Fresh arm while Frankie Montas sits out with visa issues
The Oakland A’s called up a spare pitcher Friday for their road trip to Toronto.
Due to a visa issue, Frankie Montas was unable to join the team on the trip to Canada and make his scheduled start against the Blue Jays on Friday, so the A’s altered their rotation this week to have Montas pitch Thursday in Detroit and then return to the Bay Area, reported Matt Kawahara of the S.F. Chronicle on Wednesday.
Now that they’re traveling without Montas, he’s been placed on the restricted list, which means Oakland can recall another player to replace him. They used that temporary spot to bring up reliever Sam Moll.
The left-hander spent most of July in the A’s bullpen but appeared in only three games, in which he didn’t allow a run and stranded his only inherited runner. He returned to the minors for all of August and pitched well for Triple-A Las Vegas.
- Moll, MLB: 2⅔ ip, 0 runs, 2 Ks, 3 BB, 1 hit, .310 xwOBA
- Moll: AAA: 1.69 ERA, 10⅔ ip, 12 Ks, 5 BB, 1 HR, 8 hits, 4.34 FIP
The club plays three games against the Blue Jays from Friday through Sunday, and then returns to the Coliseum for a homestand beginning Tuesday. Presumably this change will last throughout the weekend, giving Oakland a 10-man bullpen for their series in Toronto.
Don’t freak out: Montas is on the restricted list because of a visa backlog that prevented him from making the trip to Canada. He is headed back to the Bay Area. https://t.co/ApTjdKt1OK
— Shayna Rubin (@ShaynaRubin) September 3, 2021
The active roster has changed a lot lately, so here’s an update. In the past week there have been five callups — two due to players going on the injured list (Jefferies for Brown, and Bolt for Moreland), plus two additions for September roster expansion (Allen and Davis), and now Moll.
| Pitchers | Hitters |
|
Starters
Sean Manaea (L) RS: Frankie Montas (R) Relievers Sergio Romo (R) 60-IL: Trevor Rosenthal (R) |
Catchers
Sean Murphy (R) Infielders 1B: Matt Olson (L) IL: Mitch Moreland (L) Outfielders Mark Canha (R) IL: Stephen Piscotty (R) |
Injury/absence report:
- RHP Trevor Rosenthal, OUT FOR YEAR, entire body (thoracic outlet, hip labrum)
- OF Stephen Piscotty, OUT FOR YEAR, wrist (had surgery 8/27)
- RHP Mike Fiers, 60-day IL, elbow (no structural damage; resumed throwing)
- RHP Chris Bassitt, 10-day IL, face (had surgery 8/24, long shot to return)
- DH Mitch Moreland, 10-day IL, wrist (retroactive to 8/27)
- OF Seth Brown, IL, COVID-19 (went on IL 8/27 after positive test)
- RHP Frankie Montas, restricted list, visa issue (not joining team in Canada 9/3-9/5)
Mitch Moreland (wrist tendinitis) is in a splint for “at least a few weeks,” Bob Melvin said. “We’ll see where that takes us; certainly probably the regular season is in jeopardy at this point.” #Athletics
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) September 3, 2021