On the heels of a nine-game losing streak — the longest in Major League Baseball so far this season — the Athletics majorly overhauled their roster on Friday, promoting five players from Triple-A Las Vegas, optioning outfielder JJ Bleday, catcher Jhonny Pereda and right-hander Carlos Duran, placing infielder Gio Urshela on the 10-day injured list and designating outfielder/first baseman Seth Brown for assignment. Brown, who debuted with the A’s in 2019, was the team’s longest-tenured player.
Advertisement
Joining the A’s roster are rookie outfielder Denzel Clarke (ranked as the A’s No. 8 prospect by The Athletic’s Keith Law), rookie catcher Willie MacIver, and rookie infielders Logan Davidson and C.J. Alexander. Alexander has eight career MLB at-bats; the rest will be making their major-league debuts. Left-hander Jacob Lopez is also re-joining the A’s staff from Triple A. It is his third stint with the team already this season. He’s made four appearances, allowing three earned runs in seven innings.
The nine-game losing streak has dropped the A’s from two games over .500 to 22-29. They are in last place in the American League West, seven games behind the Seattle Mariners. The A’s have particularly struggled defensively and with their bullpen this season. Overall, the A’s rank second only to the Rockies in negative Defensive Runs Saved at -33, according to Sports Information Solutions. The bullpen’s 5.98 ERA is third-worst in baseball, though their FIP is 4.33. Some of the discrepancy between their ERA and their FIP can be explained by the team’s struggling outfield defense, which ranks dead last in baseball. Much of those struggles (-10 DRS) have come in center field, where Bleday has started for most of the season.
Not a true center fielder, Bleday struggled with his range at the position in 2024, but he made up for that with a breakout offensive season that saw him hit .243/.324/.437 with a career-high 20 home runs. He was worth 2.1 bWAR. This year, Bleday is batting just .204/.291/.365 with six home runs in 47 games.
Brown has also struggled defensively this season (-3 DRS) while splitting his time between the outfield and first base. A 2015 19th-round pick, Brown hit 25 homers for the A’s in 2022 and has 74 in seven seasons with the club, but he last posted an OPS above .700 in that 2022 season.
Advertisement
The A’s outfield defense should improve with the addition of Clarke, one of the top defensive outfielders in the A’s system. A 2021 fourth-round pick, Clarke was hitting .286/.436/.419 with seven stolen bases in 31 games in Triple A this season. Clarke is the first cousin of major leaguers Josh and Bo Naylor. He’s shown significant in-game power in previous seasons (while also striking out a lot) but has yet to homer so far this season, though he has significantly reduced his strikeout rate. He can play all three outfield positions but is likely to play in center for the A’s.
Davidson was the A’s first-round pick in 2019 out of Clemson. The switch-hitter is in the middle of his best season as a pro, sporting a .303/.452/.428 line with 10 doubles in 41 games. Originally a shortstop, Davidson has limited range at short but has played all over the infield and even some outfield. He and Alexander are likely to see reps at second and third base and occasionally in the outfield, mixing in with Max Schuemann and Luis Urías in those roles with Urshela on the IL with a right hamstring strain and projected Opening Day second baseman Zack Gelof still rehabbing a broken hand and a stress fracture in his ribs that have kept him out all season. Gelof was moved to the 60-day IL on Friday.
Pereda returns to Triple A after hitting .167 in 36 at-bats as Shea Langeliers’ backup catcher. Pereda did have a memorable moment last week when he struck out Shohei Ohtani during the tail end of the A’s 19-2 loss to the Dodgers, the second loss of their nine-game losing streak. MacIver, a 2018 ninth-round pick of the Rockies, was hitting .389/.469/.548 in 35 games for Las Vegas before the promotion. He will take over as the A’s backup catcher.
The A’s face the first-place Philadelphia Phillies this weekend as they look to break their losing streak.
(Top photo of Bleday: Ed Szczepanski / Imagn Images)
