The Athletics announced a few roster moves today, with left-hander Easton Lucas and outfielder Lawrence Butler optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. To fill those roster spots, infielder Zack Gelof was reinstated from the 10-day injured list while lefty Brady Basso was recalled from Vegas. Basso will be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets into a game.
The Oakland pitching staff has been pretty beat-up lately, with Paul Blackburn and Joe Boyle each landing on the injured list in the past week-plus. Alex Wood is also battling a shoulder issue and may require an IL stint of his own.
Lucas was added to the club’s roster on May 8, less than a week ago, to provide a fresh arm to the staff. He was optioned three days later when the club promoted Joey Estes. But when Blackburn landed on the IL, Lucas was quickly recalled and proceeded to throw 39 pitches in relief last night. The lefty may have been unavailable for a day or two and the long relief options are limited, as Mitch Spence also threw last night and Kyle Muller tossed four innings in relief of Wood on Sunday.
Amid all of that, the club has decided to call up Basso for the first time. A 16th-round selection of the 2019 draft, he missed 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery but was back on the mound in 2023. He split his time between High-A and Double-A, tossing 63 1/3 innings with a 2.42 earned run average. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced while walking 6.2%.
The A’s added him to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He was sent back to Double-A and made six starts with a 2.84 ERA. He was recently promoted to Triple-A, with his first start at that level going poorly, allowing nine earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. That one rough outing aside, he’s been in good form this year and will now gets his first call to the majors.
Eh yeah ok go A’s…
Congrats & best of luck Brady! That first callup is special.
This is a lesson for parents, tie your child’s right arm behind their back from birth. If they grow up to throw left handed – they, too, could wind up pitching at the major league level.
In my childhood my aunt told my mother to tie my left hand so I could only use my right. I was always wanting to use my left. So I blame my aunt for for me not making it as a pitcher. If she had any money I would’ve sued her.
“This is a lesson for parents”…Why teach your kid to be a lefty when the biggest contracts(by far)always seem to go to right handed pitchers(Gerrit Cole=$324M, Yamamoto=$325M, Ohtani=$700M & S.Strasburg=$245M)..The biggest contracts to leftys(I believe)went to D.Price @ $217M & Kershaw @ $215M)
Most likely cause there’s way more righties than lefties.
Exactly. More RH batters need to be retired than LH ones. I’m mostly joking and having fun while also pointing out that the biggest $ goes to righties.
Because you can stink and still get a job in MLB as a LHP.
This 16th round draft pick will no doubt be a big draw for a’s fans … I wonder if they will need to take the tarps sections 1-52 to accommodate everyone.
Nice! 21st ranked prospect in the A’s farm system.
The jokes will write themselves if Basso pitches poorly
Basso proved himself with his promotion to AAA and a 34.71 ERA. Ten hits in 2.1 innings and nine runs. Impressive.
More seriously, the PCL, coupled with the automated strike zone, might actually mean the major leagues, especially with Oakland as the home park, might be more forgiving for pitchers.
Depp just bought a place right next to the Coliseum to live in.
Reason #108 that the Athletics should be doing everything they possibly can to stay in Oakland at all costs.
I want what you’re smoking
A’s fans, Phillies offer you Johan Rojas, Darrick Hall & Mick Abel for Mason Miller & JJ Bleday.
Does your GM consider that offer?
I think its a hard no on Rojas and Hall. They would want younger prospects and not necessarily MLB ready players. Abel is a good start to a deal.