DFA'd Toronto Blue Jays Pitcher Makes Sense for A's

Jun 17, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN;  Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Brandon Eisert (60) delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Jun 17, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Brandon Eisert (60) delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Athletics have done a solid job of building out their roster ahead of the 2025 season, and we are now at the tinkering point of the winter for the front office. One addition the A's could still stand to make would be a left-handed relief pitcher.

While they could secure one on the free agent market, it looks as though they have reached the $105 million threshold they needed to get to to avoid a grievance being filed against them by the MLBPA, so they could switch gears and start looking for inexpensive options to fill this need.

The Toronto Blue Jays have just made available someone that fits the A's needs, when they designated left-hander Brandon Eisert for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Anthony Santander.

While Eisert isn't a big-league veteran by any means, having pitched in a total of three games with the Jays, he's a lefty that gets ground balls, which are two attributes the A's have been after this winter. The ballpark in Sacramento is expected to play a little more hitter-friendly than the Oakland Coliseum, and the fence in right field is a bit closer than in left.

Selected by the Blue Jays in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Eisert made his pro debut in 2021 and soared through three levels in their system, ultimately reaching Double-A. The past three seasons have all been spent entirely in Triple-A Buffalo where he holds a 12-8 record and a 3.83 ERA across a combined 183 1/3 innings.

Over that span he also holds a 1.265 WHIP, has struck out 10.8 per nine, and walked three per nine. He struck out a solid 29.1% of the hitters he faced a year ago, and walked 9.3%. While the walk rate is a touch high, the two stats combine to form a solid relief pitcher.

Eisert made his MLB debut in 2024 on June 17, and he was solid overall, going two scoreless innings and allowing just one hit, but he also walked three batters in his time on the bump, which made his overall stats for the season look less good. The command in this outing can totally be excused, given that it was his debut and he was facing a tough Boston Red Sox lineup.

He was sent back down to the minors and recalled in July, and that trend followed yet again in September, where he popped back up for an outing against the Miami Marlins at the end of the year. In total, Eisert went 6 2/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA (three runs allowed), striking out two and walking four. He walked just one in his second and third outings combined.

In the minors he really ended the season strong, going 19 2/3 innings between August and September, allowing just 13 hits, two walks, and striking out 17. He allowed four earned runs in this span, holding a 1.59 ERA in August and a 2.16 ERA in September.

Eisert isn't a must-have guy, but he certainly has the tools to be a useful relief pitcher for a team like the A's as they look to approach contention in 2025.


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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.