching for the Cubs down the stretch last year. Wittenmyer reports that the club believed they were close to finalizing their own deal for Moll before Oakland landed Boyle. Moll, 32, enjoyed a dominant stretch run of his own with Cincinnati last fall as he pitched to a microscopic 0.73 ERA in 25 appearances with the Reds following the deal. Moll was slowed by shoulder soreness throughout camp this spring and stands to open the season on the injured list but figures to play a key role in the Cincinnati bullpen this season once healthy alongside the likes of Alexis Diaz and Emilio Pagan.

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Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Oakland Athletics Joe Boyle Sam Moll

Blue Jays Option Yariel Rodriguez
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The Opener: D-backs, Orioles, Opening Day Rosters
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11 Comments

  1. Rudy Zolteck

    1 year ago

    I mean, you really don’t have other options, do you? May as well keep trying to get Medina/Waldichuk/Boyle to stick at this point. Only way to go is up (or for Boyle, down, out, in, over the ump’s head, into the dirt, into the on-deck circle…)

    3
    Reply
  2. earmbrister

    1 year ago

    The Durham Bull was taking too much of a beating/beaning so the A’s were forced to promote Boyle.

    Reply
    • n888

      1 year ago

      Drafted him in a deep keeper league hoping for a right handed Randy Johnson

      1
      Reply
  3. julyn82001

    1 year ago

    Tremendous live arm, Joe will be fun to watch pitching for the young promising A’s…

    3
    Reply
  4. jmaggio76

    1 year ago

    with that being said…. that being said…

    Reply
    • draker

      1 year ago

      The likes of, the likes of… dude needs to master some new phrases.

      2
      Reply
      • jmaggio76

        1 year ago

        Seriously lol

        Reply
  5. Big whiffa

    1 year ago

    Nice even trade ! Quality cheap controllable bullpen arm for a live wire arm with no floor

    1
    Reply
  6. harrycarey

    1 year ago

    Nothing better than GW running the Cubs and now the Reds. Ol’ Jed has to be happy that he left Chicago.

    Reply
  7. cinredsfan

    1 year ago

    I didn’t like the trade then, nor do I now like it.
    Could be a major blunder moving Boyle. At worst Boyle was a closer who walked the bases loaded, but got 3 strikouts.

    Reply
    • FromTheCheapSeats

      1 year ago

      Agreed.

      I was STUNNED when the Reds made that deal.

      Reply

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