25 A's Minor Leaguers Elect Free Agency
On Tuesday, 25 players within the Oakland A's organization elected free agency, and while they are all technically minor leaguers currently, there are quite a few names that will be familiar to A's fans.
Among those that are set to hit the market are RHP James Kaprielian, LHRP Kirby Snead, RHRP Chad Smith, OF Conner Capel, 1B Greg Deichmann, LHRP Sam Long, LHRP Richard Lovelady, RHRP Tayler Scott, and LHRP Anthony Kay. All of these players, besides Deichmann and Kay, played in Oakland in 2023.
Another big notable name is Austin Beck, whom the A's selected sixth overall in the 2017 Draft. After struggling mightily in 2021 after the pandemic, he put things together a bit between High-A and Double-A, batting a combined .250 with a .304 OBP and nine home runs. He missed the entire 2023 season, so we never got to see what he could do to build off of his progress last year.
Here are the rest of the minor leaguers that have elected free agency:
RHP Trey Supak, LHP Garrett Williams, RHP Bryce Conley, RHP Zack Godley, RHP Daulton Jefferies, RHP Norge Ruiz, RHP Jasseel De La Cruz, RHP Durbin Feltman, RHP Jorge Juan, LHP Mac Lardner, LHP John Beller, RHP Osvaldo Berrios, RHP Serafino Brito, Christian Fernandez, and CF Kevin Richards.
A lot of the players on both lists are depth options or works in progress, but the inclusion of Kaprielian, Snead, and Smith here just points to a few more trades for the A's that haven't necessarily worked out.
Kaprielian was easily the best of the bunch after quality seasons in 2021 and 2022 as a member of the A's rotation. He was acquired back in 2017 from the Yankees as part of the Sonny Gray trade along with Dustin Fowler and Jorge Mateo.
Snead was part of the Matt Chapman package, and with his departure that leaves the entire trade hinging on how well Kevin Smith and Gunnar Hoglund continue to develop.
Chad Smith was acquired in an under-the-radar deal with the Colorado Rockies last offseason with the A's sending 2020 second rounder pick Jeff Criswell to the Mile High city. In Triple-A Criswell posted a 7.51 ERA as a starter, and Smith posted a 7.53 ERA in Las Vegas as a reliever. It's an even swap as things currently sit, but Smith's slider was tantalizing heading into 2023. His walk rate went down in limited big league innings, but his strikeout rate also plummeted.
It should also be noted that Anthony Kay was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets just a couple of weeks ago before being outrighted from the roster and subsequently electing free agency.
The A's 40-man roster currently sits at 34 players with the Rule 5 deadline looming.