A’s Place Drew Rucinski On 15-Day Injured List
Drew Rucinski has landed on the 15-day IL (retroactive to May 17) with a stomach illness, the A’s announced. In his place, the team has recalled right hander James Kaprielian, who is scheduled to start tomorrow’s match.
Rucinski, 34, returned to the US on a one-year, $3MM deal with a $5MM club option for next season after a successful time in Korea. It hasn’t been an enjoyable return though, as the veteran has made just four starts for Oakland, working to a 9.00 ERA. He’s struck out just 6.3% of batters and walked 14.7%, while giving up five home runs in 18 innings. It’s a disappointing return for a player who worked to a 3.05 ERA over 121 starts in four seasons in Korea.
While 15 days out seems like quite a bit for a stomach illness, it’ll at least give the A’s and Rucinski some time to work on any issues he’s been experiencing that’s led to this poor start in Oakland. He’ll be eligible to return to the team in early June.
Kaprielian’s put up similarly disappointing numbers, working to a 10.17 ERA in 23 big league innings this year. The 29-year-old former top-100 prospect has performed a lot better in a limited sample at Triple-A, giving up just a single earned run in 8 1/3 innings at the highest level of the minors.
Rule 5 Draft Update: May 2023
It’s been more than a months since we last checked in on this year’s group of Rule 5 draftees and how they’re faring around the league. Fifteen players were selected in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft — those unfamiliar with the event can read up on the specifics here — and since last check there have been a few notable developments among the group. Let’s take a look…
Currently on a Major League Roster
Thaddeus Ward, RHP, Nationals (from Red Sox)
Since last update: 7 1/3 innings, 4.91 ERA, 3 hits, 1 HR, 9 BB, 7 K
Overall 2023 numbers: 14 2/3 innings, 4.91 ERA, 8 H, 2 HR, 24.2% strikeout rate, 21% walk rate, 51.5% ground-ball rate
Since last check in early April, Ward has had a three-walk appearance in which he pitched just one inning and a four-walk appearance in which he only recorded two outs. His command has been among the worst in baseball, as only two pitchers (min. 10 innings) have walked a greater percentage of their opponents: twice-DFA’ed right-hander Javy Guerra and injured Rockies righty Dinelson Lamet.
At last check, Ward was struggling with that command but still had fanned more than 30% of his opponents. He’s seen his strikeout rate, swinging-strike rate, opponents’ chase rate and average fastball all dip over the past five weeks. The Nationals have done a decent job hiding him — he’s appeared in just 25% of their games — and with a projected playoff chance under 1%, they might not care about the rough performance. Ward was one of the Red Sox’ top pitching prospects before a more than two-year layoff due to the canceled 2020 minor league season and 2021 Tommy John surgery. He posted a 2.28 ERA, 31% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate in 51 1/3 minor league innings in last year’s return effort. The Nationals are rebuilding anyway, and as long as they still like Ward’s stuff, they can afford to let him take his lumps in the big leagues even though he entered the season with just 41 innings above A-ball.
Ryan Noda, 1B/OF, Athletics (from Dodgers)
Since last update: 103 plate appearances, .221/.417/.416, 2 HR, 22.3% walk rate, 31.1% strikeout rate
Overall 2023 numbers: 140 plate appearances, .215/.400/.421, 4 HR, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 SB, 21.4% walk rate, 32.1% strikeout rate
The only five hitters in baseball with more walks than Noda’s 30 are Juan Soto, Adley Rutschman, Ian Happ, Matt Olson and Max Muncy. All but Muncy have more plate appearances. Noda’s massive walk rate leads MLB’s 171 qualified hitters … but his 32.1% strikeout rate is also tied for the seventh-highest. A whopping 56% of his plate appearances have ended in either a walk, strikeout or home run, making the 27-year-old the embodiment of a three-true-outcome player.
The strikeouts may be tough to watch, but Noda’s .400 OBP is tied for tenth among qualified hitters. He’s picked up 13 extra-base hits, is sitting on a strong .206 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) and boasts a 140 wRC+ despite his low batting average. Defensive metrics feel he’s been a competent, if not slightly above-average first baseman. Noda is getting on base 40% of the time he comes to the plate, and there’s no way the A’s (or any team) would take him off the roster as long as he’s doing that.
Jose Hernandez, LHP, Pirates (from Dodgers)
Since last update: 11 innings, 4.09 ERA, 9 hits, 2 HR, 2 BB, 14 K
Overall 2023 numbers: 17 1/3 innings, 3.12 ERA, 15 hits, 2 HR, 27.5% strikeout rate, 4.3% walk rate, 38.3% ground-ball rate
Injuries to Jarlin Garcia and Rob Zastryzny — who was activated today — left Hernandez as the lone lefty option in Derek Shelton’s bullpen, but Hernandez has handled the role just fine. The Orioles tagged him for a pair of runs in an appearance that saw him record just one out last week, but Hernandez has generally been sharp despite skipping Triple-A entirely.
Hernandez is averaging just under 96 mph on his fastball, and his 12.5% swinging-strike rate is better than the league average. He’s picked up a pair of holds for the Pirates and his 23.2 K-BB% ties him for 28th among 192 qualified relievers. He’s given up too much hard contact (89.9 mph average exit velocity, 40.4% hard-hit rate), but he looks the part of a useful big league reliever right now and shouldn’t be in any danger of losing his roster spot.
Blake Sabol, C/OF, Giants (from Pirates)
Since last update: 66 plate appearances, .323/.364/.565, 4 HR, 6.1% walk rate, 39.4% strikeout rate
Overall 2023 numbers: 100 plate appearances, .280/.330/.473, 5 HR, 3 2B, 2 SB, 5% walk rate, 38% strikeout rate
Sabol has been on fire since our early-April look at the Rule 5’ers who made their Opening Day rosters, though he’s benefited from a mammoth .500 BABIP along the way. Still, the four long balls in that time show impressive pop, and the Giants have given him looks in both left field and at catcher.
Sabol has above-average sprint speed, exit velocity and hard-contact abilities, and both Statcast and FanGraphs give him above-average framing marks in his limited time behind the dish. However, he’s also needed a hefty .420 BABIP to get to his current production, and no player in baseball strikes out more often or swings and misses more often than Sabol has. Sabol’s 60.3% contact rate is the worst in Major League Baseball, and if he can’t improve that mark and start to draw some more walks, it’s hard to imagine continuing anything close to this level of production. Regression looks quite likely for this version of Sabol, but he walked and made contact at much better clips in Double-A and Triple-A last year, so there’s still hope for improvement as he gains more experience.
Mason Englert, RHP, Tigers (from Rangers)
Since last update: 16 1/3 innings, 2.76 ERA, 13 hits, 3 HR, 5 BB, 13 K
Overall 2023 numbers: 23 2/3 innings, 4.18 ERA, 21 hits, 6 HR, 17.8% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate, 47.2% ground-ball rate
The Tigers have used Englert for more than an inning in nine of his 13 appearances, including eight outings of at least two innings (two of which were three-inning efforts). He’s provided the team with some length but also been used in a few leverage spots, evidenced by a pair of holds and, more regrettably, a pair of blown saves. While his strikeout rate is pedestrian, Englert’s 11.6% swinging-strike rate and 34.3% opponents’ chase rate are average or better. That doesn’t necessarily portend a major uptick in punchouts, but there’s probably more in the tank than his current 17.8% clip.
Englert has been far too homer-prone (2.28 HR/9), and that’s been his Achilles heel thus far. If he can rein in the long ball, he could give the Detroit bullpen some length for the balance of the season and perhaps even start some games should they need. The 23-year-old was a starter in the Rangers’ system prior to being selected by the Tigers last December.
Detroit has outperformed most expectations thus far, although at 19-22 with a -48 run differential, the Tigers still don’t look like viable contenders. If they’re hovering around the Wild Card race later in the year and Englert is struggling, perhaps they’d be tempted to move on, but for now he’s pitched well enough and the Tigers are far enough from the postseason picture that they can afford to keep him around even if he stumbles a bit.
Kevin Kelly, RHP, Rays (from Guardians)
Since last update: 16 1/3 innings, 23 hits, 0 HR, 4 BB, 12 K
Overall 2023 numbers: 22 1/3 innings, 4.84 ERA, 17.8% strikeout rate, 4% walk rate, 42.1% ground-ball rate
Kelly, 25, has looked sharp in most of his appearances but has been tagged for multiple earned runs three times — including a pair of three-run clunkers. For a short reliever, that’s… less than optimal. The Rays have felt comfortable using him in plenty of leverage spots, however, evidenced by a quartet of holds, a save and another blown save.
Kelly’s 4% walk rate gives the air of pinpoint command, but he’s also plunked three hitters and has a below-average 58.4% rate of throwing a first-pitch strike. He hasn’t allowed a home run, in part because he hasn’t allowed a single barreled ball this year. Kelly has avoided hard contact better than the average pitcher, eschewed walks and generally pitched better than his near-5.00 ERA might otherwise indicate. With the Rays firmly in contention, he’ll need to avoid a prolonged slump to stick on the roster, but it’s clear they believe he can be a solid reliever even with below-average velocity (92 mph average fastball) and strikeout abilities.
Currently on the Major League Injured List
- Nic Enright, RHP, Marlins (from Guardians): Enright announced in February that just weeks after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, doctors diagnosed him with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He’s undergone treatment and been on a minor league rehab assignment as he rebuilds game strength. Enright is currently on Miami’s 60-day injured list, but baseball of course takes a back seat in this type of instance. We at MLBTR join fans of the Marlins, Guardians and every other organization in pulling for the 26-year-old Enright and wishing him a full recovery.
- Noah Song, RHP, Phillies (from Red Sox): Ranked as the No. 65 prospect in the 2019 draft by Baseball America, Song slid to the Red Sox in the fourth round due to his military commitments as a Naval Academy cadet. His professional experience is limited to 17 Low-A innings in 2019 while spending the past three seasons in the Navy but was transferred from active duty to selective reserves earlier this year, allowing him to play baseball. He’s on the Phillies’ 15-day injured list with a back strain, and it’s tough to imagine him just diving into a Major League bullpen after spending three years away from the game. Still, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski held that same title in Boston when the Red Sox drafted Song and has said since the Rule 5 Draft that he feels Song’s pure talent is worth the risk.
- Wilking Rodriguez, RHP, Cardinals (from Yankees): The 33-year-old Rodriguez’s incredible story hit an abrupt roadblock when he underwent shoulder surgery earlier this month. It’s been eight years since he last pitched in affiliated ball and nine years since his lone MLB cup of coffee with the Royals. Since then, he’s been a staple in the Venezuelan Winter League and the Mexican League. The Yankees signed Rodriguez to a minor league deal last summer, but because he wasn’t on the 40-man roster and had enough prior professional experience, he was Rule 5-eligible and scooped up by the Cardinals. They can retain his rights into next season but would need to carry him on the 40-man roster all winter in order to do so, and he wouldn’t be optionable to until he spent 90 days on the active MLB roster next season. That scenario seems highly unlikely.
Currently in DFA Limbo
- Gus Varland, RHP, Brewers (from Dodgers): Varland wowed the Brewers in spring training when he punched out 17 of his 35 opponents (48.6%), but he landed on the injured list on April 16 — three days after MLBTR’s last Rule 5 check-in — when he was struck by a comebacker. The diagnosis was a hand contusion, and Varland was back on a big league mound about three weeks later. The 26-year-old posted a 2.25 ERA through his first eight innings this year but did so with just five strikeouts against five walks. On May 15, the Cardinals clobbered him for nine runs on six hits (two homers) and three walks with one strikeout in just two-thirds of an inning. That outing sent Varland’s ERA careening to its current 11.42 mark. The Brewers designated him for assignment the next day. He’ll have to pass through waivers unclaimed — he’d retain all of his Rule 5 restrictions if claimed by another club — and offered back to the Dodgers after that.
Already Returned to their Former Club
- Nick Avila, RHP: Avila allowed eight runs in ten spring innings with the White Sox and was returned to the Giants, for whom he posted an electric 1.14 ERA in 55 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A last season.
- Andrew Politi, RHP: Politi was tagged for six runs on nine hits and three walks in 8 2/3 spring innings with the Orioles, who returned him to the Red Sox late in camp.
- Jose Lopez, LHP: Lopez walked five batters in six frames with the Padres this spring, and the Friars returned him to the Rays on March 27.
- Chris Clarke, RHP: The towering 6’7″ Clarke faced the tough task of cracking a deep Mariners bullpen and was returned to the Cubs late in spring training after allowing four runs on eight hits and a pair of walks in 6 2/3 innings.
- Zach Greene, RHP: The Mets plucked Greene out of the Yankees’ system, but in 4 2/3 innings during spring training he yielded seven runs with more walks (six) than strikeouts (five). The Mets returned him to the Yankees on March 14.
Athletics Designate Zach Neal For Assignment
The A’s announced Friday that they’ve designated righty Zach Neal for assignment and placed fellow righty Zach Jackson on the 15-day injured list with a flexor tendon strain. That pair of moves clears a spot for the selection of righty Lucas Erceg‘s contract. Oakland acquired Erceg from the Brewers in exchange for cash earlier in the week and will put him right onto the MLB roster.
Neal, 34, returned to the Majors for the first time in five years when the A’s called him up last week. He’s appeared in two games and allowed a total of three runs on four hits (two homers) and no walks with three strikeouts. That marks his second stint with Oakland, as he was also with the A’s back in 2016-17. Neal tossed one lone inning for the 2018 Dodgers and spent the 2019-21 seasons pitching for the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. His first NPB season was a strong one, but he struggled in two subsequent years and was also hit hard with the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2022.
Overall, Neal has 89 big league innings and a 5.06 ERA with just an 11% strikeout rate but a minuscule 1.9% walk rate. He’s a heavy ground-ball pitcher who’s had some success in Triple-A, last year’s rough showing with the Rockies organization (6.87 ERA in 116 2/3 innings) notwithstanding. The A’s will have a week to trade him or pass him through outright waivers. Neal would have the ability to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, as he’s been outrighted previously in his career.
Word of a flexor strain for Jackson is tough for the A’s, given that Jackson was one of just two members of the team’s Opening Day bullpen who’d survived to this point. He’s pitched 18 innings of 2.50 ERA ball thus far, fanning 28.7% of his opponents against an admittedly unsightly 12.5% walk rate. Even with that ugly walk rate, Jackson has been a bright spot in an Oakland bullpen that has used a stunning 21 relievers so far this year. The timeline on his recovery hasn’t been provided yet, flexor tendon injuries are rarely accompanied by short-term absences.
Erceg will become the 22nd A’s reliever of the young season whenever he takes the mound. He’s a 2016 second-round pick who drafted by the Brewers as a third baseman but eventually moved to the mound in 2021. Erceg was a reliever in college as well, so the shift wasn’t entirely foreign to him. He’s taken to the mound reasonably well, given the long layoff between his college pitching career and his debut on the mound in pro ball.
The 28-year-old Erceg pitched to a 3.43 ERA in 39 1/3 Triple-A frames following a promotion there last year, fanning just under a quarter of his opponents (24.7%) against a bloated 13.5% walk rate. He’s had a rougher go in 2023, evidenced by a 6.46 earned run average in just 15 1/3 frames.
However, six of the 11 earned runs he’s allowed came in one catastrophic appearance against the Braves’ top affiliate on May 10, wherein Erceg didn’t record an out. He’s been generally solid otherwise, and his 23.9% strikeout rate and 14.9% walk rate are at least within the vicinity of last year’s rates. He’ll obviously still need to cut down on his walks if he’s to have any sustained success on the mound, but the paper-thin A’s are strapped enough for pitching depth that they’ll give him the chance to do so at the big league level for now.
Latest On A’s Stadium Situation
The A’s stadium drama has been one of MLB’s biggest storylines of the past couple months. The franchise has already expressed its hope for getting a deal done in Las Vegas that’d allow them to relocate out of Oakland within the next couple years. They’ve entered into a pair of land purchase agreements for potential stadium sites in recent months, but the franchise’s biggest hurdle — a public financing agreement with the Nevada legislature — has yet to get off the ground.
Reports on Monday suggested the organization was likely to formally put forth a funding proposal by the end of the week. That still hasn’t happened, and multiple reports yesterday indicated potential reluctance on the legislature’s part to meet the A’s ask. The franchise’s as-yet unofficial proposal is expected to call for $395MM in public funding via Clark County-issued bonds to be paid by tax dollars related to the stadium project. Initially, the organization was set to pursue $500MM in bonds before revising their anticipated ask after changing their target stadium site.
Even that “diminished” $395MM figure seems to be beyond the legislature’s comfort. Both Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Tabitha Mueller/Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent reported yesterday the legislature wasn’t keen on the $395MM price tag. The respective reports present differing details on precisely how large the gap between the organization and state is.
The Nevada Independent suggests the legislature is mulling an approval of $150-195MM in tax credits, which would leave a $200MM+ gap on the organization’s desired figure. The Review-Journal pegs things more closely, reporting that government officials are willing to commit $320MM in financing. That’d be a much smaller but still not insignificant $75MM shy of the A’s goal.
Akers writes that the A’s formal financing proposal is now not expected to go in front of the legislature until sometime next week. Lawmakers are only in scheduled session through June 5, leaving a small window for a deal to be approved before the session is set to close. The governor or 2/3 of the legislature can choose to call a special session to continue negotiations beyond June 5 if necessary, Mueller and Stutz note.
In any event, there’s an increasing sense of urgency for the organization to accelerate talks. The franchise is hoping to build a 30,000-seat retractable roof facility with an estimated $1.5 billion price tag on the south end of the Vegas strip. Just over $1.1 billion would be paid by the A’s under their expected proposal, with the $395MM in public funding accounting for the remainder of the costs. It’s to be seen whether either side will budge on the funding discrepancy (however large it is at present) to get a deal done.
Under the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, the A’s have until next January 15 to sign a stadium deal somewhere if they’re to retain their status as recipients of revenue sharing. It’s clear the organization hopes that’ll be in Vegas, though there remains some chance they turn their focus back to Oakland if talks with the Nevada legislature fall apart.
A’s Acquire Lucas Erceg From Brewers
The A’s announced this evening they’ve acquired minor league reliever Lucas Erceg from the Brewers for cash. The 28-year-old was not on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster and will not immediately go on the Oakland 40-man.
A San Jose native, Erceg entered the professional ranks as Milwaukee’s second round pick in 2016. He was a third baseman at the time and generated a fair amount of attention from prospect evaluators early in his career. After multiple seasons of offensive struggles in the upper minors, he gradually fell off the prospect radar. He was sitting on a .223/.270/.379 batting line as a 26-year-old in Double-A two seasons ago when he and the organization agreed to transition to pitching.
Erceg has spent the past two and a half seasons pitching in the upper minors. As one might expect, his results have been mixed. Erceg has missed bats around a league average rate but struggled to throw strikes consistently. That’s understandable for someone who’s new to pitching full-time but has translated into a 5.07 ERA over 124 1/3 minor league frames.
The right-hander has allowed 15 runs (11 earned) over 15 1/3 frames with Triple-A Nashville this season. He’s fanned 16, walked ten and induced grounders at an excellent 53.8% rate. While Erceg clearly still isn’t a finished product, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs named him the #32 prospect in the Milwaukee farm system last offseason. According to Longenhagen, Erceg’s fastball sits in the 96-99 MPH range. The A’s will take a flier on his power arm and lofty ground-ball totals in spite of the overall performance inconsistency.
As with much of the roster, Oakland’s bullpen has been among the league’s worst. The A’s entered play Wednesday with the highest bullpen ERA (6.64) and lowest strikeout rate (18%). Erceg won’t step immediately into that mix but should have a clearer path to an MLB job than he would’ve in Milwaukee if he can find success in Triple-A.
A’s Mason Miller Shut Down With Mild UCL Sprain
A’s rookie starter Mason Miller has been diagnosed with a mild sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, the team informed reporters (including Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). He’ll be shut down from throwing for an indeterminate period of time until he’s no longer feeling discomfort.
Miller landed on the 15-day injured list with forearm tightness last week. It was almost immediately clear he’d be out beyond two weeks and the team announced yesterday that he was going for a second opinion. That raised some concern about a possible surgery. Miller will fortunately avoid going under the knife, though he seems likely to be out of action for an extended stretch. Gallegos notes the A’s are hopeful he’ll be able to pitch again at some point this season.
Injuries have unfortunately been a theme of Miller’s professional career. A third round pick in 2021, the 6’5″ righty pitched only six rookie ball innings during his post-draft summer. He lost most of the 2022 campaign to a shoulder injury, tallying only 14 innings between three minor league levels. Miller returned to log 16 2/3 frames in the Arizona Fall League to close out the year.
After two minor league starts in 2023, the A’s called him to the big leagues for the first time. It was an aggressive promotion but the 24-year-old had shown well early on. He tallied 21 2/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball over his first four starts, striking out more than a quarter of opposing hitters. Miller showed blistering velocity and looked to be the most intriguing starter in an A’s rotation that has been the league’s worst.
The organization will have to wait a while to get a longer look at the young hurler. Miller is clearly among the most talented pitchers in the system but he’s logged just 66 2/3 innings in two years as a professional. He’ll collect major league service and be paid at the MLB minimum rate while he rehabs. Miller won’t reach a full service year in 2023 and is controllable through at least 2029.
A’s Outright Spencer Patton
A’s reliever Spencer Patton has been sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday.
Patton signed a minor league contract with Oakland during the second week of the season. It didn’t take long for the 35-year-old to pitch his way onto the roster. He threw 8 1/3 innings over six outings for Las Vegas, allowing four runs with a 10:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The A’s called him up during the first week of May and deployed him four times out of their bullpen before taking him off the roster two days ago.
The right-hander tallied 5 1/3 innings of relief. He surrendered a couple home runs and allowed four runs overall in that brief look. It marked the third straight season in which the SIU Edwardsville product reached the major league level. Patton pitched seven times for the Rangers last year on the heels of a 42 1/3 inning, 3.83 ERA showing for Texas back in 2021. He’s appeared in parts of six MLB seasons overall, sandwiching a four-year run in Japan.
Patton has gone unclaimed on outright waivers multiple times in his career. That gives him the right to elect minor league free agency instead of reporting back to Las Vegas if he’d prefer to look for other opportunities.
Mason Miller Seeking Second Opinion On Forearm Tightness
Athletics right-hander Mason Miller is flying to Dallas today and will get a second opinion on his forearm tightness on Tuesday, reports Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Miller had been placed on the 15-day injured list with the issue last week.
It’s still unclear what exactly is ailing Miller and what the severity is, though it’s a bit ominous that he’s seeking a second opinion since it would seem to suggest the first opinion had at least some level of concern. The further examination in the coming days will undoubtedly lead to more clarity on the situation and what the next steps are.
The A’s made the aggressive decision to promote Miller, 24, to the big leagues last month despite a very limited professional track record. He was drafted in 2021 and made three Complex League outings late in that year, then a shoulder strain limited him to just six outings across different minor league levels in 2022. He then tossed 16 2/3 innings in the Arizona Fall League but still came into 2023 having tallied less than 40 frames since being drafted.
Nonetheless, his stuff was clearly enticing, including a triple digit fastball along with a slider and changeup that were also well regarded. Since the A’s were dealing with injuries and underperformance throughout their pitching staff, they decided to give Miller a shot against big league hitters. He’s generally responded well so far, posting a 3.38 ERA through 21 1/3 innings over four starts, striking out 25.9% of opponents against an 8.2% walk rate.
Unfortunately, his acclimation to the majors has been put on hold. It was a week ago that Miller was put under evaluation, with manager Mark Kotsay suggesting that the discomfort seemed to be in his flexor muscle rather than a ligament issue, though the continued testing this week will hopefully help them to zero in on a concrete diagnosis.
Elsewhere on the A’s roster, first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown seems to have suffered a setback in his attempt to return to the club. He’s been on the injured list for over a month due to an oblique strain and began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Las Vegas on the weekend, though Kawahara relays that Brown was removed from his first game of that rehab assignment. He is now heading back to Oakland to have the issue re-evaluated.
Brown, 30, has established himself as a key piece of the Oakland lineup in recent years. He hit 20 home runs in 2021 and added another 25 last year, hitting a combined .224/.294/.457 in those seasons for a wRC+ of 112. He was off to a slow start this year in a tiny sample of eight games before landing on the injured list. It’s unclear if he’s re-aggravated his injury in some kind of serious way but it’s notable that there’s enough concern for him to leave Vegas for Oakland and further testing.
The two pieces of news are a bit more gloom for a club that is off to a miserable 9-33 start and is actively pursuing a move to Las Vegas. Miller’s ascendency was one of the few positive stories for the A’s so far this year while Brown was one of the only solid everyday players that had yet to be traded away as part of their recent roster teardown. These two updates just add a bit more worry for the clubs and its fans, though more information still needs to come to light in both cases.
A’s Likely To File Funding Request With Nevada Legislature This Week
The Athletics are continuing to pursue their potential relocation to Las Vegas and will likely be filing their funding bill with the Nevada Legislature in the coming week, per Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Twitter, who adds that there will be enough time to get the deal done during the current legislative session.
The timing is significant on a couple of fronts. The current Nevada legislative session adjourns on June 5 and there’s no even year session, meaning there won’t be another chance for the A’s to file until early 2025, after the 2024 election. Under the terms of the recent collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLBPA, the Athletics have until January 15 of 2024 to sign a contract for the construction of a new facility in order to retain their status as revenue sharing recipients.
It was reported last month that the club had agreed to purchase 49 acres of land west of the Las Vegas Strip, though a later report indicated the club had pivoted to the site of the Tropicana hotel on the Strip. That hotel is owned by Bally’s Corporation, on land leased from Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. The former plan would have involved asking for $500MM in county-issue bonds but the latter plan involves a lesser ask of $395MM.
Akers’ report provides some details on the latter plan, indicating that Bally’s and Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. will be giving nine acres of the land to the A’s. Akers speaks with Bally’s Corp. Chairman Soo Kim in the piece, who estimates that land on the Strip is worth about $20MM per acre, making the total value of that land around $180MM. Once the 30,000-seat stadium with retractable roof is completed, the A’s would contribute the land to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, following a similar path to the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium. Bally’s has plans to build a new hotel-casino on the remaining portion of the land once the stadium is completed, though it’s still being determined if the Tropicana would shutter completely during construction or stay open as the work is done in phases.
The A’s currently have about three weeks to submit their proposal and get it approved before the legislative session is done. Whether they will succeed in that regard remains to be seen.
Athletics Select Garrett Acton, Activate Aledmys Diaz
The A’s have announced a series of roster moves this morning, as the club selected the contract of right-hander Garrett Acton and activated infielder Aledmys Diaz from the 10-day injured list. To clear room for the pair on the active roster, right-hander James Kaprielian and infielder Kevin Smith have been optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Acton, 25, joined the A’s organization in 2021 and has a career 4.37 ERA in 148 1/3 minor league innings. His first appearance with the A’s this season will be his major league debut. Acton joins the roster alongside the return of Diaz, who joined the A’s on a two-year, $14MM deal this offseason. Diaz struggled badly to open the season with Oakland, slashing just .153/.226/.212 in 93 plate appearances before heading to the IL. While Diaz’s struggles with the bat were pronounced, he did show off his trademark versatility, appearing at all four infield spots prior to his IL stint.
Making room for the duo on the roster are Smith, 26, and Kaprielian, 29. Smith provides a similar versatility to Diaz, with experience at both outfield corners and all four infield spots throughout his career to this point. Since coming over to the A’s as part of the Matt Chapman trade, Smith has slashed just .181/.212/.307 in 233 plate appearances with the club. Kaprielian, meanwhile, was a first round pick by the Yankees in the 2015 draft, and made his debut for Oakland in 2020. Despite his draft pedigree, Kaprielian has struggled mightily in the big leagues during parts of four seasons with the A’s, posting a 4.69 ERA (84 ERA+) in 280 innings of work. That figure includes a ghastly 10.17 ERA in 23 innings this season.