Seven moves at once!
The Oakland A’s made a roster move during their Monday off-day to option outfielder Luis Barrera to Triple-A, meaning that at least one more transaction was coming Tuesday to replace him. As it turns out, they did quite a bit more than that today.
The A’s announced seven roster moves this afternoon:
- IF Nick Allen called up
- IF Sheldon Neuse called up
- IF Matt Davidson designated for assignment
- RHP Dany Jimenez to 15-day injured list
- LHP Kirby Snead called up
- LHP Sam Moll to COVID-19 injured list
- RHP Domingo Tapia called up as COVID substitute
Holy Toledo, that’s a lot at once! Technically it all happened simultaneously, but let’s break down the list into some functionally corresponding moves.
First up are the position players. Oakland got started on this section yesterday when they sent down Barrera, and now today they DFA’d Davidson to clear another spot. In their places, a pair of familiar infielders return to the majors, in Neuse and Allen, both of whom have already made appearances this year.
On the pitching side, Jimenez heads to the IL with a strained right shoulder, retroactive to June 19, and Snead returns to the majors to fill his roster spot. Meanwhile, Moll was placed on the COVID IL, with Tapia specifically tabbed as his substitute.
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The swap of Barrera and Davidson for Neuse and Allen means there is one fewer outfielder on the roster. However, they still have plenty of choices in the outfield, with Brown, Laureano, Pache, and Pinder all available, plus Kemp if needed.
Davidson signed a minor league contract in May and was called up to the majors in early June, but the veteran slugger didn’t find his groove on either side of the ball. He played eight games and took 24 trips to the plate, resulting in one homer and 10 strikeouts, and in the field his defense was shaky on the infield corners including negative metrics and a pair of errors at third base.
- Davidson, OAK: 4-for-24 (.167), 1 HR, 0 BB, 10 Ks
It wasn’t a long audition, but it was enough for the A’s to move on. They revert back to Neuse, who played 49 games for them earlier this year before taking a brief demotion to Triple-A to make room for the Davidson experiment. Neuse had been mired in a deep slump at that moment but made the most of his time in the minors, going 21-for-52 in a dozen games and earning Player of the Week honors in the Pacific Coast League last week.
- Neuse, AAA: .404/.400/.731, 4 HR, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 BB, 11 Ks
That hot streak comes attached with his customarily high BABIP and low walk rate, but the power surge is especially interesting even with the perpetual asterisk of the PCL’s hitter-friendly atmosphere. At the very least, it’s enough to force another look in the majors, where he’ll look to improve on the .228 batting average and 79 wRC+ he posted during his first stint.
Allen has also been hot at the plate in Triple-A. Since the beginning of June he’s batting .365, with seven of his 19 hits going for extra bases, and he’s walked (14) more than he’s struck out (11) during that span for a whopping .500 OBP. Below are his full-season stats, covering 46 games.
- Allen, AAA: .266/.371/.358, 93 wRC+, 2 HR, 10 SB, 13.1% BB, 16.5% Ks
The defensive stalwart has already come up to the majors twice for quick cups of coffee, most recently in mid-May, so this will be his third stint with Oakland. In MLB so far he’s gone 4-for-23 with a pair of doubles, a steal, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
More details coming on the pitchers, so keep hitting refresh!
Pitchers | Hitters |
Starters
Frankie Montas (R)
Relievers Domingo Acevedo (R)
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Catchers
Sean Murphy (R) Infielders 1B: Christian Bethancourt (R) Outfielders Seth Brown (L)
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