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Skye Bolt

A’s Place Ramon Laureano On Injured List, Recall Skye Bolt

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The Athletics have placed outfielder Ramon Laureano on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hip, retroactive to May 28th. Skye Bolt has been recalled from Triple-A, per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). The A’s have confirmed the move.

Laureano hasn’t played since last Thursday because of the injury, which was originally termed “right groin tightness,” per Kawara. It’s been a strong season for Laureano, who has already posted 1.9 bWAR/2.1 fWAR through 48 games. Mark Canha figured to continue to see time in centerfield in Laureano’s absence.

As for Bolt, he was claimed off waivers by the Giants on April 5th, but he managed just one plate appearance across the bay. The A’s re-acquired him exactly a month later for cash considerations. He has mashed at Triple-A this season for Oakland, slashing .375/.488/.625 over 80 plate appearances with the Las Vegas Aviators.

A’s Acquire Skye Bolt

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The Athletics announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired outfielder Skye Bolt from the Giants in exchange for cash. Bolt is a former A’s draft pick who spent his entire career with the organization until being designated for assignment back on April 1 and subsequently claimed by the Giants. His time on the other side of the Bay lasted only a month, as he was designated for assignment by the Giants as well last week. He’ll now come full circle back to his original organization, where he’s been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old Bolt only appeared in two games with the Giants and struck out in his lone plate appearance with the team. He’s played in seven big league games dating back to 2019 but tallied only a dozen trips to the plate, going 1-for-11 with a walk and four punchouts.

Bolt spent the 2020 season in the Athletics’ 60-man player pool but never got the call from their alternate site to the big leagues. His last full season came in 2019 when he appeared in 89 games with Las Vegas, slashing .269/.350/.459 in 347 plate appearances. The 2015 fourth-rounder has never been considered one of the organization’s very top prospects, but his ability to play all three outfield spots and a knack for drawing walks (10.8 percent in the minors) has landed him in the middle tier of some A’s Top 30 lists. Overall, Bolt is a career .249/.335/.426 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons.

Giants Select Zack Littell, Designate Skye Bolt

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The Giants have selected the contract of right-hander Zack Littell, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported. In other moves, the Giants designated outfielder Skye Bolt for assignment, recalled outfielder Steven Duggar and optioned infielder Jason Vosler, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.

Still just 25 years old, Littell joined the Giants on a minor league contract over the winter after spending parts of three seasons in the majors with the Twins, who acquired him from the Yankees in 2017. Littell totaled 63 2/3 innings in the bigs from 2018-20 and posted a 4.52 ERA/4.70 SIERA with a 17.6 percent strikeout rate, an 8.3 walk rate and a 39.2 percent groundball mark. After Littell surrendered seven earned runs on 12 hits (including five home runs) over 6 1/3 frames in 2020, the Twins outrighted him.

Bolt, 27, joined the Giants as a waiver claim from the Athletics on April 5. He wound up appearing in just two of the Giants’ games and picking up one plate appearance before they designated him. Bolt still has a minor league option remaining, and he was once a decently regarded prospect, so another team could try to acquire him via waivers or trade in the next week.

Giants Claim Skye Bolt, Designate Ashton Goudeau

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The Giants have claimed outfielder Skye Bolt via waivers from the Athletics and designated right-hander Ashton Goudeau for assignment, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

The 27-year-old Bolt only spent a few days in limbo, as the Athletics designated him April 1. He joined the team as a fourth-round pick in 2015 and later ranked as one of Baseball America’s top 20 Athletics prospects on multiple occasions, but Bolt hasn’t gotten much major league experience yet. In 2019, the only season in which he made it to the bigs, Bolt collected one hit in 11 plate appearances. Bolt has been much more successful in Triple-A, where he has batted .269/.350/.459 over 347 trips to the plate.

Goudeau had a short stay on the 40-man roster of San Francisco, which claimed him from the Orioles on March 18. The 28-year-old previously spent time with the Pirates in the offseason, and he was in the Colorado organization before that. He made his MLB debut last year, but he totaled just 8 1/3 innings of seven-run ball. Goudeau did star during his most recent minors action, 2019, when he pitched to a stellar 2.07 ERA with similarly impressive strikeout and walk percentages (30.1 and 4.0, respectively) in 78 1/3 Double-A innings.

A’s Select Jed Lowrie, Place Trevor Rosenthal On IL, Designate Skye Bolt

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7:20pm: Rosenthal is dealing with “fatigue” in his shoulder, according to manager Bob Melvin, who said he’s “not really sure” how much time the reliever will miss (per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle).

11:10am: The Athletics announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contracts of infielder Jed Lowrie and lefty Reymin Guduan from Triple-A Las Vegas. Oakland also optioned righty Daulton Jeffries and lefty A.J. Puk to the alternate training site, placed righties Mike Fiers (hip inflammation) and Trevor Rosenthal (right shoulder inflammation) on the injured list and designated outfielder Skye Bolt for assignment.

Lowrie, 37 in April, returned for a third go-around with the A’s over the winter when he inked a minor league deal. His two-year stint with the Mets proved to be an abject disaster, as he tallied just eight plate appearances over the life of a two-year, $20MM contract. That Lowrie was injured for the bulk of his tenure in Queens was frustrating enough for Mets fans, but the team’s bizarre and cryptic series of non-updates on the veteran infielder’s knee troubles proved extra perplexing. Eventually, the Mets termed Lowrie’s injury as “PCL laxity” in his left knee, but little additional detail was ever provided.

It appears as though Lowrie is healthy now, however, as he not only made the roster but did so on the heels of a respectable Cactus League showing. The switch-hitter tallied 37 plate appearances over the course of 13 games, hitting .265/.297/.559 with a pair of homers and four doubles. The A’s surely would like to see that OBP tick up a bit, which seems quite likely given Lowrie’s career 9.8 percent walk rate. He should factor prominently into the mix for playing time at second base, where the A’s will be missing Tommy La Stella, who signed across the Bay with the Giants on a three-year deal as a free agent.

The shoulder troubles for Rosenthal, meanwhile, are a concerning development. The righty was slowed by a groin strain late in Spring Training, but a shoulder issue is of greater concern. There’s no indication that the injury is especially serious at the moment, but arm troubles of any kind for a pitcher who has a somewhat recent Tommy John surgery in his history (2018) raise a red flag.

The A’s surprised the baseball world by swooping in and signing Rosenthal to a one-year, $11MM contract late in the offseason after he wasn’t able to find a multi-year deal to his liking. The former Cardinals closer returned to prominence with the Royals and Padres last year in overpowering fashion. Rosenthal was a true juggernaut at the back of both teams’ bullpens during the regular season, posting a combined 1.90 ERA with a 41.8 percent strikeout rate. A similar powerhouse showing in 2021 would surely position him nicely for that lucrative multi-year pact he covets, but he’s off to an inauspicious start.

Bolt, meanwhile, will now be traded or placed on outright waivers within the next week. He has just 11 big league plate appearances under his belt but is capable of playing all three outfield spots and carries a .269/.350/.459 batting line in 347 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. He does have a minor league option remaining.

Athletics Call Up Skye Bolt

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The A’s have called up some outfield depth for the final few games of the season, summoning Skye Bolt to the big league roster, per a club announcement.

Oakland was without Khris Davis due to the stomach flu yesterday and saw Mark Canha exit last night’s game due to a groin injury, thus prompting the move to get an additional body onto the roster. It won’t be the MLB debut for the 25-year-old Bolt, who appeared in four games with the Athletics earlier this season.

Bolt, a fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft, spent the rest of the season in Triple-A Las Vegas, where he batted .269/.350/.459 with 11 homers, 19 doubles, three triples and seven steals in 347 plate appearances. He had his share of strikeout issues with the Aviators (27.1 percent) but did manage to draw a free pass in 10.7 percent of his trips to the plate.

Despite modest stolen-base totals throughout his pro career, Bolt fittingly draws plus grades on his speed in scouting reports and is also considered to have an above-average throwing arm. He’s not considered to be one of the organization’s top prospect but does land in the middle of the team’s Top 30 rankings at MLB.com and Fangraphs. Bolt has split the Triple-A season between center field and right field in mostly even fashion, so he’ll presumably be an option at any of the three outfield slots should a need arise.

The A’s have a half-game lead over the Rays for the top Wild Card spot in the American League, with the Indians still factoring into the mix. Cleveland trails Tampa Bay by a 1.5-game deficit with another four games to play.

Athletics Place Khris Davis On 10-Day IL

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This move had been expected, but it still took some time. The Athletics announced today that slugger Khris Davis is going to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 22nd.

In the announcement, the club cited a “left hip/oblique contusion.” It still isn’t known just how long Davis will be down, but the hope remains it won’t be an exceedingly long absence.

In his stead, outfielder Skye Bolt will join the active roster. The 25-year-old came up briefly earlier this year. He has been turning in big numbers at Triple-A, with a .311/.379/.571 slash and six home runs through 132 plate appearances.

AL West Notes: Bolt, Rangers, Seager

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The Athletics are promoting outfield prospect Skye Bolt for his big league debut this weekend, as first reported by AthleticsFarm.com (on Twitter). He’ll step into the roster spot of Ryan Dull, who was optioned to Triple-A following yesterday’s game. Oakland spent its recent series against the Red Sox operating with a two-man bench, so the addition of Bolt will give the club some much needed flexibility on the position-player side of the roster. A fourth-round pick in 2015, the switch-hitting Bolt is batting .325/.400/.675 with six homers and three steals through 90 plate appearances in Triple-A  Las Vegas so far in the season. Despite his 80-grade name and strong start to the year, Bolt is regarded as more of a fourth outfield type than a potential outfield cornerstone in Oakland. He ranks 17th among A’s prospects at Fangraphs and 19th at both MLB.com and Baseball America. The aptly named Bolt draws praise for his above above-average speed and arm strength, which allow him to capably handle all three outfield slots.

Here’s more from the AL West..

  • Rangers 2018 second-round pick Owen White will miss the remainder of the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The right-hander joins 2018 fourth-rounder Mason Englert as the second Rangers prospect from last year’s draft to undergo the procedure in recent weeks. The pair of injuries comes in spite of the Rangers organization keeping both White and Englert from pitching last summer in an effort to help manage the workloads of young, recent draftees. Both White and Englert were slated to start the season in short-season Class-A and were already years from being options at the big league level, but the loss of a pair of high-upside teenagers for a full season before either even pitches for a minor league affiliate is undoubtedly maddening for a club that has already been snakebit by pitching injuries in recent years.
  • Kyle Seager tells Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times that his surgically repaired finger is back up to full strength and he feels ready to play, but the Mariners third baseman will still miss just over three more weeks by virtue of the fact that he’s on the 60-day injured list. Seager’s recovery is well ahead of schedule, and the 31-year-old figures to head out on a rehab assignment at some point between now and his May 25 return date in order to get him some in-game reps after sitting out since tearing a tendon in his finger on March 8. As Divish notes, his eventual return will create a crunch at the corner infield spots and designated hitter. Seager will join Ryon Healy as a third base option, while Healy, Daniel Vogelbach, Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce are all options at first base and DH. A trade can ever be ruled out with ever-active GM Jerry Dipoto at the helm, though certainly Seager wouldn’t be the player to be moved; he’s owed $15.4MM through season’s end, plus another $19MM in 2020 and $18MM in 2021. His contract also contains a $15MM club option that is converted to a player option if he is traded. Divish suggests that Healy had previously been a candidate to be optioned to Triple-A, though he’s off to a .235/.301/.471 start (110 OPS+) with five homers and a league-leading 13 doubles in 2019.

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