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A’s Designate Noah Murdock For Assignment

By Anthony Franco | May 9, 2025 at 4:13pm CDT

The A’s designated Rule 5 pick Noah Murdock for assignment, relays Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. Righty Elvis Alvarado was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his spot in the bullpen. Alvarado is already on the 40-man roster, so the move drops their count to 39.

Murdock, 26, was the fourth player selected in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. (The A’s had the fifth pick, but Colorado passed at #2.) The A’s took the reliever out of the Kansas City farm system. Murdock divided his 2024 season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. He worked to a 2.22 earned run average over 24 1/3 innings at the former level. Murdock posted a 3.76 ERA through 38 1/3 frames in Triple-A. He combined for a 27% strikeout rate and a huge 59.7% ground-ball percentage, though that came with an alarming 15.4% walk rate.

The 6’8″ righty broke camp and has made his first 14 big league appearances. They haven’t gone well, as he’s been blitzed for 25 runs across 17 1/3 innings. The free passes have remained far too problematic. Murdock has walked 20 batters and hit two more among the 98 he has faced. The grounder rates that have been his calling card in the minors haven’t been there against big league competition. Murdock posted a 42.6% ground-ball percentage and a 21.4% strikeout rate — both decent numbers but not nearly enough to offset the free passes.

Teams must keep their Rule 5 picks on the major league roster or injured list for the entire season to gain their long-term contractual rights. The A’s are out to a solid 20-18 start and at the very least look like a fringe Wild Card contender. They decided they could no longer afford to devote a middle relief spot to a pitcher who was struggling to such an extent.

The A’s will trade Murdock or, much more likely, place him on waivers in the next few days. That’ll give the rest of the league an opportunity to acquire him, though they’d assume the same Rule 5 obligations if they do so. If Murdock clears waivers, the A’s would need to offer him back to the Royals for $50K. (Teams pay the former club $100K when they make a Rule 5 pick.) Kansas City would not need to put him on the 40-man roster and could return him to the minor league ranks, probably back in Omaha.

Alvarado receives the first major league call of his career. The 26-year-old righty signed a split major league contract with the Pirates at the start of the offseason. He didn’t last the entire winter on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, but the A’s claimed him off waivers in January. He’s out to a decent start in Las Vegas, tallying 15 2/3 frames of eight-run ball in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He has recorded 22 strikeouts against four walks while picking up five saves in 14 appearances. His fastball is averaging a blistering 99 MPH. Alvarado has been prone to walks for most of his career, but he’s a power arm with a track record of missing bats in the minors.

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Kansas City Royals Oakland Athletics Transactions Elvis Alvarado Noah Murdock

Angels Select Shaun Anderson, Transfer Ben Joyce To 60-Day IL
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Blue Jays Select Michael Stefanic, DFA Dillon Tate, Place Andrés Giménez On IL
View Comments (10)
Post a Comment

10 Comments

  1. ItsMillerTime

    1 week ago

    It’s a miracle! On a serious note, he has decent stuff, but absolutely no ability to aim. I wish him luck, but I just don’t think it was ever going to work for him with the A’s.

    Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      1 week ago

      Murdock!

      Love it when a plan comes together A’s-team style!

      Reply
  2. Steinbrenner2728

    1 week ago

    I heard the A-Team is thinking of getting together again…

    Reply
    • PhilliesBob1980

      1 week ago

      My thoughts exactly. I love it when a plan comes together.

      Reply
  3. Non Roster Invitee

    1 week ago

    When Murdoch was bad he was awful.He did pick up a major league win though. Big upgrade with Alvarado.
    These A’s are fun to listen to!

    Reply
  4. Well said.

    1 week ago

    When you take on a rule 5 pick you have to be ready to work with them all year. Otherwise you are just tying up a 26 man roster spot. A few years ago the Marniers took Will Vest from Detroit. They worked with him for half a year before he went on waivers. When Detroit got him back he was greatly improved. The Tigers sent him Toledo for a short time then it was up to the majors. Today he is one of the best mid to closer relievers in baseball.

    2
    Reply
  5. A's Fan

    1 week ago

    that close to being DFA’d and Kotsay brought him in the protect a 1 run lead in the 8th wednesday night with both Sterner and Holman available and Miller available for the 9th. It was a stunning brain freeze by Kotsay who doesn’t have many.

    1
    Reply
    • oaklandfan22

      1 week ago

      Yeah that was ridiculous

      Reply
    • Datashark

      1 week ago

      he probably figured he cannot give up a home run in this outing.

      Reply
  6. Datashark

    1 week ago

    Was it because of the 20 walks in 21 innings and/or the 25 ER?!

    C’mon all those earned runs had to be semi-worked for as he gave up ZERO HRs!!!!

    Reply

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