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Athletics Rumors

Athletics Acquire Austin Wynns

By Mark Polishuk | June 8, 2025 at 11:04am CDT

The A’s announced that they have picked up catcher Austin Wynns in a trade with the Reds, with cash considerations heading back to Cincinnati in return.  To clear roster space for Wynns, the Athletics designated right-hander Carlos Duran for assignment.

Wynns was designated for assignment two days ago, as he had become the odd man out of the Reds’ catching mix when Tyler Stephenson returned from a season-opening stint on the injured list.  Wynns signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati during the offseason, and that contract was selected on Opening Day as Wynns and Jose Trevino went on to handle the catching duties for the next five weeks while Stephenson recovered from an oblique strain.

Ironically, another oblique strain has now opened the door to Wynns’ latest opportunity.  Shea Langeliers was placed on the Athletics’ 10-day IL with a strained left oblique on Friday, leaving the West Sacramento team with just Jhonny Pereda (36 career MLB games) and Willie MacIver (seven career games) as the top catching options.  Tyler Soderstrom has some catching experience but has suited up behind the plate just once in the last two seasons, so it makes sense that the A’s preferred to just bring in a veteran backstop rather than disrupt Soderstrom’s routine as a first baseman/left fielder.

The Athletics will be the seventh different organization Wynns has been part of during his career, and he has seen action with five of those clubs at the MLB level over his seven seasons in the bigs.  A .241/.287/.354 hitter over 716 career plate appearances, Wynns has quietly been extremely productive over his limited action with the Reds, as he posted an eye-opening .390/.429/.661 slash line in 63 PA since Opening Day 2024.  This gives Wynns a unique distinction, as he has the best wRC+ (198) of any Reds player in the entire 156-year history of the franchise, minimum 60 plate appearances in a Cincinnati uniform.

It is probably safe to assume that the 34-year-old Wynns won’t continue this kind of production with the A’s, even notwithstanding Sutter Health Park’s hitter-friendly nature.  Still, Wynns will provide the Athletics with some help behind the plate for however long Langeliers will be on the IL.  Manager Mark Kotsay didn’t give reporters (including MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos) a specific timeline for Langeliers’ recovery, citing the “tricky” nature of oblique injuries.

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Cincinnati Reds Oakland Athletics Transactions Austin Wynns Carlos Duran

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Athletics Designate Drew Avans For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | June 6, 2025 at 5:50pm CDT

The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Seth Brown, a move that was previously reported. They also recalled catcher Jhonny Pereda. Catcher Shea Langeliers has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique and outfielder Drew Avans has been designated for assignment.

Avans, 29 next week, was added to the roster just over a week ago. His first taste of the major leagues didn’t go especially well. He got into seven games and made 15 plate appearances. He recorded two hits, both singles, with five strikeouts and no walks.

That’s obviously a tiny sample and not much to go on but the A’s probably never envisioned a large role for Avans regardless. He’s never been a highly-touted prospect and only just made it the majors ahead of his 29th birthday. He’ll now head into DFA limbo for a week at most. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, the A’s could take five days to explore trade interest.

He has generally been a solid Triple-A performer, with a .275/.374/.408 line and 103 wRC+ dating back to the start of the 2021 season. He usually steals 20 to 40 bases annually and can play all three outfield positions.

As for Langeliers, it’s unclear how long he is expected to be out but his IL placement isn’t a surprise. He departed yesterday’s game with a “left flank injury” and was sent for an MRI. Langeliers was previously taking the bulk of the playing time behind the plate with Willie MacIver as the backup. Pereda is up to replace Langeliers but it’s unclear how the club plans to divide the playing time now. It’s also unclear if they have any designs on moving Tyler Soderstrom back behind the plate to cover for Langeliers. Soderstrom was once a catching prospect but has mostly been playing first base in the majors.

Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images

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Oakland Athletics Transactions Drew Avans Jhonny Pereda Seth Brown Shea Langeliers

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A’s Agree To Minor League Deals With Nick Martini, Aaron Brooks

By Steve Adams | June 6, 2025 at 2:13pm CDT

The A’s have agreed to minor league deals with a pair of old friends, signing outfielder Nick Martini and righty Aaron Brooks, per the transaction log at MLB.com. Martini has been assigned to Triple-A and Brooks to Double-A.

Martini, 34, was recently designated for assignment by the Rockies and elected free agency after clearing waivers. He inked a minor league deal with Colorado over the winter and broke camp with the Rox after an excellent showing in spring training. However, Martini struggled greatly in 111 plate appearances, despite taking only five left-on-left turns at the plate and despite playing his home games at Coors Field. He slashed .225/.288/.294 during his time in purple — a tepid follow-up to a similarly rough showing with the 2024 Reds (.212/.272/.370 in 163 plate appearances).

Rough as Martini’s 2024-25 seasons have been, he’s only a season and a third removed from batting .264/.329/.583 in 79 plate appearances with Cincinnati. That was the final season of a limited but productive six-year stretch that saw the lefty-swinging walk machine bat .268/.362/.412 while drawing a free pass in 11.2% of his plate appearances. Martini regularly posts gaudy walk rates in the minors and has had little trouble frequenting the basepaths in Triple-A, as evidenced by his career .294/.399/.454 slash in parts of eight seasons at the top minor league level.

Brooks, 35, opened the 2025 season with el Caliente de Durango in the Mexican League. He’s posted an unsightly 5.92 ERA in 38 innings so far, although in the supercharged run-scoring environment of that league, a 5.92 mark is actually a slight bit better than the 5.99 league average. Brooks has fanned only 14.6% of his opponents but also touts a sharp 4.6% walk rate.

Brooks pitched for the A’s just last season — his third stint with the A’s dating all the way back to the time he was traded to Oakland alongside Sean Manaea in a deal that shipped Ben Zobrist to the eventual 2015 World Series champion Royals. Last year, Brooks tossed 26 2/3 big league innings and logged a 5.06 ERA with a similarly poor strikeout rate (10.1%) and strong command (6.7% walk rate).

If he ends up back in the majors, Brooks will be in his seventh season with at least some big league time. He’s totaled 206 2/3 innings in the majors and logged a 6.36 ERA, a 15.3% strikeout rate and a 6.8% walk rate between the Royals, A’s, Orioles and Cardinals. In addition to that MLB work, Brooks enjoyed a strong two-year run in the Korea Baseball Organization and has pitched a 4.65 ERA in 720 Triple-A innings.

The A’s have five starting pitchers on the injured list and have seen healthy rotation candidates like Osvaldo Bido and Joey Estes pitch poorly in 2025. Brooks is hardly a high-ceiling addition, but he’ll give them some more depth. On the position-player side of things, the A’s have Miguel Andujar on the IL, have already passed Seth Brown through waivers (though he’s reportedly coming back today), and recently optioned a struggling JJ Bleday to Triple-A (though he’s since been recalled). Martini gives them an experienced option to stash in Triple-A.

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Oakland Athletics Transactions Aaron Brooks Nick Martini

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Athletics To Select Seth Brown

By Darragh McDonald | June 6, 2025 at 1:45pm CDT

The Athletics are going to call infielder/outfielder Seth Brown back up the majors, reports Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. He was outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago and will need to be re-selected to the 40-man roster. The A’s will therefore have to make a corresponding move or moves to open room for him there and on the active roster.

Brown’s return to the majors seems to have been caused by him turning on the Game Genie when he got sent down. In nine games for the Aviators, he hit seven home runs, helping him produce a ridiculous .500/.512/1.071 line and 282 wRC+ over 43 plate appearances.

That’s a small sample of work but Brown has been good in the majors before, though obviously not that good. Over 2021 and 2022, he slashed .224/.294/.457 for a wRC+ of 111. Unfortunately, that dropped down in 2023, with a .222/.286/.405 line and 91 wRC+. His struggles continued in 2024 but he finished strong, with a .263/.304/.413 line and 107 wRC+ in the second half.

That prompted the A’s to tender him an arbitration contract for 2025, with the two sides avoiding arb and agreeing to a $2.7MM salary for this year. Through 61 plate appearances, he hit .212/.328/.308 for an 89 wRC+ and got sent down. Players with at least three but less than five years of service time can reject outright assignments but must forfeit their remaining salary to do so. Brown accepted his assignment, hit the crap out of the ball for a while and is now coming back.

Time will tell how the A’s plan to use Brown but it’s possibly related to the Shea Langeliers injury. The catcher left yesterday’s game with a “left flank injury” and was sent for an MRI. It’s possible that he will be placed on the injured list with some kind of oblique injury. If Tyler Soderstrom moves in from first base to take up catching duties again, Brown could factor into the first base/left field/designated hitter mix alongside Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday and Drew Avans.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Oncea-Imagn Images

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Oakland Athletics Transactions Seth Brown

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Athletics Designate CJ Alexander For Assignment, Reinstate Michael Kelly

By Darragh McDonald | June 5, 2025 at 12:30pm CDT

The Athletics announced a series of roster moves today, as relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. Right-hander Michael Kelly has been reinstated from the restricted list and left-hander T.J. McFarland has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. In corresponding active moves, the A’s have optioned right-handers Elvis Alvarado and Justin Sterner. To open a 40-man spot, infielder/outfielder CJ Alexander has been designated for assignment.

Kelly was one of four players suspended by Major League Baseball for one year after a league investigation revealed that the quartet had placed small-scale bets on Major League Baseball games while playing in the minor leagues back in 2020-22. Kelly’s bets came in October of 2021, when he was pitching at the Triple-A level in the Astros’ system. He made only ten bets for a total of $99.92, with three of those bets coming on games involving the Astros’ big league club during the postseason.

The one-year suspensions have now been served and all four players are eligible for reinstatement today. The Diamondbacks have already reinstated left-hander Andrew Saalfrank. Padres lefty Jay Groome and Phillies infielder José Rodríguez should be reinstated today as well. None of the four bet more than $749 in total, and none were on the 40-man roster at the time their bets were placed.

That’s the key distinction for that quartet receiving one-year bans as opposed to former Padres/Pirates utilityman Tucupita Marcano, who received a lifetime ban (announced in conjunction with these four suspensions). Marcano wagered more than $150K on 387 bets involving MLB games while he was on a big league roster — including 25 bets on Pirates games while he was on Pittsburgh’s major league injured list (rehabbing a season-ending ACL tear).

Major League Baseball’s rules regarding gambling stipulate that “Any player, umpire, or Club or League official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform, shall be declared ineligible for one year.” Players, umpires, club officials and league officials who place bets of “any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform” are subject to permanent bans. Further details on the investigation and its findings were provided in a league-issued press release last year at the time of these suspensions.

Prior to his suspension, Kelly had managed to log 52 big league innings for the Phillies, Guardians and A’s. Most of that came just before his absence, as he logged 31 1/3 innings with Oakland last year, allowing 2.59 earned runs per nine. His 17.2% strikeout rate last year wasn’t especially strong but he kept his walks down to a 7.8% level. He’ll now get a chance to build upon all those numbers after having served his suspension.

While on the restricted list, Kelly did not count against the club’s 40-man roster tally. Now that he’s back, Alexander has been nudged off. Alexander will head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take as many as five days to explore trade interest.

Alexander was claimed off waivers from the Royals in September. Between those two clubs, he has a .160/.160/.160 batting line in a tiny sample of 25 big league plate appearances. His minor league work has naturally been greater in both quantity and quality. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has a .287/.357/.544 batting line and 121 wRC+ in 595 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He has a bit of defensive versatility, with experience at all four corner spots. He can still be optioned to the minors for the rest of this campaign and one additional season. He could perhaps appeal to clubs who have roster space and want some extra position player depth.

Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images

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Oakland Athletics Transactions CJ Alexander Elvis Alvarado Justin Sterner Michael Kelly T.J. McFarland

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A’s Place Gunnar Hoglund On IL, Recall JJ Bleday

By Anthony Franco | June 2, 2025 at 8:57pm CDT

The Athletics announced a handful of moves before tonight’s series opener against the Twins. Rookie starter Gunnar Hoglund is headed to the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 1, with a left hip impingement. They also lost third baseman/outfielder Miguel Andujar to the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain. Outfielder JJ Bleday and reliever Elvis Alvarado are up from Triple-A Las Vegas in corresponding moves. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com reported the Bleday recall before the club announcement.

Hoglund has held a rotation spot since being called up on May 2. The former first-round pick looked good over his first two starts, combining for 11 1/3 innings of three-run ball. He has been hit hard in each of the four appearances since then. Hoglund has allowed multiple home runs in three of them, including four longballs over six innings at the Rogers Centre on Saturday. He carries a 6.40 ERA across 32 1/3 innings.

The A’s will need to figure out a solution to round out the rotation behind Luis Severino, JP Sears, Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez. The team’s hopes of competing for a playoff spot have crumbled because of the pitching staff. MLB’s worst bullpen certainly bears some responsibility, but the rotation has also been untenable of late. Only the Rockies had a higher rotation ERA than the A’s 6.24 mark in May.

Bleday returns to the MLB outfield less than two weeks after being optioned. Rookie Denzel Clarke jumped him as the starting center fielder, as he brings a significantly higher defensive floor. Bleday could push for left field reps. Drew Avans remains in left field tonight against Minnesota righty Joe Ryan. Avans only has 11 career plate appearances, but this is his fourth start in the past six games. Bleday hit .370 over six Triple-A games to get back onto the MLB roster.

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Oakland Athletics Gunnar Hoglund J.J. Bleday Miguel Andujar

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West Notes: Andujar, Sheets, Betts, Bradford, Sborz

By Mark Polishuk | June 1, 2025 at 11:26pm CDT

An oblique injury forced Miguel Andujar into an early exit from the Athletics’ 8-4 loss to the Blue Jays today.  A’s manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other reports that Andujar is “most likely” going to be placed on the 10-day injured list, and Andujar will undergo tests on Monday to gauge the severity of the injury.

Now in his second season with the A’s, Andujar has a .296/.328/.402 slash line over 180 plate appearances, or roughly the same production he delivered in 319 PA in 2024.  Splitting his time mostly between left field and third base, Andujar has been a solid player for the Athletics, yet he might now face a lengthy absence given the uncertain nature of oblique-related injuries.  A more severe strain could put Andujar out for months, which would threaten his availability as a trade chip for the July 31 deadline.  Andujar is a free agent after the season, so he is a logical trade candidate for an A’s team that may be moving into seller mode in the wake of a miserable 3-21 stretch over their last 24 games.

More from around both the AL and West divisions…

  • Gavin Sheets also left the Padres’ 6-4 win over the Pirates in the fourth inning after a collision with the left field wall.  That pursuit of Adam Frazier’s home run ball resulted in multiple issues for Sheets, as manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including The Athletic’s Dennis Lin) that Sheets was being treated for a possible concussion, as well as a “head contusion coupled with a sore hip and a little bit of a jammed wrist and thumb.”  It certainly seems like an IL stint might be in the cards for Sheets, and since Jason Heyward is also sidelined with injury, the Padres’ top left field candidates on the big league roster would be rookie Brandon Lockridge and utilityman Tyler Wade.  Sheets signed a minor league deal with San Diego over the offseason and now looks like a coup for the club, as Sheets has delivered 11 homers and a .267/.323/.494 slash line over 192 PA as a left fielder, first baseman, and designated hitter.
  • Mookie Betts has now missed the Dodgers’ last three games due to a left toe fracture and won’t start on Monday either, as manager Dave Roberts told the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett and other reporters.  Betts is still considered day-to-day with the injury and might be back as early as Tuesday, since he was able to do some hitting in the batting cage and was walking in “pretty normal” fashion, as the shortstop told Plunkett and company.
  • Josh Sborz and Cody Bradford have yet to pitch during the 2025 season, but the Rangers pitchers each threw breaking balls for the first time in bullpen sessions over the few days, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News).  Sborz underwent shoulder surgery last November and was projected to miss the first 2-3 months of the season, so his throwing progression puts him on pace for a return on the far end of that timeline.  Bochy said Sborz and Bradford are expected back roughly around the same time, as Bradford recovers from a sprain in his left elbow that arose during Spring Training.  Bradford is slated to throw two more bullpens before aiming for a live batting-practice session during the second week of June.
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Los Angeles Dodgers Notes Oakland Athletics San Diego Padres Texas Rangers Cody Bradford Gavin Sheets Josh Sborz Miguel Andujar Mookie Betts

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Tigers Claim Ryan Cusick

By Darragh McDonald | May 30, 2025 at 1:45pm CDT

The Tigers have claimed right-hander Ryan Cusick off waivers from the Athletics, according to announcements from both clubs. He has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. The righty was designated for assignment by the A’s earlier this week. The Tigers had an open 40-man spot but are reportedly planning to select righty Dylan Smith, so they will now need to make a corresponding move for him, though Alex Cobb could easily be transferred to the 60-day injured list since he’s already been out of action longer than 60 days.

Cusick, 25, is a former first-round pick but his recent results haven’t lined up to that billing. Atlanta grabbed him with the 24th overall pick in 2021 and gave him a $2.7MM signing bonus. Just a few months later, he was flipped to the A’s as part of the Matt Olson deal in March of 2022.

The A’s kept him in a starting role at first but he missed time due to injury and struggled to successfully develop his changeup as a third pitch. Over 2022 and 2023, he tossed 143 innings, mostly at the Double-A level, with a 5.60 earned run average. He was still starting in the first half of 2024 but the A’s moved him to the bullpen midway through, with encouraging results. He posted a 1.73 ERA in his final 26 innings. His 11.8% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 28.2% of batters faced.

The A’s gave him a 40-man spot in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft but his results have backed up here in 2025. He posted a 6.75 ERA through 14 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He was playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but didn’t do himself any favors with a 16.4% strikeout rate and 19.4% walk rate, though he did get grounders on 57.5% of balls in play.

Cusick may still be a work in progress but he has a full slate of options and the Tigers had a 40-man roster spot. They can send him to Toledo to see if they can help him get back on track after a rough start to his season.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

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Detroit Tigers Oakland Athletics Transactions Ryan Cusick

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Guardians Claim Matt Krook From A’s

By Anthony Franco | May 29, 2025 at 3:44pm CDT

The Guardians have claimed reliever Matt Krook off waivers from the Athletics and optioned him to Triple-A Columbus, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. The southpaw had been designated for assignment by the A’s earlier this week. Cleveland transferred righty Ben Lively to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Lively recently required Tommy John surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.

Krook, 30, joined the A’s on an offseason minor league deal. The former fourth-rounder pitched well for their top affiliate in Las Vegas, turning in a 3.21 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 14 innings. Krook got grounders on more than 65% of the batted balls he allowed. He’s had a tantalizing combination of whiffs and ground-balls throughout his nine years in the minors. That’s been too often negated by well below-average command, as Krook has walked nearly 15% of his professional opponents.

The A’s selected his contract a couple weeks ago. Krook got into three games, allowing two runs over 3 1/3 frames. The A’s dropped him from the 40-man roster earlier in the week when they acquired Sean Newcomb in a deal with Boston. They tried to sneak Krook back through waivers, but the Guardians jumped in to add the lefty relief depth.

Krook is in his final option year, so the Guardians can keep him in Columbus for the rest of the season if he sticks on the 40-man. He doesn’t throw hard, averaging around 90 MPH on his sinker, but that hasn’t stopped him from racking up plenty of minor league strikeouts. Tim Herrin and long man Kolby Allard are the southpaws in Stephen Vogt’s bullpen. Erik Sabrowski should be back at some point this summer, but he’s been out all year with elbow inflammation.

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Cleveland Guardians Oakland Athletics Transactions Ben Lively Matt Krook

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Athletics Acquire Sean Newcomb

By Darragh McDonald | May 27, 2025 at 1:55pm CDT

The Athletics announced today that they have acquired left-hander Sean Newcomb from the Red Sox. The latter club, who designated the lefty for assignment a few days ago, receive cash considerations. The A’s also announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Drew Avans. First baseman Nick Kurtz has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hip flexor. Left-hander Matt Krook and right-hander Ryan Cusick have been designated for assignment to open 40-man spots for Newcomb and Avans. In terms of the active roster, Avans takes the spot of Kurtz, while the club will need to open a spot for Newcomb once he reports to the team.

Newcomb, 32 next month, returns to the A’s. He spent parts of the 2023 and 2024 seasons in Oakland, though knee problems limited his workload. He only tossed 25 innings for the A’s over those two seasons, spending a lot of time on the IL due to issues in both knees. He was released in July of 2024 and signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox coming into 2025.

This year has actually been going fairly well for the lefty. He made Boston’s Opening Day roster and went on to toss 41 innings in a swing role, posting a 3.95 ERA. His 21.6% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and 42.9% ground ball rate this year have all been fairly close to league average.

Unfortunately, he got squeezed off the roster, perhaps due to circumstances beyond his control. The Sox and Orioles were rained out on Thursday. Then on Friday, started Brayan Bello only lasted four innings. The club had to use five relievers to get through the rest of that game, though one of them was position player Abraham Toro. For Saturday’s double-header, Hunter Dobbins started the first game and also only lasted four innings. Six relievers, including Newcomb, picked up the rest of the slack in a game that eventually went to ten innings. With the staff fairly taxed, Newcomb was designated for assignment, making room for a fresh arm for the second game of the doubleheader.

For the A’s, they’ve been on a rough slide lately, going 3-15 in their last 18 games. Most of their pitchers have very little experience and are still getting acclimated to the big leagues. Newcomb will give them an experienced lefty arm who could take on various roles, perhaps as a long reliever or spot starter.

On the position player side of things, it’s unclear how long Kurtz will be out of action. He had been serving as the club’s regular first baseman lately. Prior to his promotion, Tyler Soderstrom had that spot, but he moved to left field so that both could be in the lineup. Now that Kurtz is away, it’s possible Soderstrom could move back to first, or perhaps the A’s will keep him in left so he can continue getting accustomed to playing the outfield. Logan Davidson started at first yesterday.

Avans gets his first big league call just before his 29th birthday, which is next month. A 33rd-round pick of the Dodgers back in 2018, he first played at the Triple-A level in 2021. At the end of the 2024 season, he still hadn’t been selected to the 40-man roster and was able to elect minor league free agency, which led him to sign with the A’s.

His offensive production has generally been close to average, in the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. From 2021 to 2024, he stepped to the plate 2,004 times at the Triple-A level. He had a 13% walk rate, 23.8% strikeout rate, .270/.369/.404 line and 101 wRC+. This year, he has had better results, thanks to big drop in punchouts. He’s still walking at a 13.5% clip but has only struck out in 14% of his 222 plate appearances this year. That’s helped him produce a .328/.414/.444 line and 117 wRC+.

Avans is capable of playing all three outfield spots and is good for about 20 to 40 steals per year. That means he could be a serviceable depth outfielder even without elite offensive production, supporting Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler and Denzel Clarke.

To add Newcomb and Avans, the A’s are risking losing two depth arms. Krook, 30, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason. He was selected to the big league roster just over a week ago, making three appearances before getting optioned back down to the minors.

He now has 8 1/3 innings of major league experience, having also pitched for the 2023 Yankees and 2024 Orioles. He’s had interesting minor league numbers since moving to the bullpen. Previously a starter, he’s been working in relief for the past two-plus years. Since the start of 2023, he has thrown 91 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 2.85 ERA and 33.3% strikeout rate, though his 16.7% walk rate has been awfully high. For what it’s worth, he’s been getting better in that department. He had an 18.4% walk rate in the minors in 2023 but dropped that to 16.7% last year and 12.7% this year.

Cusick, 25, still hasn’t made his major league debut. Atlanta selected him with the 24th overall pick in 2021 but flipped him to the A’s as part of the Matt Olson deal in March of 2022. The A’s added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

He hasn’t been able to do much with his minor league opportunities. He had logged 178 1/3 innings on the farm from 2023 to the present with an ERA of 5.00. His 21.3% strikeout rate is close to par but he has walked 15.1% of batters faced. He’s been working exclusively in relief this year with awful returns so far. He has a 6.75 ERA, 16.4% strikeout rate and 19.4% walk rate through 14 2/3 innings.

Both Krook and Cusick now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take as long as five days to discuss trades with other clubs. Cusick is clearly a project at this point but comes with past prospect pedigree, while Krook’s minor league numbers have been somewhat intriguing of late. Both players can still be optioned and could therefore be stashed in the minors by any acquiring club.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

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Boston Red Sox Oakland Athletics Transactions Drew Avans Matt Krook Nick Kurtz Ryan Cusick Sean Newcomb

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    A.J. Preller Discusses Padres’ Deadline Outlook

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