A's Claim Lefty Off Waivers From New York Mets
The Oakland A's announced that they had claimed left-handed reliever Anthony Kay off waivers from the New York Mets on Tuesday, and at first glance his 5.59 career ERA in the big leagues doesn't scream big addition. The 28-year-old also held a 6.13 ERA across 14 2/3 innings in 2023, but he was the 31st overall selection by the New York Mets in the 2016 MLB Draft, so there is some talent there that may need to be unlocked.
When the Mets acquired Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019, Kay was a big part of the package that went back to the Jays. This past season Kay and Stroman were teammates on the Chicago Cubs for a stint before Kay was placed on waivers in September and made his way back to the Mets.
If you're an avid A's fan that watches a lot of the transactions they make, you've come to expect projects when the team adds a player, whether it's via trade, waiver claim, or free agency. Sometimes those gambles pay off like the additions of Darell Hernaiz from the Cole Irvin deal, or Joe Boyle in the Sam Moll trade, and sometimes they struggle initially like Billy Sullivan (Pache trade) or Easton Lucas (Fujinami).
Kay has reached the big leagues in each of the last five seasons and has totaled 85 1/3 innings in that span, with his aforementioned 5.59 career ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Outside of his first 14 innings in the big leagues in 2019, Kay has finished each season with a walk rate in the double digits, topping out at 14.3% in 2020, which he nearly matched this past season at 13.6%.
The A's like to take chances on a guy with walk issues. Joe Boyle was having difficulty with his command in the Reds system and went on to jump up to Triple-A and then make three starts in Oakland that have put him in position to potentially land in the A's rotation next season. Command can be fixed.
In terms of stuff, Kay throws 95 from the left side and has a hard slider (also referred to as a cutter by MLB.com) at 88 and a slower sweeper that averages 81. He also mixed in a changeup on occasion, which sits at 87.
What really stands out about Kay's arsenal is that his sweeper had a 50% whiff rate in a small sample size. His overall Chase% sat at 34.8% in 2023, which, over more innings, would have ranked right around the 96th percentile. His Location+ over at FanGraphs is also right in line with what Shintaro Fujinami put up with the A's in 2023, and we can all remember what a ride that could be at times.
As of right now, this waiver claim isn't a huge one. There are things that need to be tinkered with by the A's coaching staff in order to get Kay in the zone more often first and foremost, but they also have to utilize that chase rate, too.
With zero options remaining, the A's are more or less giving him an opportunity to go out and impress their coaches this Spring Training and land a spot on Oakland's Opening Day roster. Even with Kay having made appearances in parts of five seasons, he is still has a year left until he's arbitration eligible, and he won't reach free agency until after the 2027 season.
That's why we see the A's take on so many unfinished products. If they pan out, they've added another good, inexpensive player to the roster for a number of years. If it doesn't work, then it's onto the waiver wire for them and on to the next potential diamond in the rough.
It should also be noted that Brent Rooker was a waiver claim last offseason, and was the final player to make the Opening Day roster. He went on to have a breakout season that included 30 home runs. Kay, like Rooker, has had some brief stints in the big leagues but hadn't been given that real shot to stick.
This could be Kay's chance to show he belongs in The Show.