Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Athletics Rumors

Athletics To Select Vimael Machin

By | at

The A’s are set to select the contract of infielder Vimael Machin from Triple-A Las Vegas, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com (Twitter link). He and right-hander Adrian Martinez are both on their way up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Martinez, already on the 40-man roster, is expected to start today’s game for Oakland. The A’s will need to make a pair of corresponding 26-man roster moves, but they already have an open 40-man spot to accommodate Machin’s selection.

Now 28 years old, Machin was the Athletics’ selection in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft (coming out of the Cubs organization). The versatile infielder stuck on the A’s roster through the shortened 2020 season, hitting just .206/.296/.238 in 71 plate appearances. He saw more limited MLB action in 2021 when he batted .125/.200/.125 in 37 trips to the plate, and the team was able to pass him through outright waivers this past April, thus removing him from the 40-man roster.

Machin has always been a strong hitter in Triple-A, and this year has been no exception. Through 292 plate appearances, he’s turned in a .324/.401/.457 batting line (120 wRC+) with four homers, 16 doubles and three triples — all while walking more often than he’s struck out (11.3% to 10.3%). He’s played all four infield positions in Las Vegas this season — albeit only one game at first base — and has also done so in the Majors.

It’s easy to take a look at Machin’s big league numbers and completely write him off, but he’s only had 108 plate appearances in the Majors and it’s hard not to be intrigued by his .307/.400/.468 output in 741 Triple-A plate appearances. At the very least, Machin has the potential to be a bat-first utilityman.

As for the 25-year-old Martinez, he’s one of two players the A’s received from the Padres in the trade that sent Sean Manaea to San Diego. Martinez made his MLB debut earlier this season and tossed 5 1/3 shutout frames in a no-decision over the Tigers. (Oakland ultimately won the game.)

Martinez has had a rockier go of it in Triple-A this year, though he’s been far better after a rough month of April that saw him yield 15 runs in 14 1/3 innings. Overall, Martinez has a 5.63 ERA in 64 innings, but that’s come in an overwhelmingly hitter-friendly setting. His 26.4% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 47.4% ground-ball rate are all more encouraging. With two minor league option years remaining beyond the current season, he ought to have ample opportunity to establish himself as a possible regular in the Oakland rotation over the next few seasons — particularly with Daulton Jefferies likely done for the season and Frankie Montas quite likely to be traded at some point in the next five weeks.

A’s Designate Matt Davidson For Assignment

By | at

The A’s announced they’ve designated infielder Matt Davidson for assignment. Oakland also placed Dany Jiménez on the 15-day injured list, put Sam Moll on the COVID-19 list, and recalled four players: Nick Allen, Sheldon Neuse, Domingo Tapia and Kirby Snead.

Oakland didn’t need to create a 40-man roster spot for any of Allen, Neuse, Tapia or Snead. Davidson, though, is out of minor league option years. The A’s were thus left with the decision to keep him on the big league roster or take him off the 40-man entirely. With Davidson collecting just four hits while striking out ten times in eight games in an Oakland uniform, the club will turn back to Neuse and Allen in the infield at his expense.

Davidson has made 13 total big league appearances this year, as he also suited up five times with the D-Backs. He’s managed just a .147/.216/.324 showing against MLB arms, but the right-handed hitter has torn the cover off the ball in Triple-A. Between Arizona’s and Oakland’s top affiliates, Davidson owns a .306/.389/.711 line with 15 home runs in only 139 trips to the plate.

The extreme hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League no doubt has propped up those numbers, but Davidson has also flashed some power potential over parts of six MLB seasons. He’s a career .220/.290/.430 hitter in a bit more than 1100 plate appearances. Davidson’s .209 ISO (slugging minus batting average) is strong, but his huge strikeout totals and low walk rates have led to persistent issues reaching base.

Oakland will have a week to trade Davidson or run him through waivers. The latter outcome seems likelier given his lack of recent success against big league pitching. The 31-year-old has already cleared waivers once this season. He elected free agency last time around, and he’d have the right to do so again if he goes unclaimed.

Jiménez hits the IL with a shoulder strain; his placement is retroactive to June 19. Signed to a minor league contract over the winter, the righty has surprisingly jumped into a high-leverage role for manager Mark Kotsay. Jiménez has collected the first 11 saves of his career, pitching to a 4.38 ERA through 24 2/3 innings. He hadn’t allowed an earned run through the end of April, but Jiménez has been tagged for 12 runs (all earned) in 15 2/3 frames going back to the beginning of May.

Some Owners Displeased By Athletics' Fire Sale, Revenue-Sharing Status

By | at

  • The new collective bargaining agreement temporarily restored the Athletics’ status as a revenue-sharing recipient, though that status is dependent on whether or not the A’s can finally secure a new ballpark by January 15, 2024 (in Oakland or any other city).  Even with these caveats in place, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that some owners weren’t pleased that the A’s were again receiving revenue-sharing funds, especially given that the A’s then slashed their payroll by moving several notable players after the lockout.  “The idea of revenue sharing is not to make money, it’s to field a competitive team,” one owner told Heyman.  “That money is supposed to go toward player salaries.  [The A’s] took the money and put it in their pocket.”

Marlins “Pushing Hard” For Ramon Laureano

By | at

The Marlins have hung around baseball’s competitive landscape the last couple of seasons, buoyed by a dynamic young starting rotation. Their offense, however, consistently underwhelms. Thus far in 2022, however, neither the pitching nor the offense has been able to escape the torpid middle. The Marlins are tied for 13th overall in the Majors with a 3.85 team ERA, and they are similarly tied for 13th overall on the offensive end with a 104 wRC+.

It still likely wouldn’t surprise anyone to hear they might be looking for bats. The latest scuttlebutt has the Marlins “pushing hard” for outfielder Ramon Laureano, according to Peter Gammons (via Twitter). The irony, of course, is that center field has been a particular need for the Fish since dealing Starling Marte to the A’s last season. Marte now plays for the rival Mets, and the A’s are in a position to deal.

The Marlins invested heavily in their outfield this offseason, adding both Jorge Soler and Avisail Garcia to young trade acquisitions Jesus Sanchez and Bryan De La Cruz. But they weren’t able to find their long-term answer in center. Sanchez has held his own (93 wRC+, -1 DRS, 0.5 fWAR), but Laureano certainly brings a panache to outfield glove work that the Marlins may find appealing. Laureano has traditionally rated well defensively, and he doesn’t want for offensive firepower either, owning a career 117 wRC+ over 1,392 career plate appearances.

Of course, the A’s have to be willing to give him up as well. At 21-43 on the year, Oakland is firmly in a step-back year, and given their history, anyone is likely to be on the table, particularly an almost-28-year-old veteran like Laureano. GM David Forst has gone on record saying that no one is off-limits on the roster, writes Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Of course, that’s long been the company line for the A’s, particularly when they enter a sell-off period, as they did this past winter.

With true two-way center fielders being relatively tough to come by these days, however, Laureano figures to be a popular target. The A’s, for their part, may have found his successor in Cristian Pache, though Pache’s 27 wRC+ practically begs the A’s to reconsider. Laureano is still firmly in his prime, and with two more seasons of team control beyond this year, the A’s should feel no particular pressure to move him.

So while the Marlins may very well do their due diligence on Laureano, the A’s have resisted the temptation to deal him thus far. If they do ultimately decide that Laureano adds more long-term value as a trade asset than as their everyday right fielder (and Pache insurance), they can likely find more suitors beyond the Marlins. The Brewers, Padres, Phillies, Red Sox, and Dodgers join the Marlins as bottom-10 teams in terms of fWAR production from their center fielders, while the Guardians, Astros, and Rays land in the bottom 10 by wRC+. That’s no shortage of competitive clubs with a need in the grass.

Speculatively speaking, the Phillies may present the biggest challenger to the Marlins in terms of their interest. Philadelphia, like the Marlins, has been active in their search for a long-term center fielder, and they don’t appear to have that guy in their pipeline. We know the Phillies are doing what they can to compete, and as of right now, they’re doing a better job than the Marlins in that regard – they sit three games ahead of the Marlins in the standings, though still 8.5 games behind the division-leading Mets.

Of course, whether or not the Phillies have the prospects to properly woo Oakland is another question entirely. The Marlins have long been touted for their depth of young starting pitching, and if they decide to deal from that pool, Laureano may be the type of piece they would target. For now, however, the decision is still Oakland’s to make.

The Other Potential Trade Candidate In The Athletics’ Rotation

By | at

For much of the offseason, all talk on the Athletics centered on where the likes of Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas would head once the trade market picked up. We got answers to four of those five, with only Montas surviving the offseason teardown. That’s expected to be temporary, as Montas stands out as one of the most prominent trade targets on the summer market. Arguably the best arm who’ll be available this summer, Montas will dominate headlines over the next seven weeks. However, while Montas is understandably the highest-profile trade target on the Oakland roster, he’s not the only starter on whom the A’s will receive trade interest.

Paul Blackburn | Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Fans would be forgiven if Paul Blackburn isn’t someone who’s been on their radar — or even if Blackburn is entirely unfamiliar. The 28-year-old right-hander came into the 2022 season with a 5.74 ERA in 138 career innings at the MLB level. He’d accrued two years of big league service already, but much of that was time spent on the injured list. Blackburn missed time in 2018 with a forearm strain and then with a tendon issue in his elbow (lateral epicondylitis). In his two years of service, he’s appeared in just 30 total games — 27 of them starts.

Blackburn, however, has come out of the gate strong so far in 2022. His 66 1/3 innings already represent a career-high in the big leagues, though he’s surpassed 140 total frames in a season several times when combining his Triple-A and Major League work, so workload management shouldn’t be a major concern. So far, in 12 starts, the former No. 56 overall draft pick (Cubs, 2012) has pitched to a sterling 2.31 ERA. Blackburn doesn’t miss many bats, evidenced by a sub-par 17.9% strikeout rate, but he’s also issued walks to just 5.7% of his opponents and induced grounders at an excellent 51.3% clip.

There’s surely some degree of good fortune at play for Blackburn, who’s currently benefiting from a .253 average on balls in play, an 80.5% strand rate and a tiny 6.0% homer-to-flyball ratio. Even with some expected regression on those marks, ERA alternatives like FIP (3.13), xFIP (3.64) and SIERA (3.91) all feel there’s some legitimacy to the idea that Blackburn has pitched like a capable mid-rotation starter thus far.

Statcast largely agrees, crediting Blackburn with a 3.36 “expected” ERA based on his lack of free passes and the generally poor quality of contact his opponents make. Hitters have posted an average exit velocity of just 87.4 mph against Blackburn (league average is 88.8 mph), and just 3.6% (seven total) of the balls hit against him have been considered “barrels” by Statcast — less than half the league average (7.7%).

It’s tempting to assume that Oakland’s cavernous home park has played a significant role in suppressing Blackburn’s ERA, and perhaps it has to an extent, but it’s not clearly reflected in his home/road splits. Blackburn’s two “worst” starts of the season (four runs apiece) have come at the Coliseum, in fact, and he’s sporting a 4.39 ERA at home against a nearly spotless 0.91 ERA in 39 2/3 innings on the road this season. Oakland’s spacious dimensions help any pitcher on the mound from time to time, but Blackburn isn’t the frequently seen case of a pitcher who excels at the Coliseum and is regularly hit hard on the road.

Blackburn doesn’t have overpowering stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s at least worth pointing out that he’s made some velocity gains and altered his pitch usage so far in 2022, which certainly seems to have contributed to his improved results. The right-hander’s sinker sat at 90.4 mph from 2017-20 before climbing to an average of 91 mph in 2021, and it’s now up to 91.9 mph so far in 2022.

Blackburn is also throwing his curveball at a career-high 17.8% rate — and getting outstanding results. He’s thrown 172 curves this season (already a career high) and finished 44 plate appearances with the pitch; opponents have just three hits (all doubles) and 19 strikeouts (43.2%) in those 44 plate appearances. FanGraphs’ run values credit Blackburn with the fifth-most valuable hook in MLB this year (min. 50 innings pitched), trailing only Kyle Wright, Shane McClanahan, Corbin Burnes and Framber Valdez. Among pitchers in that subset who actually throw a curveball regularly, Blackburn’s has been the most valuable on a strictly per-pitch basis.

There’s an easy case to be made for the A’s simply hanging onto Blackburn even if (or when) they trade Montas. While both are controllable beyond the current season, Montas is a free agent after the 2023 campaign and will see his $5MM salary jump close to $10MM next year. His trade value won’t ever be higher than it is over the next few weeks. Blackburn, however, is controlled for three more years beyond the current campaign. The A’s may well decide that’s enough value to hang onto him — particularly if the offers aren’t all that aggressive given the right-hander’s lack of track record prior to the 2022 season.

At the same time, money was the general driving force behind Oakland’s offseason teardown, which stripped the payroll to just under $50MM — second-lowest in all of Major League Baseball ahead of only the rebuilding Orioles. The A’s don’t have a single guaranteed contract on the books for 2023, so payroll should be less of a concern than ever, but Blackburn will reach arbitration for the first time this winter and see his salary jump from its current $710K to somewhere north of $2MM. Oakland will have to spend at least some money on a few players, and Blackburn seems like a solid, affordable option to plug into the rotation at least for the next couple seasons. There’s also a bit of “found money” appeal to the idea of getting a potentially decent return for a starting pitcher who cleared waivers in Feb. 2021 and was barely on the big league radar prior to the 2022 season

It’s unlikely that the A’s will aggressively shop Blackburn, but controllable pitching is the most coveted resource at the trade deadline, so teams will at least inquire about the right-hander’s availability. And the A’s, in the midst of their most aggressive step-back in years, aren’t likely to take any player off the table unless they can control him for five or six more years. That’ll likely lead to some conversations about Blackburn and perhaps about lefty Cole Irvin as well — though Irvin is controllable for an extra year over Blackburn and has some more questionable secondary marks to go along with rather glaring home/road splits. Blackburn, of course, isn’t the ace that his rudimentary ERA currently suggests, but contending clubs need capable innings to round out the middle or back-end of their rotation as well, and he certainly appears capable of filling that role for the foreseeable future.

A’s Release Gabe Klobosits

By | at

June 14: The A’s have released Klobosits, per their transactions log at MLB.com.

June  8: The Athletics announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Gabe Klobosits for assignment and optioned righty Domingo Tapia to Triple-A Las Vegas. That pair of moves creates space for lefty Jared Koenig, whose contract has been formally selected. A’s skipper Mark Kotsay announced earlier this week that Koenig would be selected from Triple-A to start today’s game.

Acquired on a waiver claim from the Nationals back on April 11, Klobosits has spent the entire season with Las Vegas, where he’s posted an unsightly 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 frames. The towering 6’8″ righty fanned nearly a quarter of his opponents but also issued a walk to 11.8% of the batters he faced.

Klobosits made his MLB debut with the Nats in 2021, pitching to a 5.56 ERA in a small sample of 11 1/3 innings. He averaged 94.8 mph on his heater during that time and induced chases on pitches outside the strike zone at a gaudy 35.6% clip. The former 36th-round pick also posted a 1.64 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate against a respectable 8.8% walk rate in a combined 38 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year, so despite his struggles in a brief stint with the A’s, he’s had some success in the upper minors.

Notably, Klobosits does not appear on the minor league injured list but also hasn’t pitched in a game for the Aviators since mid-May. The reason for that layoff isn’t clear. Regardless, the A’s will have a week to trade Klobosits, attempt to pass him through outright waivers (assuming he is in good health; injured players cannot be outrighted) or release him.

Daulton Jefferies To Undergo Thoracic Outlet Surgery

By | at

After receiving a second opinion, A’s right-hander Daulton Jefferies is scheduled to undergo thoracic outlet surgery on Monday per Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland will share more details about Jefferies’ recovery timetable after the surgery is completed.

The surgery decision comes as little surprise after the 26-year-old Jefferies was placed on the 15-day IL a few weeks ago. A subsequent move to the 60-day IL largely dashed any chance that the right-handed pitcher would return to the hill in short order.

For the time being, the A’s appear set to roll with a rotation headed by Frankie Montas, Cole Irvin, and Paul Blackburn who are all off to strong starts this season. James Kaprielian and Jared Koenig, who was called up this past Sunday, present a pair of interesting options to hold down the fort at the back of the rotation.

While that group will hardly stand in the way of Jefferies receiving future looks in the rotation— he has first-round pedigree and strong peripherals working in his favor— the last place A’s have no urgency to rush him back. More pressing for the organization is the recovery of a player under five additional years of team control.

As has been discussed ad nauseam when it comes to any major procedure like TOS surgery, nothing is guaranteed in terms of pitching success upon recovery. D-backs starter Merrill Kelly and Chris Archer of the Twins are both years removed from the procedure and having modest success out of the rotation this year. Past pitchers haven’t always rebounded as decently however, as former Padres starter Tyson Ross, for example, saw a promising career derailed by the procedure. More recently, Nationals reliever Will Harris underwent the procedure in May of 2021 but has yet to return this season.

White Sox Claim Parker Markel From A’s

By | at

The White Sox announced they’ve claimed reliever Parker Markel off waivers from the Athletics and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago already had a 40-man roster vacancy, so no additional move was necessary.

Oakland designated Markel for assignment this week, ending his tenure in the organization after just three big league appearances. The 31-year-old walked five batters in only three innings during that time, a continuation of some longstanding control issues. He walked an elevated 12.7% of batters faced across 19 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas prior to his call-up, and he struggled to throw strikes during his only previous MLB action back in 2019.

That said, Markel has also flashed promising swing-and-miss stuff. He’s punched out an excellent 35.4% of opponents in Triple-A this season, and he fanned batters at a nearly identical rate last year in Triple-A with the Padres. Markel averaged 95 MPH with above-average raw spin on his fastball during his brief big league look in Oakland, and his low-80s slider has promising two-plane movement.

The fastball-slider pairing has flummoxed many hitters in the upper minors, and the Sox will take a low-risk shot to add some bullpen depth. Markel still has a pair of option years remaining, so the White Sox can shuttle him between Chicago and Charlotte for each of the next two seasons if he retains his spot on the 40-man roster.

Athletics Designate Parker Markel For Assignment, Select Matt Davidson

By | at

The A’s announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated Stephen Vogt from the injured list, selected the contract of infielder Matt Davidson from Triple-A Las Vegas and designated right-handed reliever Parker Markel for assignment. Oakland also optioned infielder Sheldon Neuse to Las Vegas.

Davidson, 31, saw some big league time with the D-backs earlier this season but rejected an outright assignment following a DFA and inked a minor league pact with the A’s. He’s appeared in just 21 Triple-A games and tallied 88 plate appearances but already has seven home runs in Las Vegas. Davidson was mashing with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno, too, and he’s posted an overall .306/.389/.711 batting line with 15 long balls in only 139 Triple-A plate appearances so far this season.

Some caveats to that production apply, of course. The Pacific Coast League is a notoriously hitter-friendly setting, with Vegas in particular tending to inflate offense. Davidson has had his share of Triple-A success in the past as well — albeit not to this extent — with 146 home runs logged through 703 games at that level. He’s a .248/.320/.470 hitter in Triple-A but hasn’t quite carried that over in parts of six seasons in the Majors, where he’s a .222/.292/.433 hitter. He could still give the A’s more offense than they’ve gotten out of Neuse, a fellow right-handed-hitting infielder who has managed a tepid .228/.291/.305 output in a career-high 182 Major League plate appearances so far.

Markel, also 31, inked a minor league deal with the A’s over the winter and parlayed a 1.89 ERA in 19 Triple-A frames into his first big league action since 2019. The former Mariners and Pirates righty has a long track record of missing bats at a high level but also battling command issues, and both of those have been true in the Majors and in Triple-A this season. Markel fanned 35.4% of his opponents while pitching for Las Vegas but also walked hitters at a 12.7% clip. He fired three scoreless innings in the Majors with the A’s and picked up three strikeouts … but he also issued a walk to five of the 13 hitters he faced.

Even though he averages better than 95 mph on his heater and has a 3.09 ERA and 30% strikeout rate in 177 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, Markel has only ever logged 25 innings in the Majors. There’s no sugarcoating his ugly 14.1% walk rate in Triple-A, but the bat-missing ability and velocity are somewhat intriguing all the same.

Oakland will have a week to trade Markel, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him. He’s been outrighted once before — by the Angels in 2020 — so even if he goes unclaimed on waivers, he’d have the option of rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

A’s To Select Jared Koenig For Wednesday Start

By | at

The Athletics are planning to start rookie left-hander Jared Koenig on Wednesday against the Braves, Oakland manager Mark Kotsay told reporters (including The San Francisco Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara).  Koenig will be making his MLB debut, and the A’s will need to make at least one roster move before the game in order to add Koenig to the 40-man roster.

A start against the World Series champions is quite the culmination of a long journey for Koenig, who hadn’t even played affiliated baseball until 2021.  A 35th-round pick for the White Sox in the 2014 draft, Koenig opted for college ball but then went undrafted after two years of NCAA action.  From there, Koenig spent the 2017-19 seasons pitching in the indy leagues and in the Australian Baseball League before catching on with the Athletics on a minor league deal.

After pitching well in Double-A in 2021, Koenig has done even better at the Triple-A level in 2022.  The southpaw has a 2.21 ERA, 29.5% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 53 innings (starting eight of nine games) for Triple-A Las Vegas.  With a 3.43 FIP and 4.20 xFIP, Koenig is perhaps a little fortunate to have such a low ERA, though his numbers certainly stand out in the hitter-friendly Vegas environment.

Koenig will become the ninth different pitcher to make a start for Oakland this season, as the Athletics are still looking for consistency in the rotation in the wake of trading Chris Bassitt and Sean Manaea during the offseason.  Zach Logue was optioned back to Triple-A last week, opening the door for Koenig to get a shot at age 28.  With the A’s in the midst of a rebuild, an opportunity exists for Koenig to grab a rotation spot if he proves he can handle MLB batters.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top