Athletics Sign Austin Pruitt To Minors Deal
The A’s have announced the signing of right-hander Austin Pruitt to a minor league deal. Pruitt will receive an invitation to Oakland’s Major League spring camp.
Pruitt was twice outrighted off the Marlins’ 40-man roster last season, thus giving him the right to test free agency following the season. Miami acquired Pruitt at the trade deadline, landing the righty and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz in exchange for sending Yimi Garcia to the Astros.
The 32-year-old will now head back to the AL West in search of a new opportunity in Oakland, and get his career back on track after elbow problems derailed Pruitt for much of the last two seasons. He didn’t pitch at all in 2020 due to what ended up being a hairline fracture in his throwing elbow, and the subsequent surgery kept him from returning to the mound until June 2021 with the Astros’ A-ball affiliate. Overall, Pruitt tossed 19 2/3 innings of minor league ball and 7 1/3 innings in the Show.
Prior to his injury, durability was one of Pruitt’s calling cards as a swingman and long reliever with the Rays from 2017-19. While Pruitt had a modest 4.87 ERA over his 199 2/3 innings in Tampa Bay, his ability to adjust between many pitching roles made him a valuable member of the versatile Rays staff. If healthy and back in his old form, Pruitt could be tabbed for swingman duty with the A’s, given how Oakland’s bullpen is lacking in experience. Conceivably, Pruitt might even get some looks in the rotation, especially if the Athletics continue to trade current members of their starting staff.
Athletics Claim Sam Selman Off Waivers From Angels
The Athletics have announced that they’ve claimed left-handed pitcher Sam Selman off waivers from the Angels. Selman was one of several players left in “DFA limbo” during the lockout, having been designated for assignment just before the transactions freeze took place.
The southpaw made his debut for the Giants in 2019 and then was one of three players that came over to the Angels as part of the Tony Watson trade with the Giants at the deadline last year. At that point in his career, he had thrown 37 2/3 innings with an ERA of 4.06. Unfortunately, he didn’t fare so well after moving to the Halos, as he logged 17 innings with a 6.35 ERA, striking out just 14.3% of batters faced in that time and walking 10.4% of them.
When the Angels signed Raisel Iglesias just before the lockout began, Selman was designated for assignment to create roster space, only coming out of DFA limbo today when the Athletics claimed him. The 31-year-old will now join an A’s bullpen that is likely to feature A.J. Puk, Adam Kolarek and Sam Moll as the top lefty options. Selman still has one option year remaining, meaning the club could potentially shuffle him between the big league club and the minors as needed.
Mets Acquire Chris Bassitt From A’s
The Mets have acquired right-hander Chris Bassitt from the Athletics in a deal now officially announced by both teams ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report that Bassitt was on the way to New York, while Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported Oakland will receive right-handed pitching prospects J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller in return for the 33-year-old All-Star.
Bassitt had been tabbed as one of the likelier players to be switching teams this offseason, as he had only one year of arbitration control remaining (at a projected $8.8MM salary) before free agency, and the A’s were known to be looking to cut payroll. With the Mets searching for further pitching upgrades, Bassitt seemed like a logical target for New York to add to a rotation that also saw Max Scherzer come to Queens prior to the lockout.
With Scherzer and Jacob deGrom atop the rotation, Bassitt will slot right alongside Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco in what is now looking like one of baseball’s better rotations if everyone is healthy. Granted, that is a big if, given how deGrom and Carrasco each missed big chunks of the 2021 season due to injury, and even Scherzer battled a dead arm during the postseason.
Bassitt himself had a major injury scare last August when he was hit in the face with a line drive and needed surgery to repair facial fractures. After a rather remarkable recovery, Bassitt even returned to the mound for two abbreviated starts after spending over a month on the injured list. That comeback capped off a very impressive season for Bassitt, who has been a solid performer for most of his seven MLB seasons, and quietly been one of baseball’s better pitchers over the last two years.
After an eighth-place finish in AL Cy Young voting in the abbreviated 2020 season, Bassitt continued his fine form over 157 1/3 frames in 2021, resulting in a tenth-place spot in the AL Cy race and his first All-Star berth. Bassitt posted a 3.15 ERA, 25% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate, as well as some very strong hard-hit ball numbers. Not known for his high velocity or big spin rates, Bassitt has a five-pitch mix that has generally done a good job of keeping hitters off-balance.
These are some very solid numbers for a No. 3 starter, and it provides the Mets with some front-of-the-rotation caliber pitching should deGrom, Carrasco, or any other pitchers miss time. Adding Bassitt also lengthens the pitching mix as a whole, as the Mets can now deploy Tylor Megill and David Peterson primarily as spot starters, Triple-A depth, or even long relievers depending on the team’s needs.
Between Bassitt and free agent signings Starling Marte and Mark Canha, there is a distinct shade of Oakland green-and-gold coming to the 2022 Mets roster. Mets team president Sandy Alderson has longstanding ties to the A’s organization, of course, working as Oakland’s GM from 1983-97 and then returning to the organization as an adviser in 2019-20 before the Mets brought Alderson back when Steve Cohen took over the franchise.
It is quite possible that tonight’s trade could be the first of many for Billy Beane and company over the next few weeks, depending on just how far the A’s go with their latest selloff. While the club has always resisted a complete teardown in Beane’s long tenure, such prominent names as Sean Manaea, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and Frankie Montas could also potentially be heading out the door. Manaea is entering his final year of team control, while Olson/Chapman/Montas each have two remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility.
In reloading the roster, the A’s have added a pair of new arms. Ginn is the highest-touted of the duo, ranked fifth by MLB Pipeline and sixth by Baseball America on their lists of the Mets’ top 30 prospects. A second-round pick in the 2020 draft, the Mississippi State product had a 3.03 ERA over 92 combined innings with New York’s A- and high-A affiliates in 2021. It was a solid performance for Ginn’s first pro season, and perhaps even more impressive considering that Ginn was returning from Tommy John surgery in early 2020. Ginn has a quality fastball (usually in the low 90s but has reached into the 95-97mph range) and sinker, plus he generates a lot of ground balls.
As noted by Newsday’s Tim Healey, with Ginn now on his way to the Athletics, the Mets have now parted ways with five of their six players selected in the 2020 draft — the last amateur draft under the purview of former Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen. Fifth-rounder Eric Orze is the last player remaining, as Ginn, Pete Crow-Armstrong (for Javier Baez), Isaiah Greene (for Carrasco and Francisco Lindor), and Matthew Dyer (for Rich Hill) were all traded in high-profile deals, while Anthony Walters was released.
Oller was originally a 20th-round pick for the Pirates in 2016, and his career includes stints in indy ball and the Australian Baseball League as well as minor league stretches with the Bucs, Giants, and (for the 2021 season) Mets. A starter for the bulk of his minor league career, Oller has a 4.05 ERA over 380 1/3 career innings on the farm, and he reached both the Double-A and Triple-A levels for the first time in 2021. It stands to reason that the 27-year-old could serve as some rotation depth for the A’s this season, as a big league-ready arm that can step in for some starts should a need arise (via injury or more trades).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Details On The Athletics’ Revenue-Sharing Status
Reports surfaced in February that the new collective bargaining agreement would see the Athletics once again become a recipient of revenue-sharing funds, and indeed, that proved to be the case once the CBA was (at long last) finalized between the league and the MLB Players Association. Susan Slusser and Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the details of the Oakland revenue-sharing situation on Thursday, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal had some more specifics in his recent notes column.
For one, it will take four years (of the five-year span of the collective bargaining agreement) for the A’s to receive a full share of revenue-sharing monies, as Rosenthal notes that the team will be phased in via 25 percent increments. For instance, Oakland will get 25 percent of a full share in the first year, 50 percent in the second year, etc.
It is also possible that the A’s won’t even get to that full share unless they make significant progress on their long-desired new ballpark. As per the terms of the CBA, if the Athletics don’t have “a binding deal” for a new ballpark in place by January 15, 2024, they will no longer receive any revenue-sharing funds. If an agreement for a new stadium has been arranged by this date, the A’s will retain their revenue-sharing recipient status until they move into that ballpark.
Of particular note to Bay Area fans, the agreement specifies that the 1/15/24 deadline applies to a new deal for a ballpark in any city, not just Oakland. The A’s have been exploring the possibility of a move to Las Vegas, and yet most recently, it seems there has been renewed momentum to a stadium in Oakland at the Howard Terminal site. Back in May, the league publicly supported the Athletics’ plans to look outside of their home city for potential new stadium sites, so it makes sense that the CBA wouldn’t put any limit on where the A’s might direct their search over the next 22 months. The club’s lease at the RingCentral Coliseum is up following the 2024 season.
Phillies Interested In Matt Chapman
The Phillies have shown interest in A’s third baseman Matt Chapman, but unsurprisingly, the Athletics have put a big price tag on the Gold Glover. In exchange for Chapman, Oakland is asking for one of the Phillies’ top prospects as the centerpiece of a trade package, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, with such names as shortstop Bryson Stott or right-handers Mick Abel and Andrew Painter mentioned as the caliber of prospect the Athletics would have in mind.
Since Philadelphia’s farm system is short on premium talent, naturally the “Phillies have been reluctant to” part with any of their best youngsters in a Chapman deal, Coffey writes. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has a long history of trading quality minor league talent for proven big leaguers, however, and it is possible that giving up another blue-chip prospect would simply be the necessary cost to pry Chapman away from the A’s.
While the Athletics’ payroll-cutting endeavors have already begun with tonight’s Chris Bassitt trade with the Mets (a Phillies NL East rival, no less), Billy Beane’s front office isn’t going to move Chapman for pure salary-dump purposes. At his best, Chapman has shown he is one of the game’s best all-around players, combining consistently superb third base defense with some big offensive numbers, particularly in 2018 and 2019. Over the last two years, however, Chapman’s average and OBP totals have dropped off, while his strikeouts have ballooned — Chapman’s 33.1% strikeout rate is the third-highest of any qualified hitter in baseball since the start of the 2020 season.
The Phillies and other trade suitors (the Yankees and Mariners have been linked to Chapman earlier this winter) could use this downturn to try and negotiate a lesser trade return for the third baseman, yet that tactic might not work given the amount of interest in his services. Chapman is projected for a $9.5MM salary in 2022 and also has another arbitration year remaining in 2023, with that extra control only adding to the Athletics’ high asking price.
Alec Bohm (himself a former top prospect) is penciled into Philadelphia’s third base role for Opening Day, though Bohm’s defensive struggles have already led to speculation that a position change could be in his future. Bohm’s lack of production at the plate in 2021 also didn’t help his cause, even if countless players have dealt with the so-called sophomore slump. Theoretically, the Phillies could acquire Chapman and then move Bohm across the diamond into a first base/DH split with Rhys Hoskins, though such a move would then lock up the Phils’ DH spot.
Stott is also a factor in the team’s infield plans, as the 14th overall pick of the 2019 draft has been viewed as a candidate to both make his MLB debut in 2022, and also immediately step into a regular role. This could be as a shortstop if Didi Gregorius is traded, perhaps at second base if the Phillies opted to instead deal Jean Segura, or maybe even at the hot corner, if the Phillies decide to switch Bohm’s position even without acquiring a proven veteran like Chapman. While the Phillies surely also prize Abel and Painter, it would seem on paper that Stott might be the most untouchable of the trio, given Stott’s importance to Philadelphia’s infield plans.
Braves, Rangers, Yankees Interested In Matt Olson
3:45pm: The Braves have also been in contact about Olson, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets. Atlanta’s interest in Olson also dates back to before the lockout, as the World Series champs were exploring a potential fallback plan for first base if Freddie Freeman signed elsewhere.
9:09am: The Yankees considered the Athletics’ asking price prior to the lockout far too high, tweets SNY’s Andy Martino, who adds that the Yanks made clear they would not include top shortstop prospect Anthony Volpe in a potential deal.
7:45am: The lockout is over, and in the coming days, the dam will break on a historic flood of transactions. Athletics first baseman Matt Olson headlines a deep class of trade targets and serves as the focal point of a prospective Athletics fire sale, which GM David Forst alluded to back in November when acknowledging that the team would have to listen to trade offers on the majority of its roster this winter. It’s already known that the Rangers and Yankees are among the teams with interest in Olson, but their efforts to acquire him can now resume in earnest.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers planned to reach out to the A’s shortly after the lockout lifted to rekindle talks. Texas, however, would need to be confident in its ability to sign Olson to a contract extension before making a deal, per Grant. That’s sensible, as even after spending a half-billion dollars to sign Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, the Rangers are still a ways from contending. Olson is only controlled another two seasons, and if a playoff run in 2022 isn’t a legitimate possibility, then the prospect of really only having Olson for one year of earnest contention would make the sky-high prospect price perhaps unpalatable.
As for the Yankees, Newsday’s Erik Boland tweets that Olson is their preferred option for an upgrade at first base. The Yanks currently have Luke Voit (a trade candidate himself) and DJ LeMahieu as in-house options, but Voit is coming off an injury-marred season and doesn’t have nearly the same defensive prowess as Olson. LeMahieu is looking for a rebound at the plate himself and is better deployed as a second baseman or third baseman, where his glove carries more value. As we explored during the lockout, there are plenty of options for the Yankees, who have also been rumored to have varying degrees of interest in free agents Freddie Freeman and Anthony Rizzo.
With regard to the Rangers, it shouldn’t be assumed that they’ll be in on Freeman or Rizzo if they miss out on Olson. Grant characterizes Olson and lefty Clayton Kershaw as something of specialty targets for the Rangers, suggesting that if they’re not successful in acquiring one or both players, there may only be an additional $10-15MM in total spending for Texas this winter. Absent a deal for Olson, the Rangers would likely turn first base back over to Nathaniel Lowe, who had a solid year at the plate in 2021 (.264/.357/.415, 18 homers).
Texas and New York will be just two of a wide swath of teams interested in prying Olson away from Oakland. The Braves are known to have some interest as well but would probably only make a strike to acquire Olson if they know for certain that Freeman is headed elsewhere. Freeman, the 2020 NL MVP, has been linked to the Dodgers, Yankees, Blue Jays and even the Rays, who made him an offer before the lockout. The markets of the two star first basemen are inextricably linked, and with Freeman expected to act quickly in making a decision post-lockout, the market for Olson could soon gain some clarity.
While the A’s will be listening on more than just Olson — Matt Chapman, Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Ramon Laureano and Lou Trivino could also be marketed — there’s little denying that Olson is the headliner of their options and, arguably, of the entire trade market. The 2021 All-Star and two-time Gold Glover belted a career-high 39 home runs last year while posting the best all-around production of his Major League tenure. Olson hit .271/.371/.540 and maintained a huge 13.1% walk rate while simultaneously cutting his once-problematic strikeout rate from 31.4% in 2020 all the way down to 16.8%. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $12MM this coming season.
Multiple Teams Showed Pre-Lockout Interest In J.D. Davis
The Mets were one of the most active teams in the pre-lockout frenzy, adding Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. Those signings, along with Robinson Cano‘s return from serving a season-long PED suspension, have given them a crowded position player mix. This has led to some speculation that the club could end up moving a player like Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith or J.D. Davis, with all three of those players appearing on MLBTR’s list of the likeliest post-lockout trade candidates. It seems that Davis was garnering his fair share of attention before the lockout, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the Cubs, Red Sox, Twins and Athletics all had interest in his services before the transactions freeze took hold in December.
The fact that various teams are interested in Davis is hardly surprising, given his excellent offensive skills. Since being acquired by the Mets from the Astros prior to the 2019 season, Davis has made 893 plate appearances in 269 games and has a line of .288/.373/.472. That’s good enough for a wRC+ of 130, fifth-best among third basemen with at least 850 plate appearances in that time, ahead of big names like Rafael Devers and Josh Donaldson.
Unfortunately, Davis hasn’t been as good on the other side of the ball, as advanced defensive metrics don’t look kindly upon his work at either third base or left field. For instance, Statcast’s Outs Above Average gave him -8 in 2019, followed by -6 in the shortened 2020 season and -3 in the 2021 campaign, despite playing just 73 games due to injury.
Despite those flaws, Davis should still hold plenty of appeal. The 28-year-old (29 in April) qualified for arbitration in 2021 due to reaching Super Two status and earned a salary of $2.1MM. Due to injuries holding him back last year, he is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a modest raise to $2.7MM in 2022 and can be controlled for two seasons beyond that. Those factors, combined with his bat, could make him a fit on plenty of rosters, especially now that the universal designated hitter is official.
The Cubs have spent most of the past year-plus subtracting from their roster, trading away Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and others. Since then, however, they have shown that they don’t have designs on totally tanking, as evidenced by their pre-lockout pickups of Wade Miley, Yan Gomes and Marcus Stroman. They currently have Patrick Wisdom pencilled in at the hot corner after a nice breakout campaign last year. However, he struck out in a whopping 40.8% of his plate appearances, making it questionable if he can be a long-term solution at the position.
There has been some speculation that Rafael Devers is destined to be moved off of third base in the long run, due to his defensive limitations, though Davis isn’t really an upgrade in that department. However, putting Davis in left field could be an option, if the club feels he would fit in front of the Green Monster. Jarren Duran struggled in his debut last season and could perhaps be sent to Triple-A for more reps there. Or perhaps the lefty Durran and righty Davis could complement each other in a platoon capacity.
The Twins have Josh Donaldson at third but he’s also seen significant time at DH, only taking the field in 92 of his 135 games last year. Given his age, 36, and injury history, it would make sense to acquire another option for the hot corner to help keep him healthy. Luis Arraez could fill that role at the moment, but he hasn’t produced the same level of offense as Davis thus far in his career. There also could be a path to playing time on the grass, as youngsters Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach both had tepid debuts last year, putting up a wRC+ of 93 and 89, respectively.
The Athletics already have an excellent third baseman, technically, in Matt Chapman. However, it’s widely expected that the club is about to embark upon a major selloff, with Chapman being one of those most often mentioned as a trade candidate due to his increasing salary and two remaining years of control. Acquiring Davis could be a relatively affordable way of filling Chapman’s absence after a trade. The club also has big question marks in its outfield right now, after Marte and Canha both went to the Mets. Ramon Laureano will be in center field eventually, but first has to serve 27 more games of his PED suspension. Seth Brown had a decent campaign, but none of Stephen Piscotty, Chad Pinder, Skye Bolt or Luis Barrera did much to inspire confidence last year. Tony Kemp could play the outfield but may be needed at second base.
Though his ultimate destination is unknown, the sense of an impending trade seems to be growing with Davis himself. “It’s kind of 50/50, kind of a flip of the coin,” he said back in October. When asked the same question by Puma today, he said, “Now it could be say 60-40 out of here, but you never know.” Davis then elaborated, referencing the fact that Cano, McNeil, Smith and Luis Guillorme are all lefties. “Baseball is in a situation of bench players, and something like that, three or four lefties and I’m maybe the only righty, so strategically I could see myself back there, but I don’t know. Anything can happen.”
MLBPA Drops 2020 Grievance Against MLB, Will Not Drop Grievances Against Pirates, A’s, Marlins, Rays
MLB’s lockout is finally over, although details regarding the late stages of collective bargaining talks are still emerging. One revelation late in the process was that the league was not only requesting that the MLBPA drop previously filed grievances against the Rays, A’s, Pirates and Marlins (which pertained to their usage of revenue-sharing funds), but also to drop a $500MM grievance filed in wake of return-to-play negotiations in the Covid-shortened 2020 season. Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated reports that the MLBPA did indeed drop the 2020 grievance but did not drop the grievances against the Tampa Bay, Oakland, Pittsburgh and Miami franchises.
The now-dropped grievance pertaining to the 2020 season was filed in May 2021 and saw the union seek $500MM in total. The grievance alleged that MLB negotiated in bad faith during return-to-play negotiations and had not done everything in its power to play as many games as possible. The league originally indicated that it hoped to fast-track any subsequent proceedings so they did not impact the looming collective bargaining talks, but that clearly never came to be. The MLBPA was seeking what amounted to 20-plus games worth of retroactive pay, contending that those games could have been played had the league made its “best effort” to return to play, as had been previously agreed upon. That suit will now be put to bed, it seems.
As for the others, the initial grievances were filed in Feb. 2018, alleging that the teams had not sufficiently dedicated their revenue-sharing funds to improving the on-field product. Revenue sharing is collectively bargained, and the spirit of the issue is intended to be one of competitive balance; that is to say, those funds are technically intended to help small-market clubs keep pace with their larger-market peers. The grievances were expanded in subsequent years, as the union continued to contend that those teams were not properly utilizing those funds.
The Rays, notably, authored multiple winning seasons during that time and did put forth a fairly sizable two-year, $30MM offer to sign Charlie Morton. The other three clubs in question spent at more minimal levels and, in the cases of Pittsburgh and Miami in particular, did not enjoy the same level of on-field success. Those organizations figure to contend that said revenue-sharing funds were allocated to other important organizational measures that improve the team, even if not directly through adding to the current Major League payroll (e.g. investments in player development, analytics, international scouting and other less-tangible areas).
Precisely what the union is seeking in relief and just when the grievances might eventually be resolved — either by an arbitrator or, should commissioner Rob Manfred agree that sanctions are needed, by punishing the clubs in question — are not yet clear.
Read The Transcript Of Our Live Chat With Former MLB Outfielder Jonny Gomes
Drafted in the 18th round by the Devil Rays out of Santa Rosa Junior College back in 2001, Jonny Gomes established himself as a Major Leaguer four years later with a third-place Rookie of the Year finish. In his 13-year career, Gomes played for the Rays, Reds, Nationals, Athletics, Red Sox, Braves, and Royals. He also played for Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Gomes was perhaps best known for his hard-nosed style of play. As Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times put it, “There is nothing laid-back, nothing calm about Gomes. He lives his life as if there are two outs in the ninth and the bases are loaded and the bars are closing and the fuse is burning and the air is running out.” From 2005-15, Gomes was hit by a pitch roughly once every 49 plate appearances, the 12th most-often in MLB.
Serving primarily as a left fielder and designated hitter, Gomes hit 162 home runs in his career. He hit at least 17 home runs in a season six different times, usually in fewer than 120 games. A right-handed hitter, Gomes terrorized southpaws throughout his time in the Majors. The list of pitchers he’s taken deep includes CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Zack Greinke, Madison Bumgarner, Mike Mussina, Curt Schilling, Chris Sale, and Randy Johnson.
The biggest home run of Gomes’ career came in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series for the Red Sox against Seth Maness and the Cardinals in St. Louis. Despite not being in the original starting lineup that day, Gomes crushed a three-run shot that led to Boston’s win. The Red Sox won it in six games, and Gomes’ patriotism was on full display at the White House. Gomes would go on to pick up the second ring of his career in 2015 with the Royals before retiring in 2016.
Earlier this month, Gomes joined BaseballCloud as its Director of Strategic Partnerships. Part of his role involves the expansion of the company’s optical tracking system, Yakkertech. You can follow Gomes on Instagram here and connect with him on Cameo here.
Today, we were proud to host Jonny for a live chat with MLBTR readers. Click here to read the transcript of today’s chat!
If you’re a current or former MLB player, come do a chat with us! It only takes one hour, and you get to choose which questions you publish and answer. Click here to contact us.
A’s, Parker Markel Agree To Minor League Deal
The A’s have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Parker Markel, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports (on Twitter). The 31-year-old has 22 big league innings under his belt, having made 20 appearances split between the Mariners and Pirates in 2019.
Markel’s big league time was a struggle, as he allowed a 7.22 ERA. During that time, he walked an untenable 15.5% of opposing hitters and served up six home runs. The 6’5″ righty did average 95.6 MPH on his fastball in that limited look, however. And his slider, which he threw around half the time, generated whiffs at a slightly above-average rate.
While Markel hasn’t gotten results at the major league level to this point, he has a fine Triple-A track record. Over parts of four seasons there, he’s combined for a 3.23 ERA. Markel has punched out an impressive 29.4% of Triple-A hitters, although the control inconsistency he showed in his big league time has also been present in the minors. He’s issued walks to 14.3% of batters faced in his Triple-A career, including a 17.8% walk percentage with the Padres’ top affiliate last season.
Strike-throwing woes notwithstanding, there’s no risk for the A’s in taking a look at Markel in Spring Training. He’ll add a live arm with a track record of missing bats to the organizational depth chart, and there aren’t many locks to be in Oakland’s season-opening bullpen. Deolis Guerra and Lou Trivino are the only relievers who threw 20+ innings in green and gold last year and remain on the roster. Trivino, in particular, looks like he could be a trade target for bullpen-needy clubs whenever the lockout comes to a close.