The Athletics announced that they have designated left-hander Ken Waldichuk for assignment. That open a 40-man spot for infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil, whom they acquired from the Mets today.
Waldichuk, 28 in January, was once a notable prospect with the Yankees. He was flipped to the A’s as part of the 2022 deadline deal sending Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Bronx. Waldichuk had a somewhat encouraging debut with the A’s in 2022, making seven starts with a 4.93 earned run average, 22.6% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate.
His results backed up in 2023 with a 5.36 ERA in 141 innings. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since then, having undergone Tommy John surgery in May of 2024. In July of this year, he was activated from the injured list and optioned to the minors. He posted an 8.17 ERA in his minor league outings in 2025, walking 15.9% of batters faced. He qualified for arbitration at season’s end as a Super Two player. He and the A’s avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $825K next year, a bit above the $780K league minimum.
DFA limbo normally lasts a week but that clock is paused between Christmas and New Year’s. The A’s will have some time to either trade Waldichuk or put him on waivers. This year’s results weren’t great but he could perhaps see improved numbers when he’s further removed from his surgery. He still has a couple of options, so he could appeal to clubs who are looking for pitching depth and have a roster spot for a reclamation project.
If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he would not have the right to elect free agency since he does not have three years of service time nor does he have a previous career outright. If that comes to pass, the A’s can try to get him back on track without him taking up a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images
Oh, when he was the jewel of the Montas trade
Which is funny, since JP Sears had more value.
That’s good news for Yankee fans. Montas was a huge bust. FYI. The jewel of that trade was JP Sears.
The upsides of Waldichuk and Medina were the “it” factor of the trade. Sears was a functional 4/5 and he fulfilled that for the most part.
Might be a good depth piece for Texas. Since he has options just a minimal risk.
Go get him cards
He can help cards stay in the basement of the division.
I’m betting that’s what they are hoping for, for the next couple years at least while they are rebuilding.
As bad as it worked out for NY, nothing of value was lost in the trade.
@Stud. Still goes down along with Gallo very bad trades
Unless Volpe gets back on the progress train, Smith was a better pick in the 2nd round that year than Volpe in the 1st. Gallo trade is much worse in my opinion. He was healthy and sucked.
You guys took TJ Sikkema between Volpe and Smith, what’s he up to? Genuinely curious; he fell off my radar.
Edit- found out he’s a MiLB FA. Interesting!
Between the ’20 shutdown and shoulder issues he’s never got going. He was the 2nd player they chose over Gunner Henderson in that draft. Sheesh.
Jays could use a LH fireballer as depth. plus give him a splitter and he could be deadly
I wouldn’t mind the Yankees exploring a reunion with Waldichuk. He has potential if he could stay healthy
Astros should take him as a reclamation project.
So, we keep Max Schuemann over Susac and Waldichuk ?
I don’t get it. Somebody explain the madness.
Schuemann wasn’t going to play a lot and even less now with McNeil.
1B & SS: Kurtz & Wilson
3B & 2B: McNeil, Harris, Hernaiz, Gelof, Muncy, DeVries
Schuemann batted .197 last year. Does he have Blackmail material on Forst ?
I think they will ultimately regret not protecting Susac.
See you in Padres spring training. Bring the kid home.
He still has 2 options left so he has flexibility.
Pretty much every team should kick the tires on Waldichuk. I can see him going Padres or Yankees, but he won’t last long in DFA limbo.
I don’t even think he will get there on the waiver wires.
I’d take a flyer of Waldichuk as another lefty in the pen for sure.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t find a spot for Waldichuk. Sure he got cooked in Vegas last year but most pitchers get torched there plus he was coming off an injury layoff.
A’s have a history of letting go of good arms with zero return. Off the top of my head Grant Holmes, Jared Koenig, Chad Patrick, Kyle Finnegan. Someone will claim Chuk and IMHO turn him into a solid backend SP.
Right. It takes 3 years to fully recover from TJS. Look a Strider’s or Alcantara’s struggles last year. No ones giving up on them. Waldy’s never had their success, but the potential is still there.
Yeah, I don’t get why they wouldn’t let him pitch more in double or even single A, PCL is a joke.
They played in East-East Oakland… not Vegas, Niner!
Any team that thinks the A’s pitcher development system is bad should give him a look. He could be another Kevin Gaussman or Jake Arietta.
Someone will want home he is a left with team control.
Yup. He’s still got 3 years of club control remaining. For a team that’s supposedly “weak” on pitching it’s crazy they let him go like this.
That Montas trade mostly ended as a lose-lose. A’s got the slightly better end because Sears was an okay 5th starter-innings eater type who helped them get Leo De Vries,
Please marlins… especially after Ronny
Here’s another guy for the Guardians to put on their roster for 3 days.
The Rockies should never let him get to the #2 waiver team, but I doubt they will claim him. They rarely use the waiver wire, but when they do it they are usually claiming from another NL West team.
But with the new front office, who knows? They haven’t really done anything yet, so I cannot really tell how they are going to play the game.
He’d be a perfect low-risk arm for them and spending last year in the PCL should at least prepare him mentally for pitching in Coors. I’m guessing he gets claimed by either Atlanta, STL, Baltimore, or even Tampa. I have a hard time seeing all 30 teams pass him up.