A's Sign Trevor May
The Oakland Athletics have announced that they have signed reliever Trevor May to a one year contract.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the deal is worth $7MM with a $1M signing bonus. He can also make another $500,000 in performance bonuses.
This is a signing with some clear upside, being that May has previously worked with new A's bullpen coach Mike McCarthy, and had arguably his best season in the big leagues under McCarthy's watch.
That season came in 2019 with the Minnesota Twins when he pitched in 65 games for 64 1/3 innings, accumulated a 2.94 ERA with 17 holds and two saves in four opportunities. He also held a 1.07 WHIP and had an opponent's batting average of .184.
Last season with the New York Mets, May posted a 5.04 ERA in 25 innings with a 1.44 WHIP and a .265 batting average against.
May is a 33-year-old right-hander that averages 96 on his heater, gets great extension (96th percentile) and has a four pitch mix that includes a changeup, a slider, and a split finger fastball to go along with his four-seam fastball.
His four-seamer was more hittable in 2022, which could be a cause for concern. The opposition batted .327 against the pitch, but that came with a .262 expected batting average. In 2019, batters hit just .150 against the four-seamer.
To make room for Trevor May on the 40-man roster, the A's also designated Cody Thomas for assignment.
Thomas is a 28-year-old outfielder that hit 18 home runs in 59 games in Triple-A Las Vegas in 2021, but injuries have slowed him down since coming to the A's as part of the Sheldon Neuse/Adam Kolarek trade. He appeared in just 16 minor league games in 2022.
Update: He's going to fit in just fine in Oakland