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Tony Kemp Elects Free Agency

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Veteran infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp has elected to become a free agent after clearing outright waivers, the Orioles announced.  Kemp was designated for assignment earlier this week, and he has enough MLB service time to request a return to the open market rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

Kemp could now be joining his third team in less than two months.  The Reds inked Kemp to a minor league deal in February but then released him on March 19, so the 32-year-old a bit of an early start ahead of the wave of players cut loose at the end of spring camps.  The Orioles ended up signing Kemp to a guaranteed deal worth $1MM, making for a decent payday for what ended up as five games for Kemp in a Baltimore uniform.  A new team that signs Kemp would only owe him the prorated minimum salary for his time on a big league roster, while the O’s are on the hook for whatever remains of the $1MM.

Apart from two innings at shortstop, Kemp has played exclusively as a second baseman and left fielder over the last five seasons.  Kemp has hit .238/.329/.342 over 1498 plate appearances in that same span, though even that modest production is largely carried by a solid 2021 campaign.  Since Opening Day 2022, Kemp has hit only .222/.304/.318 in 987 PA with the Athletics and Orioles.

Despite this lack of recent production, Kemp’s versatility, left-handed bat, and reputation as a clubhouse leader earned him some attention from multiple teams this past offseason, so it seems likely that he’ll land elsewhere in pretty short order.  Speculatively speaking, a return to Cincinnati might make sense, given how the Reds’ once-vaunted position-player depth has continued to take hits since Kemp was released.

Orioles Acquire Yohan Ramirez From Mets

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The Orioles have acquired reliever Yohan Ramírez from the Mets for cash, the teams announced. New York had designated the righty for assignment on Monday. Baltimore’s 40-man roster now sits at capacity.

Ramírez spent a couple months in the New York organization. The Mets acquired him from the White Sox in a cash deal in December. He held his spot on the 40-man roster for the rest of the offseason and broke camp. A pair of rough outings quickly squeezed him off the big league team, though. After recording one out in a scoreless appearance in his season debut, he allowed seven runs on nine hits over his next five innings.

The 28-year-old has played for five teams over the past four-plus seasons. Ramírez has tallied 129 1/3 innings at the highest level, turning in a reasonable 4.31 ERA. He has punched out a decent 23.1% of batters faced, yet he’s also struggled to throw strikes consistently. Ramírez has walked over 12% of big league opponents. The sinkerballer induced grounders at a huge 58.4% rate last season but has posted more pedestrian ground-ball numbers in every other year.

While his stuff has clearly intrigued a handful of teams, Ramírez’s scattershot command has made him something of a volatile middle reliever. Perhaps more importantly, he’s also out of minor league options. Teams can’t send him to Triple-A without first running him through waivers, which no club has yet achieved.

Baltimore entered the day with a pair of openings on the 40-man roster. They snagged infielder Livan Soto off waivers this afternoon before their evening bullpen pickup. Neither move comes at much cost, although the O’s will need to devote an MLB bullpen spot to Ramírez once he reports to the team.

The Orioles already have four relievers on the active roster who can’t be sent down: Craig Kimbrel, Mike Baumann, Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb. They’re not likely to send down any of Yennier Cano, Keegan Akin or Dillon Tate, while Jonathan Heasley is working as a long reliever. That’s a tough bullpen for Ramírez to crack, so it’s not out of the question that Baltimore tries to sneak him through waivers themselves in the next few days.

Orioles Claim Liván Soto Off Waivers From Angels

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The Angels announced that infielder Liván Soto has been claimed off waivers by the Orioles while right-hander Zach Plesac has been sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week. The Orioles had two open spots on their 40-man roster, which is now at 39. The O’s also announced their claim of Soto, noting that he has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

This is the second time the Orioles have claimed Soto off waivers from the Angels this year. The first came back in February, though the Angels were able to claim him right back that same month, just over a week later. But now Soto is going from the Angels’ roster to the Orioles’ roster yet again.

Soto, 24 in June, has excelled in the majors so far, though in a small sample. He has slashed .375/.414/.531 in his 71 plate appearances in the big leagues. His minor league track record doesn’t suggest he can maintain anything close to that kind of production. In 1,505 trips to the plate on the farm since the start of 2021, he has a combined batting line of .246/.340/.355 for a wRC+ of 86.

Despite that subpar offensive output, he has other attributes. He had a bit of speed, racking up double-digit stolen base totals in the minors in 2021 and 2022, and has enough versatility to play the two middle infield spots or third base.

The Orioles have an infield filled with young talent, including Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday up the middle. Ryan Mountcastle has been getting most of the playing time at first base this year while Jordan Westburg and Ramón Urías have been sharing third base and Jorge Mateo is on hand as a bench/utility option.

The recent promotion of Holliday likely left the O’s with a spot on the Tides for Soto and they had two open spots on the 40-man, so it’s understandable why they would put in a claim and add some extra depth. Soto is still young and has another option year remaining after this one, so he can theoretically continue serving as a depth option well into the future if he continues to hang onto his 40-man spot. Though the O’s also have a penchant for claiming guys and trying to run them through waivers later, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Soto sent down that path at some point.

As for Plesac, 29, he seemed to be emerging as a viable big league starter with Cleveland a few years ago. He had a 3.32 earned run average over 29 starts in 2019 and 2020, but his ERA climbed over the next two seasons, a combined 4.49 in 2021 and 2022. His first five starts in 2023 led to an awful 7.59 ERA and he lost his roster spot with the Guardians.

The Halos signed him to a $1MM deal this winter but put him on waivers after just two Triple-A starts and none of the other 29 clubs put in a claim. Since he has over three years of big league service time, he can technically reject this outright assignment and elect free agency. But since he doesn’t have five years of service time, doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his salary, so it seems fair to expect him to accept it and stay with the Halos as non-roster depth.

Kyle Bradish To Begin Rehab Assignment

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The Orioles announced yesterday that Kyle Bradish has joined the squad at High-A Aberdeen and will begin a rehab assignment soon. He’s been on the 15-day injured list since the beginning of the season.

The news is surely pleasant for fans of the O’s, especially considering where things stood just a couple of months ago. Back in the middle of February, Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Since that is the ligament that is repaired in Tommy John surgery, many began to fret that Bradish would need to go under the knife and miss the entire 2024 season and perhaps even part of 2025 as well.

Instead, Bradish received a platelet-rich plasma injection and began a throwing program. Just a few weeks after the initial diagnosis of the sprain, general manager Mike Elias relayed that subsequent MRIs had shown “accelerated healing” of the ligament. The fact that he’s now set to embark on a rehab assignment suggests that things have continued to progress in a positive direction.

The Orioles went into the offseason with a strong roster but the rotation was clearly a relatively weaker part of it. They did make a huge trade to acquire Corbin Burnes but the group still felt a bit lackluster, especially since the O’s could have done more. With a farm system that’s considered by some to be the best in the league and almost no future payroll commitments, they could have done more trading or made a splash in free agency. The latter scenario was especially open to the O’s as starting pitchers languished on the open market well after Bradish’s injury diagnosis, including big names like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery or even back-of-the-rotation types like Michael Lorenzen.

The injury to Bradish and the continued absence of John Means left Baltimore with a rotation of Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin to open the year. Last year, Irvin had a 4.81 ERA as a starter and got moved to the bullpen frequently. Wells had a 3.64 ERA last year but with an unsustainable .200 batting average on balls in play and 82.6% strand rate, which is why his 4.98 FIP and 4.19 SIERA weren’t as impressive.

With Bradish now on the mend, that group will be bolstered in a few weeks, assuming everything goes smooth with the rehab. Bradish had a 2.98 ERA last year over his 30 starts. He combined a 25% strikeout rate with a 6.6% walk rate and 49.2% ground ball rate, with all three of those being a few ticks better than league average. The O’s have not moved him to the 60-day IL, so he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s healthy.

If Bradish returns and the other arms in the rotation are also healthy, the club will have to make a decision about who to bump out. Irvin is out of options but he could perhaps move to a long relief role in the bullpen if he’s the one squeezed out of the rotation.

Orioles Designate Tony Kemp For Assignment

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The Orioles announced this morning that veteran infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to the game’s No. 1 overall prospect, Jackson Holliday, whose previously reported promotion to the majors has now been officially announced by the team.

The veteran Kemp only signed with the O’s two weeks ago. He spent spring training with the Reds but was granted his release after he didn’t make the roster. He signed a big league deal with Baltimore on March 26 but went 0-for-10 with a walk and a strikeout in his limited time on Baltimore’s roster.

From 2020-22, the now-32-year-old Kemp was a solid contributor with the A’s. He split time between second base and left field, turning in a .252/.341/.361 slash (105 wRC+). Kemp lacks power but has superlative contact skills and keen plate discipline, evidenced by 12.5% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate during that three-year stretch (and by his career 10.1% walk rate and 13.3% strikeout rate).

The 2023 season was one of Kemp’s worst since debuting with the Astros back in 2016, however. He played 124 games with the A’s and picked up 419 plate appearances but mustered only a .209/.303/.304 slash (77 wRC+). Kemp struck out in a career-low 9.5% of his plate appearances and swiped a career-high 15 bases (in 19 attempts), but those silver linings don’t outweigh his broader-reaching struggles at the dish.

In 2247 career plate appearances at the MLB level, Kemp is a .237/.324/.351 hitter. He’s drawn roughly average defensive grades in left field and has typically been an average or better defender at second base, though metrics like Defensive Runs Saved (-9) and Outs Above Average (0) were down on his glovework in last year’s sample of 410 innings at the position.

The Orioles will have a week to trade Kemp, place him on outright waivers or release him. For veterans of this status, a release is most common, though it’s possible a team in need of some infield depth could look at the affordable nature of Kemp’s $1MM contract with the O’s and work out a small trade (likely for cash).

Orioles To Promote Jackson Holliday

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MLB’s top prospect is set to make his debut. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (X link) that the O’s plan to call up Jackson Holliday. The team has yet to announce the move.

Holliday, the #1 overall pick in 2022, has destroyed minor league pitching. Despite being a high school draftee, he reaches the majors after just a year and a half in the minor leagues. The lefty-hitting infielder traversed four levels in his first full professional season. Holliday raked at a .323/.442/.499 clip over 581 plate appearances last season. He spent the majority of that time between High-A and Double-A but made it to the top minor league level late in the year.

That meteoric rise made it seem that the Oklahoma native had a real chance to break camp. That didn’t happen, as Baltimore reassigned Holliday back to Triple-A Norfolk late in Spring Training. The 20-year-old has opened the year on a tear as part of a loaded Tides lineup. He’d collected 13 hits (including four doubles and a pair of home runs) with 11 walks and eight strikeouts over his first nine games.

The son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, Jackson owns an excellent .321/.452/.497 batting line through 154 minor league games. In addition to his stellar offensive track record, he offers plenty of defensive value as an above-average or better middle infielder. Holliday has primarily played shortstop in the minors, but the O’s used him mostly at second base in Spring Training. Seven of his nine starts in Norfolk this year have come at the keystone, where he seems likely to break into the big leagues.

Holliday’s well-rounded profile has made him an essentially unanimous choice as the game’s best minor league talent. It’s the third straight season in which the O’s entered the year with a player whom most evaluators consider the sport’s top prospect. Holliday will now join Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and plenty more talented young players at Camden Yards. He should pair with Henderson in what has the chance to be a franchise-defining middle infield.

Baltimore has relied on Jordan Westburg — himself a former first-round pick and highly-regarded prospect — as their primary second baseman in the early going. The Mississippi State product has started slowly, hitting .195/.242/.355 through his first nine games. Westburg could slide over to third base if the O’s want to keep him in the everyday lineup. Ramón Urías and Tony Kemp, each of whom is on the roster as a multi-positional infielder, have struggled (albeit in exceedingly small samples). Westburg still has options remaining and could theoretically be sent back to Norfolk; the Orioles would need to designate Urías or Kemp for assignment to take either player off the big league club.

The O’s will likely reveal the corresponding move tomorrow. Holliday is not yet on the 40-man roster, but Baltimore has two vacancies. Unless they DFA a player who can’t be optioned, they’ll only need to clear active roster space. Whatever the transaction, Holliday will step into the lineup on an everyday basis.

The timing of the promotion surely isn’t coincidental. By calling Holliday up before the end of this week, the O’s are still in position to afford him a full year of service time. A player is credited with a full service year if they’re on an MLB roster or injured list for at least 172 days. Despite his two-week stint in the minors, Holliday will narrowly surpass that mark if he’s in the majors for good.

Promoting a top prospect just before the cutoff for a full service year would’ve been unlikely under the previous collective bargaining agreement. It was more common to see teams hold down their top talents until a bit past that date to secure an extra year of contractual control. The 2022-26 CBA introduced the Prospect Promotion Incentive to reduce the temptation for teams to keep their best young players in the minor leagues.

The PPI allows the Orioles to potentially win a draft choice if Holliday hits the ground running. A top position player prospect who accrues a full service year as a rookie (even if he’s not on the Opening Day roster) would earn his team an extra pick after the first round if he wins Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top three in MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons. Holliday still meets that criteria. The O’s already earned an extra pick in the 2024 draft when Henderson won Rookie of the Year last season. If Holliday also pulls off that feat (or hits the more difficult MVP finish within his first three years), Baltimore would get another pick.

Had the Orioles waited beyond this week to promote Holliday, they’d have forfeited the chance at the PPI selection. Keeping him in Triple-A for another few days would’ve prevented him from reaching a full year of service through the traditional method, but a top prospect can also “earn” a full service year with a top-two finish in Rookie of the Year balloting regardless of when he was promoted. If the O’s called Holliday up in May, for instance, he could have played his way to a full service year through his ROY finish without netting the organization the extra pick. That played out in 2022, when Rutschman finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting despite being called up in late May.

There’s an argument that the Orioles should simply have carried Holliday on the Opening Day roster. GM Mike Elias pointed to the youngster’s limited experience at second base and facing left-handed pitching as reasons for starting him in Norfolk. A combination of Holliday’s torrid start there and middling production from their MLB infielders led the front office to reverse course rather quickly.

If Holliday is in the majors for good, he’d first reach arbitration after the 2026 season. He’d be under team control through the ’29 campaign. Any future assignments to the minor leagues could push that trajectory back, but the O’s and their fans are surely hopeful that won’t be necessary now that Holliday is getting his first look at big league arms.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Orioles Trade Diego Castillo To Twins

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve traded minor league infielder/outfielder Diego Castillo to the Twins in exchange for cash. He’s not to be confused with veteran reliever Diego Castillo — the former Mariners/Rays closer and setup man who also joined the Twins on a minor league deal last week.

This latest trade will bring the younger, 26-year-old Castillo to the Twins. It was an eventful offseason for the versatile utilityman, who bounced from the D-backs, to the Mets, to the Yankees, to the Phillies, to the Orioles via the DFA carousel in a span of about two months. The Orioles finally succeeded in sneaking Castillo through waivers back in February, retaining him without needing to dedicate a spot on the 40-man roster. He’ll now join an incredible sixth organization in the past four months. Since the O’s outrighted Castillo back in February, he won’t need to go onto the Twins’ 40-man roster and can head right to their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul.

Castillo spent the 2023 season with the D-backs organization but only appeared in one big league game and went hitless in his only plate appearance. He’d picked up 283 plate appearances with the Pirates a year prior but managed only a .206/.251/.382 batting line in what was his MLB debut effort.

The majority of Castillo’s 2023 season was spent with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno, where he posted an excellent .313/.431/.410 slash with more walks (17.4%) than strikeouts (14.2%) in 556 plate appearances. He played second base, shortstop, third base and left field in Reno. Castillo has played 177 career games in Triple-A and is a .296/.410/.407 hitter.

Castillo doesn’t have much power but has long drawn praise for his plus hit tool, which is evidenced by his minimal strikeout rates. He pairs that with a keen eye at the plate, a bit of speed and plenty of defensive versatility, even if he’s not regarded as a plus defender anywhere on the diamond. The Twins recently lost third baseman Royce Lewis to a quad strain, and top infield prospect Brooks Lee is out until late April due to a back injury. They recalled prospect Austin Martin to replace Lewis on the big league roster, and his departure from St. Paul, coupled with Lee’s injury, likely pushed the Twins to acquire some additional depth in the form of Castillo.

Larry Lucchino Passes Away

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Former Red Sox, Padres and Orioles president Larry Lucchino passed away Tuesday at 78, his family announced. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred issued the following statement in a press release:

“Larry Lucchino was one of the most accomplished executives that our industry has ever had. He was deeply driven, he understood baseball’s place in our communities, and he had a keen eye for executive talent. Larry’s vision for Camden Yards played a vital role in advancing fan-friendly ballparks across the game. He followed up by overseeing the construction of Petco Park, which remains a jewel of the San Diego community. Then Larry teamed with John Henry and Tom Werner to produce the most successful era in Red Sox history, which included historic World Series Championships on the field and a renewed commitment to Fenway Park. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my condolences to Larry’s family, his Red Sox colleagues and his many friends throughout our National Pastime.”

Lucchino spent six years as the Orioles’ president, from 1988-93, before spending seven years as the Padres’ president and CEO (1995-2001) and 14 years as the president and CEO of the Red Sox (2002-15). He’s widely credited with the visions behind Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Petco Park in San Diego, both of which were constructed during his time as president for those respective franchises. His 14-year run with the Red Sox included Boston’s curse-breaking 2004 World Series championship and subsequent World Series victories in 2007 and in 2013.

After stepping down from his role following the 2015 season, Lucchino remained connected to the franchise as a partial owner of the Sox’ Triple-A club and the president and CEO emeritus of Fenway Sports Group. A three-time cancer survivor, Lucchino also became the chairman of the Jimmy Fund in 2016 — a charity that has raised millions of dollars for Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through various community-based fundraising events.

“Larry’s career unfolded like a playbook of triumphs, marked by transformative moments that reshaped ballpark design, enhanced the fan experience, and engineered the ideal conditions for championships wherever his path led him, and especially in Boston,” Red Sox owner John Henry said in a statement this morning. “Yet, perhaps his most enduring legacy lies in the remarkable people he helped assemble at the Red Sox, all of whom are a testament to his training, wisdom, and mentorship. Many of them continue to shape the organization today, carrying forward the same vigor, vitality, and cherished sayings that were hallmarks of Larry’s personality. Larry was a formidable opponent in any arena, and while he battled hard, he always maintained the utmost respect for a worthy adversary and found genuine joy in sparring with people. I was lucky enough to have had him in my corner for 14 years and to have called him a close friend for even longer. He was truly irreplaceable and will be missed by all of us at the Red Sox.”

For a comprehensive look at the impact Lucchino had in Boston, Baltimore and San Diego, this morning’s pieces from John Powers of the Boston Globe, Ryan Finley of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner are rife with old quotes from Lucchino and anecdotes shared by those who worked with him throughout his remarkable career. In addition to the Red Sox (who released statements from Sam Kennedy and Tom Werner, in addition to the aforementioned Henry statement) the Orioles have also released a statement on Lucchino’s passing:

“We are heartbroken over the news of the passing of former Orioles president and CEO, Larry Lucchino. A pioneer in the sport, we will forever be grateful for his impact on our organization, highlighted by the construction of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, The Ballpark That Forever Changed Baseball. We join our entire baseball family in mourning this loss and extend our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones and many friends throughout the game.”

We at MLBTR extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Lucchino, as well as the countless baseball fans whose experiences of the game were impacted and enhanced by his contributions.

Injury Notes: Lodolo, Cabrera, Garrett, Perez, Means, Bradish

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Nick Lodolo looked sharp today in the first of two planned Triple-A rehab starts.  The Reds southpaw allowed one run in five innings and 77 pitches of work, while striking out eight and allowing two hits and three walks.  After missing most of the 2023 season due to a stress reaction in his left tibia, Lodolo was still feeling some leg soreness this spring, so the Reds started him on the 15-day injured list in order to better ease Lodolo’s path back to action.  Assuming he is feeling healthy after today’s outing and his next rehab start, Lodolo is slated to make his season debut for the Reds on April 10.

More on other pitchers working towards getting healthy….

  • Edward Cabrera also began the season on the 15-day IL, as the Marlins righty was sidelined with an impingement in his throwing shoulder.  As noted by MLB.com, Cabrera threw 39 pitches in a intrasquad scrimmage game earlier this week and a 20-pitch bullpen session on Friday, so the next step is a minor league rehab assignment that begins with a Triple-A start today.  It isn’t yet known how many rehab outings Cabrera might need before he is activated, though of the Marlins’ multiple injured starters, he appears closest to a return.  Braxton Garrett is slated to throw a bullpen session today as he works his way back from his own shoulder impingement, and Garrett intends to be back in action before the end of April.  El Extra Base’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes (X link) notes that Eury Perez threw 20 pitches in a bullpen session today, with Perez on the road to recovery after being waylaid by elbow soreness in Spring Training.
  • While rehab starts are about getting comfortable and working out pitches rather than pure results, John Means had a shaky showing in first rehab start today with Triple-A Norfolk.  The Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich was among those to relay the news that Means gave up seven runs on six hits and a walk over the 32-pitch outing.  Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters yesterday that Means’ is “going to be close to 30 days” in Norfolk, as in the maximum length for rehab assignments.  Means missed almost all of the 2022 and 2023 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the O’s didn’t include him on their playoff roster due to what was reported as elbow soreness at the time.  As Kubatko notes, the Orioles are now referring to the injury as a left forearm strain, which only adds to the extreme caution Means and the O’s are taking in slowly ramping up the southpaw’s workload.
  • A sprain in Kyle Bradish’s right UCL created concerns that Bradish might also miss an extended amount of time, but the Orioles right-hander seems to be making good progress as he is also taking a careful approach to his rehab.  As relayed to Kubatko and other media, Bradish threw all of his pitches over a 35-pitch bullpen session yesterday.  While he “feels really good” in the aftermath of this bullpen, Bradish and Hyde didn’t commit to any kind of timeline about when Bradish will start building towards a return to the active roster.

A’s Claim Tyler Nevin Off Waivers, Designate Adrian Martinez

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The Athletics have claimed Tyler Nevin off waivers, as per an announcement from both the A’s and Orioles.  Oakland has designated right-hander Adrian Martinez for assignment to create roster space.  Baltimore designated Nevin, Ryan McKenna and Nick Maton for assignment in the lead-up to Opening Day, and McKenna and Maton have both cleared waivers and have been outrighted to the Orioles’ Triple-A club.

Nevin will now head to a new organization after spending the last few seasons with the Orioles and Tigers.  Baltimore acquired Nevin from the Rockies in 2020, and he made his MLB debut in 2021 and appeared in 64 games for the Orioles in 2021-22.  Detroit picked up Nevin in a deal during the 2022-23 offseason, and the Orioles then brought him back in another trade last January.  Even with Baltimore’s wealth of young infielders and the presence of Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo, the O’s still looked to add some more experienced utility depth, though Tony Kemp ended up taking that role rather than Nevin, Maton, or minor league signing Kolten Wong.

Nevin has a modest .203/.310/.301 slash line over 313 plate appearances in the majors, as his ability to handle both corner infield and corner outfield positions has been more valuable than his bat in garnering more time on big-league rosters.  He has hit quite well at the Triple-A level of the last two seasons, and as a former first-round pick (38th overall by the Rockies in 2015), there might still be some hope that Nevin can unlock more at the plate as he approaches his 27th birthday.

Seth Brown, Lawrence Butler, and Ryan Noda are all left-handed regulars in the Athletics lineup, so Nevin might fit as a right-handed hitting complement at first base or as a corner outfielder.  The rebuilding A’s figure to prioritize playing time for most of their younger players, but Nevin can provide some experienced depth if the Athletics want to give any of their youngsters (perhaps Darell Hernaiz) more regular playing time at Triple-A.

Martinez has a 5.51 ERA in 112 2/3 career MLB innings, all with Oakland in 2022-23.  Martinez worked as a starter in 2022 but was used primarily in relief last year, though the role change didn’t lead to any uptick in his uninspiring strikeout or walk rates.  Acquired from the Padres as part of the Sean Manaea trade almost exactly two years ago, Martinez’s big league numbers are actually better than his 6.19 ERA in 173 innings of Triple-A ball, as Pacific Coast League batters mashed 39 homers off Martinez in the hitter-friendly environment.

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