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Outrights: Yamamoto, Selman

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A pair of players designated for assignment as teams set their Opening Day rosters recently passed through waivers unclaimed.

  • The Mets have outrighted Jordan Yamamoto to Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The right-hander doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse the assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization and try to pitch his way back onto the roster. New York acquired Yamamoto, formerly a decently-regarded pitching prospect, in a minor deal with the division-rival Marlins in February 2021. Unfortunately, he spent the bulk of his first season in Queens on the injured list. Yamamoto has pitched to a 6.05 ERA in 96 2/3 MLB innings, but he’s performed well up through Double-A and doesn’t have much experience at the minors’ top level.
  • The Athletics have outrighted southpaw Sam Selman to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to their transactions tracker at MLB.com. Like Yamamoto, he’ll have to stick in the organization by virtue of never having previously been outrighted and not having reached three years of MLB service. The 31-year-old reliever has pitched 54 2/3 innings over 59 MLB appearances with the Giants and Angels the past three seasons. He owns a 4.77 ERA and hasn’t posted particularly strong peripherals, but Selman has handled left-handed batters well throughout his big league tenure. The A’s already have Adam Kolarek, Sam Moll, A.J. Puk and Kirby Snead as lefty bullpen options on the 40-man roster, but Selman will try to pitch his way back into that mix during his time with the Aviators.

Athletics Claim Gabe Klobosits, Designate Luis Barrera For Assignment

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The A’s announced Monday that they’ve claimed righty Gabe Klobosits off waivers from the Nationals and, in a corresponding move, designated outfielder Luis Barrera for assignment. Oakland’s 40-man roster remains at capacity.

Klobosits, a towering 6’8″ right-hander, made his big league debut with the Nationals last season and allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits and five walks with five strikeouts through 11 1/3 innings of relief. 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, both of which surely hold some appeal to the A’s. The former 36th-round pick also posted a brilliant 1.64 ERA with a sizable 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.

It’s an intriguing profile in the first place, and the fact that Klobosits still has a pair of minor league option year remaining makes it all the more appealing. The Athletics’ bullpen picture is pretty much wide open after the team let several veterans walk and did nothing to reinforce the group via free agency. Klobosits should have ample opportunity to make an impression on the A’s this year.

As for the also-26-year-old Barrera, he’s long rated as one of the better prospects in the Oakland system but has seen his stock dip in recent years. The left-handed-hitting, left-handed-throwing Barrera put the ball in play and drew plenty of walks in Triple-A last year, but he showed minimal power en route to a .276/.348/.393 batting line that checked in at 12% worse than league-average by measure of wRC+. Scouting reports on Barrera peg him as a capable defender at any of the three outfield spots with well above-average speed. He ranked 24th among A’s prospects at Baseball America and 32nd at FanGraphs.

Despite last year’s 10.1% walk rate in Triple-A, however, virtually every report on Barrera cites a need to be more selective at the plate. BA notes that he swung at 48% of the pitches he saw in 2021, which makes that walk rate both remarkable and, quite possibly, anomalous in nature. Still, Barrera has a solid track record up through Double-A, and even if his ceiling is ultimately that of a fourth outfielder, he’s a largely MLB-ready one. Viewed through that lens, it’s rather surprising to see the A’s jettison Barrera in this manner, but the organization must feel fairly confident in its outfield depth beyond him. The A’s will have a week to trade Barrera or try to pass him through outright waivers.

Athletics Interested In Andrew Vaughn

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The White Sox were among the many teams showing interest in the Athletics’ available starters, with Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas on Chicago’s target list.  Manaea has since been dealt to the Padres, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting that the White Sox “nearly” landed Manaea instead, and are still looking at Montas.  However, the A’s want young slugger Andrew Vaughn back in return, and the Sox are balking at the demand.

It isn’t surprising that the A’s would make such a big ask, considering that Montas is under team control through the 2023 season.  Likewise, it is natural that the White Sox wouldn’t be eager to part with a former star prospect who was already in the majors less than two years after being picked third overall in the 2019 draft.

Oakland could also be looking to leverage Chicago’s sudden lack of pitching depth, as Lance Lynn (knee surgery) will be on the injured list until late May and Lucas Giolito (abdominal tightness) is also on the verge of being placed on the IL for what looks like could be the majority of April.  The White Sox did recently sign Johnny Cueto, but the veteran will need some ramp-up time after missing all of Spring Training, and might not be available for a few weeks anyway.

Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech, and Vince Velasquez are now the top four in the White Sox rotation, with Reynaldo Lopez, Jimmy Lambert, or Tanner Banks candidates to fill in for Giolito.  Adding a pitcher of Montas’ caliber would be a major help both in the immediate future and beyond, as this is the last guaranteed season of Keuchel’s contract, and it seems unlikely that the Sox will exercise their $20MM club option on his services for 2023.

Then again, Vaughn is also a possible long-term answer as an heir apparent to 35-year-old Jose Abreu, who is also in the final season of his contract.  There does remain a solid chance that the Sox will sign Abreu to another extension, so Vaughn could play in a first base/DH timeshare with Abreu, or perhaps see more time as a corner outfielder, even if Vaughn isn’t ideally suited for outfield work.

Another complicating factor is that the White Sox could also use Vaughn’s bat right now, given that the injury bug has also extended to the position player side.  Yoan Moncada is on the 10-day IL with an oblique strain and AJ Pollock left yesterday’s game with a sore hamstring, though Pollock doesn’t believe the injury is terribly serious.

Vaughn hit .235/.309/.396 with 15 homers over 469 plate appearances in his 2021 rookie season, resulting in a 93 OPS+/94 wRC+.  These are certainly respectable numbers for a player’s first taste of the majors, especially since Vaughn still has so little overall pro experience.  After being drafted, Vaughn played in 55 minor league games in 2019 but then didn’t see any official game action at all in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, instead doing his work at Chicago’s alternate training site.  Vaughn spoke with The Athletic’s James Fegan about his rookie year and the adjustments he has made both at the plate and in the field, which includes even taking some grounders at third base as a possible fallback option in Moncada’s absence.

Between Vaughn’s prospect pedigree and his big league-readiness, he is the type of player the A’s have traditionally targeted on the trade market, particularly during their most recent selloff of notable veterans.  The likes of Cristian Pache, Shea Langoliers, Adrian Martinez, Kevin Smith, and Adam Oller have all been acquired since the end of the lockout, with Pache, Smith, and Oller already on the active roster.

A's Place Skye Bolt On 10-Day Injured List

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  • The Athletics placed Skye Bolt on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain.  Left-hander Adam Kolarek was called up from Triple-A.  After debuting with five games for Oakland in 2019, Bolt didn’t see any action in 2020 and then played in 34 total games with the Giants and A’s last season.  Bolt has some big numbers with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate but hasn’t brought that pop to the majors, with only an .090/.116/.164 slash line over 71 career plate appearances in the Show.

Athletics Select Five Players, Designate Sam Selman

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The A’s announced their Opening Day roster this afternoon, and five non-roster invitees were selected to make the big league club. Pitchers Justin Grimm, Dany Jiménez, Zach Jackson and Jake Lemoine were all added to the MLB roster, as was corner outfielder Billy McKinney.

Grimm, Jiménez and McKinney each have previous big league experience. All three were signed from other organizations this offseason. Grimm is up for his ninth MLB season, his first since a four-game stint with the Brewers in 2020. The right-hander had a nice showing in the middle of the last decade with the Cubs, posting a 3.36 ERA in 171 1/3 innings between 2014-16. He hasn’t found much major league success in the past five years, but he punched out an excellent 33.6% of opponents with the Mariners Triple-A affiliate last season.

Jiménez’s big league time consists of two appearances with the Giants in 2020. The righty has been of interest to the Oakland front office for some time, as they selected him in the Rule 5 draft at the end of that season. He didn’t stick on the active roster, though, and the 28-year-old spent last season at Triple-A in the Blue Jays system. Jiménez pitched to a 2.22 ERA with an incredible 39% strikeout rate there, although he also walked 13.4% of batters faced.

McKinney is a former A’s first-rounder. Traded to the Cubs before he made his MLB debut, he’s suited up with five different teams over the past four years. The left-handed hitting outfielder owns a .215/.286/.404 line in a bit more than 700 plate appearances. McKinney has flashed some power potential, but he’s punched out in 26% of his trips to the dish. The 27-year-old joins Stephen Piscotty, Seth Brown and Chad Pinder in the corner outfield mix for skipper Mark Kotsay.

Jackson, 27, was a third-round pick by the Blue Jays out of the University of Arkansas in 2016. The 6’4″ righty — who has worked exclusively out of the bullpen as a pro — was selected by the A’s in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 draft. He split last season between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas, working 28 innings of 2.57 ERA ball across the two levels. The Tulsa native remarkably fanned 41.2% of opponents, albeit with an 11.4% walk rate.

Lemoine was a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in 2015 out of the University of Houston. The right-hander has also worked solely in relief as a pro, pitching his way up to Triple-A in the Texas system. Lemoine hit minor league free agency at the end of the season and signed with the A’s. He owns a 4.81 ERA with an underwhelming 18.9% strikeout percentage in that time, but Lemoine has induced grounders on over the half the balls in play against him in each of his Triple-A seasons.

To create 40-man roster space, the A’s needed to free three spots. They’ve designated southpaw Sam Selman for assignment, tweets Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. The other two spots, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com, were freed by placing pitchers Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. on the 60-day injured list.

Selman just landed in Oakland last month when he was claimed off waivers from the Angels. The 31-year-old southpaw has pitched with the Giants and Anaheim over the past three seasons, combining for a 4.77 ERA in 54 2/3 frames. Selman doesn’t have particularly strong strikeout, walk or ground-ball numbers, but he’s been a nightmare for left-handed hitters. Same-handed batters have just a .171/.307/.329 line in 102 plate appearances against Selman. He has a minor league option remaining.

Guerra’s and Honeywell’s absences were expected. The former recently underwent surgery after experiencing forearm tightness this spring. The latter was shut down from throwing indefinitely after suffering an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow.

A’s Outright Vimael Machin, Reassign Eric Thames

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The Athletics announced this afternoon they’ve outrighted infielder Vimael Machín off the 40-man roster. Oakland’s 40-man roster now sits at 38. Additionally, Oakland announced that non-roster invitee Eric Thames has been reassigned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Machín has suited up with the A’s in each of the past two seasons after being selected out of the Cubs organization in the 2019 Rule 5 draft. The left-handed hitter has tallied 108 combined MLB plate appearances, putting up a .179/.264/.200 slash line without a home run. The Puerto Rico native fared much better on optional assignment to Las Vegas, however. In 393 Triple-A plate appearances last year, he hit .295/.389/.479 with 11 homers. Along the way, he walked in an impressive 12.5% of his trips to the plate while striking out just 18.3% of the time.

With just over one year of big league time under his belt, Machín doesn’t have enough service to refuse an outright assignment. He’ll head to Las Vegas and remain in the organization as a non-roster depth option. With Machín off the big league club, it looks as if the A’s will open the season with an infield group of Jed Lowrie, Tony Kemp, Elvis Andrus, Kevin Smith and Sheldon Neuse.

It’s a moderate surprise Thames won’t be in that mix. The slugging first baseman joined the organization on a minors pact over the offseason. He’d been slated to spend the 2021 campaign with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, but he missed virtually the entire season after rupturing an Achilles in his first game. Lost season notwithstanding, Thames looked a good candidate to play first base for an Oakland team that traded Matt Olson to Atlanta. Instead, it seems the A’s will rely on a combination of Lowrie, corner outfielder Seth Brown and perhaps catcher Stephen Vogt at the position.

Whether Thames will wind up reporting to the Aviators is unclear. It’s not uncommon for non-roster deals for veterans of his ilk to contain opt-out clauses at the end of Spring Training if the player doesn’t make the big league club.

Padres Acquire Sean Manaea

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The Athletics have traded Sean Manaea to the Padres, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Earlier today, Andy Martino of SNY had tweeted that Oakland had resumed active conversations about Manaea. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the Padres will be sending two prospects to Oakland in return. Per Feinsand, the full trade is Sean Manaea and Aaron Holiday for Eruibiel Angeles and Adrian Martinez.

A Manaea trade has seemed inevitable for quite some time now. It was reported prior to the lockout that the A’s were planning on moving just about any player with significant salary and dwindling team control. Once the lockout ended, they made good on those predictions, trading Chris Bassitt to the Mets, Matt Olson to the Braves and Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays. Since Manaea is heading into free agency at the end of this season and is making $9.75MM this year, he was the logical choice as the next guy packing up his bag. He will now head to San Diego, reuniting with manager Bob Melvin, who was another casualty of the Oakland penny-pinching, as the club allowed him to head to the Padres in a salary-dumping move.

The 30-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2016 and immediately established himself with a quality season. In 144 2/3 innings, he put up an ERA of 3.86, along with a 20.9% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate. He continued to pitch well over the 2017 and 2018 seasons before being stalled by shoulder surgery in September of 2018. That kept him out of action for around a year, as he returned late in 2019. In the shortened 2020 campaign, he seemed to be back to his old self, throwing 54 innings with an ERA of 4.50. In 2021, he logged another 179 1/3 innings with a 3.91 ERA, cranking his strikeout rate up to 25.7% in the process, a career high for a full season.

For the Padres, this furthers bolsters what was already a very strong rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Mike Clevinger, Nick Martinez and Chris Paddack, along with up-and-coming options like Reiss Knehr, Ryan Weathers or MacKenzie Gore. Just a few days ago, it was reported that the Padres were considering trading from that rotation depth in order to improve their outfield picture. The addition of Manaea seems to only increase the odds of such a deal coming together.

Their projected outfield currently consists of Trent Grisham in center and Wil Myers in right, with left field being manned by some combination of Jurickson Profar and Matt Beaty. There’s certainly room for improvement over that group, especially for a team hoping to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in the AL West, two teams who easily surpassed the 100-win plateau last year. Recent reports had indicated the club had spoken to the Pirates about a Bryan Reynolds trade, though the last word on that front was that the asking price for Reynolds was “prohibitive.”

The Padres were one of two teams to have paid the luxury tax in 2021, along with the Dodgers. That means they would be subject to escalating penalties if they were to pay the tax again this year. The new CBA bumped up the lowest tax line from $210MM to $230MM, which gave the Padres a bit of breathing space, as their luxury tax number has been between those two numbers for most of the offseason. Since the signing of that new CBA and the end of the lockout, they have been fairly quiet, apart from their acquisition of Luke Voit. With the acquisition of Manaea, their luxury tax number is now just over the line at $233MM, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Perhaps they are willing to pay the tax yet again, or further trade could allow them to limbo back under the line. Rumors have swirled for years about their attempts to move Eric Hosmer and the four years and $59MM remaining on his deal. Just a few days ago, they were apparently discussing such a deal with the Mets, though those talks have apparently stalled.

For the Athletics, their fire sale has reduced their 2021 payroll to around $50MM in actual dollars, per Roster Resource. They haven’t had a number that low since 2008, leaving aside the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. (Hat tip to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.) That number could potentially drop even lower if the club lines up a deal on Frankie Montas or Ramon Laureano, though they could also add in a veteran on a modest short-term deal, like those they gave to Stephen Vogt and Jed Lowrie.

The rotation in Oakland won’t just be lacking Bassitt and Manaea, as James Kaprielian and Brent Honeywell Jr. are likely to begin the season on the IL. Montas will be at the front of the group if he’s still around, with Cole Irvin, Daulton Jefferies, Paul Blackburn, Adam Oller and Zach Logue among the options to take the spots  behind him.

One of today’s acquisitions, Adrian Martinez, is an option to serve as rotation depth immediately, as he is on the 40-man roster and made it up to the highest levels of the minors last year. In 80 2/3 Double-A innings, he put up a 2.34 ERA along with a 25.4% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He struggled a bit in his first taste of Triple-A, throwing 44 1/3 innings with his ERA jumping up to 5.28, along with a deflated strikeout rate of 19.9% and 8.7% walk rate. He’s just 25 years old and has options, meaning he’s likely ticketed for further time in Triple-A.

The other piece of their return will be more of a long-term play, as Angeles is just 19 years old. Last year, he split his time between A-ball and High-A, while lining up at second base, third base and shortstop. In 105 games, his combined slash line was .329/.392/.445, for a wRC+ of 125, along with 19 stolen bases. Although the A’s will need to be patient given his age, he might be the real “get” for Oakland, as he was San Diego’s #12 prospect at MLB Pipeline before the deal, with Martinez coming in at #26.

Alongside Manaea, the Padres are also adding some bullpen depth with the acquisition of Holiday. The 21-year-old was just selected by the A’s last year, in the 13th round of the 2021 draft. He only has 5 2/3 innings of professional experience under his belt at this point, all of that coming in the Complex League last year. Despite that limited resume, R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports relays that he was hitting over 100mph on the radar gun this offseason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Roster Notes: Nationals, A’s, Royals

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Andrew Stevenson of the Nationals has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per the team. Stevenson can provide solid defense and baserunning, but those aren’t particular needs for a Washington team planning to start Lane Thomas and Victor Robles alongside superstar Juan Soto. Yadiel Hernandez and Gerardo Parra are the pure outfielders remaining in camp with a chance to win the fourth outfielder spot, while Ehire Adrianza is also capable of playing in the grass. As for Stevenson, he will have 48 hours to accept his assignment or elect free agency. Let’s check in on  some other roster updates from around the game…

Athletics Notes: Guerra, Oller, Lowrie

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A’s reliever Deolis Guerra will require surgery after leaving a Cactus League appearance this week due to forearm tightness, reports Martín Gallegos of MLB.com (Twitter link). The underlying cause of the soreness and the type of procedure he’ll undergo aren’t clear, but forearm tightness can often be a precursor to Tommy John proceeders.

Guerra had looked like one of the sturdier middle innings options for first-year skipper Mark Kotsay. The 32-year-old (33 later this month) is coming off a season in which he logged a personal-high 65 2/3 innings across 53 appearances in his first year in Oakland. Guerra posted a 4.11 ERA, striking out an average 23% of batters faced while only walking 7.4% of opponents. It wasn’t an overpowering showing, but the Venezuela native frequently worked multiple innings out of the ’pen and excelled at avoiding hard contact. Guerra is playing out this year on an $815K salary and is controllable via arbitration through 2024. He”ll accrue big league service for whatever time he spends on the injured list.

More out of Oakland:

  • Kotsay informed right-hander Adam Oller this afternoon that he’ll break camp with the big league club, Gallegos writes. That positions the 27-year-old to make his MLB debut at some point early in the year. The closer to the majors of the two pitching prospects the A’s acquired from the Mets for Chris Bassitt, Oller is a former 20th-round pick out of Northwestern State. Originally selected by the Pirates, he’d also seen time in the Giants organization, in independent ball and in Australia before putting together a breakout 2021 campaign. He made 23 combined starts between the Mets’ top two affiliates, working 120 innings of 3.45 ERA ball with a 27.7% strikeout rate and a 9.4% walk percentage. Baseball America placed him 23rd in the A’s system after he was acquired, writing that his capable three-pitch mix and solid control could make him a back-of-the-rotation starter or long reliever. Kotsay suggested Oller, who is already on Oakland’s 40-man roster, could pitch in either role to begin his big league career. The A’s will be without starters James Kaprielian and Brent Honeywell Jr. to open the year, perhaps leaving a spot for Oller in the season-opening rotation.
  • The A’s recently brought Jed Lowrie back for what’ll be a seventh season in green and gold. The switch-hitting infielder has played almost exclusively second base or designated hitter in recent years. Tony Kemp looks to have earned everyday run at the keystone with a strong 2021 showing, and Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the A’s have been getting Lowrie some work at first base this spring. The 37-year-old has never started an MLB game at first, but he’s dealt with knee issues lately and didn’t rate well at second last season. Oakland doesn’t have an obvious everyday first baseman on the roster after trading Matt Olson, so manning the position could get Lowrie some extra at-bats.

Athletics Outright Grant Holmes To Triple-A

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The Athletics announced that right-hander Grant Holmes has been outrighted off the 40-man roster, and been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas.  Such a move was necessary to remove Holmes from the 40-man since the 26-year-old is out of minor league options.

Holmes was the 22nd overall pick of the 2014 draft, and a regular on top-100 prospect lists for his first few minor league seasons.  Originally selected by the Dodgers, he was dealt to Oakland as part of a deadline-day swap in 2016, as the A’s picked up Holmes, Frankie Montas, and Jharel Cotton from Los Angeles in exchange for Josh Reddick and Rich Hill.

Arguably the best prospect of that three-player package at the time, Holmes has yet to reach the majors due to a lot of inconsistent performances down on the farm.  Holmes has a 4.43 ERA over 592 2/3 career minor league innings, including a 7.61 ERA over 71 frames at the Triple-A level.  Some shoulder problems have impacted him along the way, and Holmes was of course one of countless players whose careers were set back by the canceled 2020 minor league season.  With outright waivers now cleared, Holmes will try again in Triple-A and see if he can finally get on track.

The move opens up a spot on Oakland’s 40-man roster, which forecasts that the Athletics will be selecting at least one of their non-roster invites to the big league roster.  Eric Thames, Justin Grimm, Dany Jimenez, and Austin Pruitt are among the notable names in camp on minor league deals, and any or all have a case to break camp, so the A’s might need to carve out some more 40-man space between now and Opening Day.  Injuries could play a role, as both of Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. could be headed for the 60-day injured list.

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