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Jack O'Loughlin

Rockies Sign Jack O’Loughlin To Minor League Deal

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The Rockies have signed left-hander Jack O’Loughlin to a minor league deal, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today on X. The Gaeta Sports Management client also receives an invitation to major league spring training.

O’Loughlin, 25 in March, just made his major league debut this past season. The Athletics signed him to a minor league deal going into the 2024 season and he eventually cracked the roster. He tossed 9 2/3 innings over four appearances, allowing five earned runs while striking out six opponents and giving out five walks. He was outrighted off the club’s roster in September and was able to elect free agency at season’s end.

The Australian southpaw naturally has a larger body of work in the minors to look at. His time on the farm includes 159 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level over the past two seasons with 5.35 ERA, though a very high .356 batting average on balls in play might be a factor there. His 22.1% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate at that level are both pretty close to average.

The Rockies generally face challenges in building a pitching staff due to their hitter-friendly home park, as it’s tough to both lure free agents there and develop hurlers who can succeed at Coors Field. They’ve also been bit by the injury bug in recent years, thinning out their staff significantly. The club had a collective 5.48 ERA in 2024, easily the worst in the majors, with the Marlins second last at 4.75.

O’Loughlin has worked both out of the rotation and the bullpen in his career, so he can give the club depth in both departments. If he finds any success, he still has a couple of option years and just a few days of service time, so he can potentially be cheaply retained well into the future.

Athletics Outright Jack O’Loughlin

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The A’s announced yesterday that they’ve assigned left-hander Jack O’Loughlin outright to Triple-A. O’Loughlin was designated for assignment by the club earlier this week to make room for the addition of Kyle Muller to the 40-man roster.

O’Loughlin, 24, is a native of Adelaide, Australia who signed with the Tigers as an amateur back in 2018. O’Loughlin made it to Triple-A with Detroit and went on to pitch for his home country in the World Baseball Classic before eventually landing with the A’s on a minor league pact earlier this year. He was selected to the big league roster back in May but has made just four appearances in the majors with middling results. The lefty posted a 4.66 ERA in 9 2/3 innings of work with nearly as many walks (five) as strikeouts (six).

His work at Triple-A Las Vegas hasn’t been much more impressive, as he’s posted a 6.19 ERA while swinging between the rotation and bullpen. While the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League helps to explain some of O’Loughlin’s struggles, his ERA is still far worse than league average despite a decent 22.9% strikeout rate against a 10% walk rate. If not added back to the club’s 40-man roster before the season ends, O’Loughlin will be eligible for minor league free agency this winter.

That could lead the lefty to a change of scenery that could help him improve. Difficult as his time with the A’s has been, O’Loughlin posted fairly solid numbers during his time with Detroit as he pitched to a 3.99 ERA in 27 appearances (25 starts) in 124 innings of work with the Tigers split between the High-A and Triple-A levels last year. That success suggests the 24-year-old could have another gear to his performance, as is further indicated by a solid 4.22 ERA in parts of four seasons pitching for the Australian Baseball League.

It’s hardly difficult to imagine that a club could have interest in O’Loughlin’s services on a minor league deal this winter, particularly given the scarcity of young, optionable pitchers who throw from the left side. The competition for that sort of depth role is much more competitive in Oakland than many other organizations, as the A’s currently employ T.J. McFarland, Hogan Harris, Scott Alexander, and Muller in their big league bullpen with Francisco Perez still available as non-roster depth at Triple-A.

A’s Designate Jack O’Loughlin For Assignment

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The A’s placed righty Ross Stripling on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain and selected the contract of lefty Kyle Muller from Triple-A Las Vegas in his place, the team announced. In a corresponding move, left-hander Jack O’Loughlin was designated for assignment.

O’Loughlin, 24, made his big league debut with the A’s this year. The Aussie-born southpaw pitched 9 2/3 innings out of the Oakland bullpen and yielded five runs on 13 hits and five walks with six strikeouts in his first look in the majors. That came on the heels of a 6.19 earned run average through 68 1/3 innings (10 starts, 28 relief outings) in a hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting where O’Loughlin fanned 22.9% of his opponents against a 10% walk rate.

It’s the first season in the A’s organization for O’Loughlin, who was originally signed by the Tigers and inked a minor league deal with Oakland over the winter. He fared better in 2023 in Detroit’s system, when he pitched a combined 124 innings of 3.99 ERA ball as a starter between the High-A and Triple-A levels.

Muller, 26, will get a second look with the A’s after being passed through waivers earlier in the season. Once a top prospect with the Braves, he came to the Oakland organization as part of the trade sending Matt Olson to Atlanta. The Athletics hoped to be getting a largely MLB-ready piece for the back of their rotation, but Muller struggled badly in parts of two seasons with the big league club, serving up a 6.39 ERA in 119 2/3 innings of work. The A’s tried him exclusively out of the ’pen earlier this year, and he did turn in a 4.22 ERA more than three runs lower than last year’s 7.60 mark, but Muller’s fastball sat at a career-low 92.5 mph even in spite of the move to short relief, which likely turned some clubs off.

Since going back to Triple-A, Muller has stretched out and moved back into a rotation role. He currently has a 4.76 ERA in 28 1/3 innings. His last appearance was his best yet, as he pitched seven innings and held the Rangers’ Triple-A club to three runs on five hits and a walk with six punchouts. The A’s could use Muller in a variety of ways, and if he can impress over the final weeks of the year, perhaps he can put himself back in position to stay on the 40-man roster and be an option for next year’s staff in some capacity.

Athletics Outright Aaron Brooks

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June 27: Brooks was outrighted again, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He has the right to elect free agency, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he reports back to Las Vegas and awaits another opportunity with the A’s.

June 25: The Athletics announced that they have recalled left-hander Jack O’Loughlin, with right-hander Aaron Brooks designated for assignment in a corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Brooks, 34, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason and has twice been selected to their roster. The second such selection just occurred on Sunday and Brooks went on to perform some mop-up duty for the club last night. Luis Medina started the game but was removed after recording just nine outs. Brooks then came in and covered five frames, tossing 65 pitches and letting the rest of the bullpen have a night off.

That effective yeoman’s work was likely an ironic contributor to him losing his roster spot, as he surely wasn’t going to be available for a few days. Since he’s out of options, the club had to remove him from the 40-man roster in order to get a fresh arm into the bullpen.

The A’s will now have a week to trade Brooks or pass him through waivers. The last time he lost his roster spot, earlier this month, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas. It’s possible that the same scenario plays out again in the days to come. He has an earned run average of 5.06 over his five appearances in the majors this year, as well as a 4.30 ERA in ten appearances for the Aviators.

A’s Select Michel Otañez

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5:18PM: Wood had a setback during his throwing program, as the team told MLB.com and other media.  Wood has subsequently been shut down and no timeline has been given about when he might get back to the rehab process.

11:25AM: The A’s announced a series of roster moves this afternoon led by the club selecting the contract of right-hander Michel Otañez. Making room for Otañez on the 40-man roster is Alex Wood, who the club transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move, while lefty Jack O’Loughlin was optioned to the minor leagues to create space on the active roster.

Otañez, 27 next month, made his professional debut in the Mets organization back in 2018. Initially a starting pitcher, the right-hander converted to relief following the cancelled minor league season in 2020 and reached the upper levels of the minors in 2022. While he dominated Double-A hitters to the tune of a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings of work, he quickly met his match in a promotion to Triple-A, where he struggled to a 6.37 ERA in 29 2/3 frames. Otañez then elected minor league free agency and landed with the Diamondbacks, though his struggles continued with a brutal 6.08 ERA in 37 innings of work split between the Double- and Triple-A levels that year. While Otañez struck out an excellent 35.3% of batters faced with Arizona, a ghastly 16.2% walk rate held him back from being a major league caliber relief arm.

Otañez returned to minor league free agency last offseason and latched on with the A’s on a minor league pact. The club assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas and he finally found success at the level with his third organization. In 29 1/3 innings of work, Otañez has managed to cut his walk rate to a more manageable 11.8% while maintaining a strong 35.4% strikeout rate that’s nearly identical to last year. His work to cut down on free passes paid dividends in the results department as he’s posted a 3.99 ERA despite the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

That performance was enough to convince the A’s to offer Otañez a chance at the big league level. The 26-year-old will make his major league debut the first time he gets into a game and figures to act as a middle relief option for the club from the right-hand side alongside Vinny Nittoli, behind late-inning arms Mason Miller, Austin Adams, and Dany Jimenez. He’ll replace O’Loughlin in an Oakland bullpen stacked with left-handed pitching options after the Australia native threw 3 1/3 scoreless relief frames against Toronto last night.

As for Wood, the lefty’s placement on the 60-day IL is ominous news given that Wood was set to begin a throwing program in his rehab from rotator cuff tendinitis on June 1. That seemingly could have put the veteran lefty on track to return sometime later this month, but now he’ll be out until at least after the All Star break. The 2024 campaign had been a struggle for Wood prior to his placement on the IL, as he pitched to a lackluster 5.26 ERA with a matching 5.27 FIP through nine starts with Oakland.

Athletics Place Ross Stripling On 15-Day IL, Designate Brandon Bielak

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The A’s announced that right-hander Ross Stripling has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a strained right elbow.  Right-hander Brandon Bielak has also been designated for assignment, opening up a 40-man roster spot for Jack O’Loughlin, whose promotion was reported earlier today.  In addition to selecting O’Loughlin’s contract from Triple-A, the Athletics also called up righty Tyler Ferguson from Triple-A to take the other 26-man roster spot.

Stripling allowed six runs over 3 2/3 innings in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Astros.  Even if it is fair to assume that the elbow strain impacted Stripling’s performance in some fashion, it was another in a string of tough outings for the veteran, as he has a 5.82 ERA across 55 2/3 innings and 11 starts for Oakland.  His SIERA is a somewhat more palatable 4.66 and Stripling hasn’t enjoyed any batted-ball (.359 BABIP) or strand rate (56.4%) luck, plus his .328 xwOBA is well below his .364 wOBA.  The righty’s 4.8% walk rate has been excellent and he has done a very good job of limiting hard contact, though his 13.9% strikeout rate ranks in only the seventh percentile among all pitchers.

Even if the results have been spotting, Stripling has been able to take the ball every fifth day, which is the kind of stability the A’s were hoping to receive when they acquired him in an offseason trade with the Giants.  It was widely expected that the Athletics would also be shopping Stripling in advance of the trade deadline, yet this injury now casts doubt on that scenario, and potentially Stripling’s availability for the remainder of the season.  More will be known about the severity of the elbow sprain soon, though it is worth noting that Stripling underwent a Tommy John surgery back in 2014 when he was pitching in the Dodgers’ farm system.

The more immediate impact of Stripling’s injury is that Oakland is now down yet another starting pitcher.  Paul Blackburn (stress reaction in his right foot), Alex Wood (rotator cuff tendonitis), and Joe Boyle (lower back strain) are already all on the 15-day IL, meaning that of the five A’s pitchers who have made the most starts in 2024, JP Sears is the only fit hurler of the group.  O’Loughlin has been a regular starter at Triple-A Las Vegas and will join Sears, Mitch Spence, Joey Estes, and Aaron Brooks in the makeshift rotation.  The Athletics have off-days on each of the next two Mondays to allow for some flexibility in figuring out the pitching staff, and in perhaps buying time until at least one of their injured starters is healthy.

Given the short-handed rotation, it seems surprising that the A’s are parting ways with Bielak just nine days after acquiring the righty in a trade with the Astros.  Bielak has a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 relief innings since coming to the Athletics, and while he has worked exclusively as a reliever over 13 total appearances for Oakland and Houston this season, he started 13 of his 15 games with the Astros in 2023.

Bielak’s Statcast numbers have been troubling in each of the last two seasons, so he might be fortunate to have even the 4.11 ERA he has posted over 103 innings since Opening Day 2023.  Still, for a team that is so thin on starting pitching at the moment, designating a swingman with MLB experience puts even more pressure on the Athletics’ internal arms to pick up the slack.  The A’s weren’t able to simply move Bielak to Triple-A since he is out of minor league options, and it is possible another team might again look to work out a trade or just claim Bielak in his latest trip to DFA limbo.

A’s To Promote Jack O’Loughlin

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The A’s are set to call up left-hander Jack O’Loughlin, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via X).  The corresponding move isn’t yet known.

O’Loughlin is a veteran of six minor league seasons, all in the Tigers’ farm system prior to his minor league deal to join the Athletics this past winter.  The 24-year-old Adelaide native has also played in parts of four seasons in the Australian Baseball League, and pitched on Australia’s roster during the last World Baseball Classic.  This unique career path has now taken O’Loughlin to Oakland and to the doorstep of his Major League debut.

His time in Detroit’s farm system never resulted in any big league call-ups, as O’Loughlin’s 4.78 ERA over 86 2/3 innings with Triple-A Toledo last season wasn’t enough to catch the Tigers’ attention.  Somewhat unusually, O’Loughlin has never played any Double-A ball, as the Tigers promoted him from high-A West Michigan to Toledo last season without a stop in between.  After catching on with the Athletics this past offseason, O’Loughlin has pitched exclusively at Triple-A Las Vegas, posting a 5.12 ERA over 38 2/3 innings, starting eight of his 10 appearances.

As always with Pacific Coast League numbers, a deeper look is required given the league’s hitter-friendly nature.  O’Loughlin hasn’t been helped by a .371 BABIP or a 17.5% home run rate, and the latter statistic stands out as particularly PCL-generated considering that O’Loughlin has done a pretty good job of keeping the ball in the park earlier in his career.  His 9.3% walk rate isn’t anything special but he has missed bats to the tune of a 25.6% strikeout rate.

It seems likely that the A’s will give O’Loughlin a look as a starting pitcher, given how Oakland is trying to navigate several injuries within the rotation.  Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood, and Joe Boyle have all been placed on the 15-day IL within the last three weeks, resulting in starts for journeyman Aaron Brooks as well as rookie Mitch Spence and Joey Estes.  There would appear to be plenty of opportunity here for O’Loughlin to stick around in the majors if he pitches decently well and eats enough innings until the Athletics start to get some of their personnel back.

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