The Athletics announce on Wednesday afternoon that the team has selected the contract of pitcher Carlos Duran and optioned left-hander Jacob Lopez back to Triple-A:
The Athletics selected right-handed pitcher Carlos Duran from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned left-handed pitcher Jacob Lopez to Triple-A Las Vegas. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A’s transferred right-handed pitcher Jose Leclerc to the 60-day injured list.
— A’s Communications (@AthleticsPR) April 30, 2025
The team also transferred veteran reliever Jose Leclerc to the 60-day IL, ensuring he will be out for a while as he recovers from injury.
Duran only just joined the Athletics organization at the beginning of the month. He was the return piece in the A’s-Dodgers trade that saw former speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz head down south to Los Angeles. A minor trade at the time but now having an impact on the team and it’s not even May yet.
The right-handed Duran has never pitched in the big league before so the first time he takes a mound for the team will be his big league debut. The 23=year-old signed with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic as a 16-year old and has steadily climbed the minor league ladder since. He’s been used almost exclusively as a starting pitcher but that has changed since joining the A’s organization. Since joining the Aviators Duran has made just one starting appearance while coming on in relief in his five other outings, limping to an ugly 8.49 ERA with the Aviators.
That said, Duran has had success in the minors as early as last season when he pitched at three levels and posted a solid 3.71 ERA over 19 starts. Duran features a plus-plus slide and above-average fastball but has struggled with control his entire career and even worse this season in Triple-A. It’s unclear how the A’s plan to use Duran as of this posting. For the immediate time being he’ll likely be a long man option for manager Mark Kotsay if a starter has a short outing but he could eventually get a look in that fifth starters role since there aren’t any other more obvious alternatives.
Lopez meanwhile will return yet again to Triple-A. He’s already made the trip back and forth a few times and it’s likely he’ll continue shuttling between the big league roster and the minor leagues depending on what the Athletics need that week. Lopez just started last night’s game, his first starting assignment with the team since joining over the offseason. It did not go well as he allowed three runs on six hits and three walks in just 2 2⁄3 frames. We should be seeing Lopez again in the near future but for now he’ll return to the minors and stay ready.
As for Leclerc, the $10 million investment the A’s made in him this offseason has not worked out well for him or the team. Leclerc limped to a 6.00 ERA through his first ten relief appearances before going down with a lat strain last week. He’s been shut down from any throwing indefinitely so the move to the 60-day IL was a mere formality at this point. The hope is that Leclerc can use this down time to get himself ready and reset his season when he returns. The A’s could use a veteran arm like him down in the ‘pen.