A’s Designate Jeurys Familia, Domingo Acevedo For Assignment
The Athletics are shaking up their bullpen, designating right-handers Jeurys Familia and Domingo Acevedo for assignment, per a team announcement. Righty Adam Oller was also optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. In a set of corresponding moves, righties Spencer Patton, Austin Pruitt and Rico Garcia have all had their contracts selected from Triple-A.
Familia, 33, returned to the A’s for a second stint late in spring training, after the D-backs cut him loose late in spring training. The former Mets closer had enjoyed a strong showing in camp with Arizona and landed a big league deal with Oakland, but things haven’t gone well in his return to the Coliseum. Through 12 2/3 innings, Familia has been tagged for a 6.39 ERA, due in no small part to a sky-high 20.3% walk rate.
It’s been a tough two years for Familia, who was sharp with the Mets from 2020-21 but was roughed up for a 6.09 ERA in 44 1/3 frames between the Phillies and Red Sox in 2022. Familia’s fastball, which once averaged better than 97 mph, sat at what was then a career-low 95.6 mph between those two teams last year. This season, he’s averaged 94.8 mph on the pitch.
As for the 29-year-old Acevedo, his bottom-line run prevention numbers are even more jarring. In 9 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, he’s been clobbered for 11 runs on 16 hits (two homers), a pair of walks and a hit batter with seven punchouts. The resulting 10.61 ERA is more than triple the strong 3.33 mark he posted in 67 2/3 innings for the A’s during the 2022 season.
Acevedo’s velocity hasn’t changed — his 93.2 mph average heater is an exact match with his 2022 velocity — nor has he made any radical alterations to his pitch selection/usage. However, he’s seen his swinging-strike rate plummet from 15.6% to 8.8%, while his opponents’ chase rate has fallen from 35.6% to 29%. While he’s undoubtedly had some poor fortune in terms of batted balls (.400 BABIP), Acevedo also just isn’t missing many bats and is getting chases off the plate at a below-average rate after excelling in both those areas a year ago.
Pruitt returns to the A’s for a second season after spending the bulk of the 2022 campaign in their bullpen and pitching to a 4.23 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. The A’s removed him from the 40-man roster but re-signed him to a minor league deal this past offseason, and he’s begun the year with a 2.30 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate in 15 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Pruitt has only fanned 17.4% of his Major League opponents, so he’s not likely to keep missing bats at this level, but he also boasts a very strong 5.3% walk rate in his MLB career.
The 35-year-old Patton has had the most MLB experience in recent seasons. Patton, who starred for NPB’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars for several years before returning to MLB with the Rangers in 2021, pitched to a 3.83 ERA in 49 1/3 innings with Texas in 2021-22. He had a very strong ’21 season, fanning 27.9% of his opponents against an 8.7% walk rate, but Patton’s velocity dipped by more than a mile per hour in 2022 as his walk and strikeout rates spiked in the wrong directions. Through 8 1/3 innings with Las Vegas this season, he’s allowed four runs on 11 hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts.
Garcia, 29, has appeared in three big league seasons, splitting a total of 24 innings between the Rockies, Giants and Orioles. He has a grisly 6.38 ERA in that time and has issued more walks than strikeouts. However, he’s sitting on a 2.03 ERA in 13 1/3 innings so far in Las Vegas, with a hefty 32.8% strikeout rate and 18% swinging-strike rate against a more troublesome 15.5% walk rate.
Athletics Recall JJ Bleday
The Athletics announced today that outfielder JJ Bleday has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas, with fellow outfielder Conner Capel optioned to Vegas in a corresponding move. Bleday is in tonight’s lineup, batting fifth and playing left field.
This will be the first appearance as an Athletic for Bleday, who came over from the Marlins this winter in a one-for-one trade with A.J. Puk going the other way. The fourth overall selection of the 2019 draft, Bleday has been considered one of the top prospects in the league but has had an inconsistent professional career thus far. He struggled in Double-A in 2021 but hit well enough in Triple-A last year to get a 65-game audition in the big leagues. He walked in 12.6% of his plate appearances in the majors but also struck out 28.2% of the time and slashed .167/.277/.309 for a wRC+ of 72.
The Marlins decided to move on from him and flipped him for Puk, but Bleday is making some noise so far this year. In 119 plate appearances in Triple-A, he’s walked more than he’s struck out, a 16.8% rate of free passes compared to just a 12.6% clip for the punchouts. His .316/.429/.643 batting line needs to be taken with a grain of salt because he’s playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but it’s still 50% above league average, as shown by his 150 wRC+.
Bleday will now see if he can fare better against major league pitchers this year than he did last year. If he’s able to play well enough to stick around, it could have ramifications on the business side of things. Bleday earned 75 days of service time with the Marlins last year, meaning he’s 97 shy of the 172 that are required to get to the one-year mark. With about five months left in the season, there’s still a chance for him to get over the line and be on track for arbitration after 2025 and free agency after 2028. However, future optional assignments could push those targets back.
If Bleday does hit the ground running and emerge as a key piece for the A’s, it doesn’t currently seem like the Marlins will have too much regret. Puk has been absolutely lights out so far this year, posting a 0.75 ERA through 12 innings pitched, striking out 27.1% of batters faced while walking just 4.2%. That performance seems to have vaulted him into the closer’s seat, as he’s racked up five saves on the year so far.
Turning back to Bleday, he’ll jump into the outfield mix in Oakland next to some other players looking to prove themselves. Rookie Esteury Ruiz is getting most of the playing time in center while Ramón Laureano is the regular in right, looking to get back into a groove after his PED suspension and shaky return last year. Brent Rooker is also in the mix, having a tremendous season at the plate thus far, but has been frequently in the designated hitter slot of late.
AL Injury Notes: Diaz, Bauers, Farmer, Benintendi
Aledmys Diaz is likely going to require a trip to the 10-day injured list after suffering a hamstring injury in today’s game, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters. After delivering an RBI single in the second inning, Diaz stole second base and then advanced to third on a Jordan Diaz single before being replaced by pinch-runner Kevin Smith (who then took over for Diaz at shortstop in the top of the third inning).
An injury would only add to what has been a brutal start to the season for Diaz, and the A’s as a whole. Diaz is hitting only .153/.226/.212 over his first 93 plate appearances, after signing a two-year, $14.5MM deal with Oakland during the winter. While the offense hasn’t been there, Diaz has at least provided some versatility, playing at all four infield positions over his 25 games. [UPDATE: The A’s will see how Diaz is feeling after Monday’s offday, according to MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos. An MRI revealed a Grade 1 hamstring strain for Diaz, but there is apparently some hope that a couple of days’ rest might allow Diaz to avoid the injured list.]
More on other injury situations from around the American League…
- The Yankees selected Jake Bauers‘ contract prior to today’s game with the Rangers, but his return to the big leagues has already been clouded by an injury scare. Bauers made an outstanding catch to rob Adolis Garcia of extra bases in the bottom of the first inning, but had to make a hard slide into the wall to complete the play. Officially diagnosed as a right knee contusion, Bauers’ injury will receive further testing, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner and Newsday’s Erik Boland). Boone said “it’s possible” the club might need to call someone up from Triple-A as early as tomorrow if Bauers needs to go on the injured list, and Boland also noted that Bauers was walking “with a significant limp in the clubhouse” after the game.
- Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park and other reporters that Kyle Farmer might begin a rehab assignment this week. Farmer hasn’t played since April 12, when he was hit in the face by a Lucas Giolito fastball. The scary-looking injury resulted in a facial laceration and some significant dental work for Farmer, but he fortunately avoided anything more serious like a concussion or a broken jaw. Minnesota acquired Farmer in a trade with the Reds back in November, and when Farmer is healthy, he’ll resume his role as a multi-positional option on the Twins’ bench.
- X-rays were negative on Andrew Benintendi‘s elbow after the White Sox outfielder was hit by a pitch during Friday’s game. Benintendi didn’t play today but manager Pedro Grifol told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters that Benintendi might be back as early as Sunday. While Benintendi isn’t known for his power bat, he hasn’t delivered much pop in his short time in Chicago, hitting .281/.337/.333 in his first 104 PA in a White Sox uniform. The outfielder signed a five-year, $75MM free agent contract with the Sox in the offseason.
Athletics Reinstate Ramon Laureano, DFA Tyler Wade
The Athletics announced they’ve activated outfielder Ramon Laureano from the injured list, and designated utilityman Tyler Wade for assignment.
Laureano’s return is a welcome boost for an A’s team that’s slumped to a 5-22 record entering play Saturday. The 28-year-old was hitting .218/.295/.436 with two home runs to begin the season before he hit the shelf with a left groin strain. That move came on April 19, so Laureano will be activated after spending the minimum ten days on the IL. While he’s put up ho-hum numbers at the plate, Laureano has excelled in a small sample of work in right field, collecting four Defensive Runs Saved on the young season.
The A’s will part ways with the speedy Wade, who’d picked up just one hit in 16 plate appearances. Known for his speed and defensive versatility, Wade had picked up four stolen bases and appeared at four positions for Oakland. Signed to a minor league deal, he’ll now be exposed to the rest of the league via the waiver wire, and while the hitting numbers don’t inspire a lot of confidence, there’s a chance a team puts in a claim to bring him in as a cheap pinch runner/defensive sub off the bench.
A’s Outright Dermis Garcia
Athletics infielder Dérmis Garcia has been outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. That indicates he’s gone unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment on Monday.
Garcia, 25, signed a minor league contract with Oakland heading into 2022. A longtime Yankee farmhand, the right-handed hitter had topped out at Double-A in the New York system. Garcia hit well with Las Vegas to earn his initial MLB call last July. He got into 39 games and tallied 125 plate appearances but struggled in his first crack at big league arms. Garcia hit .207/.264/.388 with five home runs, showing solid power but punching out at an unacceptable 44% clip.
The A’s carried him on the 40-man roster for the entire offseason. He was optioned to Las Vegas to start this year. He’s off to a .242/.329/.500 start in 70 plate appearances with the Aviators. That’s a reasonable line on the surface but a little below-average in one of the minors’ most favorable home parks for hitters. Garcia had also struck out 24 times (34.3%) while drawing only five walks through the first few weeks of the year.
Garcia has never previously been outrighted and doesn’t have three years of MLB service. As a result, he doesn’t have the right to refuse the assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll remain in Las Vegas and try to work his way back onto the 40-man roster at some point during the season. Garcia would be eligible for minor league free agency at the end of the ’23 campaign if he’s not added back to the roster.
Athletics Promote Luis Medina, Option James Kaprielian
The Athletics announced that they have recalled pitching prospect Luis Medina, and optioned right-hander James Kaprielian in a corresponding move. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reported on Medina’s promotion before the official announcement, noting that Medina is expected to make his major league debut tomorrow.
Medina, 24 next month, was signed by the Yankees as an international amateur in 2015 and quickly got himself onto the radar of prospect evaluators. By the start of 2018, he was considered the #7 prospect in that club’s system by Baseball America. As he worked his way up towards the majors, he stayed roughly in that range, bouncing between the #7 and #11 spots.
After the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020, Medina split 2021 between High-A and Double-A, posting a 3.39 ERA in 106 1/3 innings. His 13.3% walk rate was certainly on the high side, but he paired that with a 29.5% strikeout rate. He returned to Double-A in 2022, registering a 3.38 ERA in 17 starts with similar peripherals.
He then came to the Athletics, one of four young players who came over in the deadline deal that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees. His first stint with his new club didn’t go so well, as he had an 11.76 ERA in seven starts after the trade last year. But he seems back on track here in 2023 as he’s made three Triple-A starts with a 3.86 ERA, though the control continues to be an issue as he walked 20% of batters faced.
Despite the lack of command, Medina continues to be touted on account of his high octane stuff. BA ranked him #13 in the A’s system coming into this year. They note that he routinely touches triple digits with his fastball, in addition to having a curveball and a changeup. The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster way back in November of 2019, to protect him from that year’s Rule 5 draft, but the A’s were given a fourth option year that allowed them to send him to Triple-A this year.
He’ll now get a crack to test his stuff against big league hitters. The A’s have very little cemented in their rotation, having traded away their established players in recent years. On top of that, players like Paul Blackburn, Drew Rucinski and Freddy Tarnok have yet to appear this season due to injuries. Shintaro Fujinami struggled enough that he’s being moved to the bullpen now. Medina will jump up to join a rotation that currently consists of JP Sears, Mason Miller, Ken Waldichuk and Kyle Muller, though Rucinski is on a rehab assignment and could be in the mix soon.
Kaprielian seemed like a potential mainstay of the rotation not too long ago, making 21 starts for the A’s in 2021 and 26 more last year, posting ERAs just north of 4.00 in each of those campaigns. However, he underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and has been lit up for a 12.94 ERA through three starts and three relief outings in the early going this year. He’ll head to Triple-A and try to get back on track.
A’s Move Shintaro Fujinami To Relief
The Athletics are moving right-hander Shintaro Fujinami from the rotation to a relief role, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters before tonight’s game against the Angels (relayed by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com). Kotsay left open the possibility for an eventual move back to the starting staff but suggested the club would first “assess” Fujinami in shorter stints.
Oakland signed Fujinami to a one-year, $3MM deal over the winter. It was one of the more intriguing low-cost dice rolls of the offseason. Fujinami had shown excellent arm speed and quality strikeout stuff at times in his career in Japan. That had often been paired with huge walk totals to the point that his NPB club, the Hanshin Tigers, frequently moved him between the top roster and their minor league club.
The A’s gave Fujinami a crack at a rotation job to bring him to Oakland. The 6’6″ hurler issued 17 walks in 18 2/3 innings in Spring Training, yet the A’s stuck with the plan to keep him in the Opening Day starting staff. Fujinami has taken four times through the rotation but has yet to find any success. He’s allowed 24 runs in only 15 innings, walking 12 batters and surrendering 19 hits. Fujinami only once made it past the fifth inning and took the loss in all four outings.
It’s obviously not how the team nor the 29-year-old had envisioned his first few weeks in the majors. They’ll hope for better results in short stints, where Fujinami’s power arsenal could be more effective. He’s averaged just under 97 MPH on his fastball and gotten a decent number of swinging strikes on both his splitter and slider. He’s issued far too many walks and given up plenty of hard contact out of the rotation though.
The A’s lost a member of their relief corps to injury, as righty Adrián Martínez landed on the 15-day injured list with a strain in his throwing elbow. Kotsay told repairers that Martínez underwent an MRI and is shut down from throwing for the next few days while the club awaits imaging results (Gallegos link). A more specific timeline will be dependent on the MRI but it’d seem likely he’ll be out beyond two weeks.
Fujinami and recent trade acquisition Sam Long offer the ability to work multiple innings in relief. Meanwhile, it seems as if another offseason pickup — KBO signee Drew Rucinski — could take the vacated rotation spot. Rucinski has been on the IL all season due to a hamstring issue. He’s now made three rehab starts with Triple-A Las Vegas, reaching five innings and 72 pitches yesterday. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s reinstated to make his A’s debut later this week.
A’s Designate Dermis Garcia For Assignment
The Athletics announced Monday that they’ve designated first baseman Dermis Garcia for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to lefty Sam Long, whom they acquired from the Giants in exchange for cash yesterday. Long is going directly onto the active roster, and in a corresponding move, righty Adrian Martinez has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain.
Garcia, 25, was a longtime Yankees prospect who never got a call to the big leagues before reaching minor league free agency. He signed with the A’s in March of 2022 and parlayed a .264/.349/.498 showing (106 wRC+) into his big league debut. He got into 39 games with the 2022 A’s, batting .207/.264/.388 with five home runs, a 6.4% walk rate and a dismal 44% strikeout rate.
Making contact has long been an issue for Garcia, who has regularly shown above-average power but has also regularly punched out in more than 30% of his plate appearances in a given season. Overall, he’s fanned in 33.4% of his minor league plate appearances. The A’s will have a week to trade Garcia or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
The injury to Martinez is a concerning development for an A’s club that has struggled immensely to develop pitchers and has thus far received underwhelming results from the early stages of its current rebuild. The 26-year-old Martinez, one of two players acquired from the Padres in exchange for Sean Manaea, posted sharp minor league numbers for the majority of his time with the San Diego organization but has been hit hard with the A’s — both in limited MLB action and in their ludicrously hitter-friendly Triple-A Las Vegas setting.
Oakland has had the worst starting staff in baseball this season, and it hasn’t been particularly close. Martinez has been working primarily out of the bullpen for them in 2023 but has done so in multi-inning stints, logging 17 1/3 frames of relief with a 6.75 ERA.
Martinez started the season quite strong, with a 3.27 ERA through 11 innings, but he’s been torched for nine runs in a combined 6 1/3 innings over his past two appearances. The Venezuelan-born righty actually has a decent 20.1% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate in 75 Major League frames, but he’s been undone by a sky-high 1.92 HR/9 mark. The A’s haven’t announced a timetable for his return. Given that Martinez threw as many as 70 pitches in a single relief outing, it’s feasible that he could have eventually been a rotation option for the team if needed. That may still be the case, but it’s now dependent on how long he’ll be sidelined. The A’s have not yet announced a potential timetable or any details beyond the initial diagnosis.
Athletics Acquire Sam Long From Giants
The A’s announced that left-hander Sam Long has been acquired in a trade with the Giants, with cash considerations heading San Francisco’s way. Long was designated for assignment by the Giants earlier this week after the club acquired Cal Stevenson (another DFA’ed player) from the Athletics for money, essentially making the pair of transactions into a Stevenson-for-Long swap.
Long made his MLB debut in 2021, and the Giants shuttled him back and forth from Triple-A several times over the course of the last two seasons, with Long amassing 83 big league innings in total. The lack of stability probably didn’t help Long get too comfortable in the Show, but after posting a 5.53 ERA over 40 2/3 frames in 2021, he improved to a 3.61 ERA in 42 1/3 innings last year.
Fielding-independent metrics indicated Long was pretty similar in both seasons, and his career 4.55 ERA came close to the midpoint between his 4.80 xFIP and 4.35 SIERA. Long has done a good job of limiting walks but he hasn’t missed many bats, and he has been tagged for 13 home runs in his 83 MLB innings. The results haven’t been there in the minors this season, however, as Long has a 9.90 ERA over 10 innings with Triple-A Sacramento.
This was enough for the Giants to part ways, and the A’s will now see if Long can provide any relief depth either in the minors or in their Major League bullpen. The Athletics have been struggling in all facets of the game and the relief corps is no exception, so Long might find some opportunity on a club desperate for any help. Sam Moll and Richard Lovelady are the current left-handed options in Oakland’s pen.
Two transactions within a week counts as a huge flurry of activity in the limited trade history between the A’s and Giants. The two Bay Area rivals last connected on an actual player-for-player trade in December 1990, with five player-for-cash swaps happening in the interim.
A’s, Francisco Perez Agree To Minor League Deal
The Athletics have signed reliever Francisco Pérez to a minor league contract, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. The left-hander had been released from a non-roster deal with the Nationals during Spring Training.
Pérez has pitched in the majors in each of the last two seasons. He debuted with Cleveland late in the 2021 campaign, appearing in four games. The Nationals snagged him off waivers at the end of that year. Pérez held his 40-man roster spot for a season and got into 10 MLB contests with Washington last year. The Nationals ran him through outright waivers at the end of last season.
In 14 career appearances, the Dominican Republic native has tallied 15 1/3 innings of 10-run ball. He’s issued 12 walks while punching out 12 hitters in that rather brief look. He’s leaned heavily on a four-seam fastball that averages around 93 MPH while using a mid-80s slider as his top secondary offering.
Pérez spent the bulk of the 2022 season with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester. He worked 46 2/3 innings over 45 outings for the Red Wings, allowing a 4.82 ERA. The 25-year-old punched out a strong 29.9% of batters faced at the top minor league level, though he also dished out free passes at a huge 15.7% clip.
The Nats were sufficiently intrigued by the bat-missing numbers in Triple-A to re-sign Pérez to a minor league deal over the winter. He only got into two Spring Training contests before being reassigned to minor league camp and subsequently released. He now joins the third organization of his career, where he’ll presumably head to Triple-A in search of a new opportunity.
Oakland has a pair of left-handers in the MLB bullpen: Sam Moll and Richard Lovelady. They recently turned to Hogan Harris for his MLB debut in relief, though he’s worked as a starting pitcher in the minors. The only other left-handed reliever who’d have a 40-man roster spot is Kirby Snead but he’s on the 60-day injured list after suffering a shoulder strain in Spring Training. Former Marlin Jake Fishman is at Triple-A Las Vegas as a non-roster depth pitcher but landed on the minor league IL two weeks ago.