Houston Astros Claim Reliever From Oakland
The Houston Astros have claimed reliever Alex Speas from the Oakland A's. To make room for Speas on the 40-man roster, Houston has DFA'd outfielder Corey Julks to make room for the right-hander on the roster. He has been assigned to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.
Speas was traded to the A's in early April from the Chicago White Sox for cash, and spent all of his time in the organization in Triple-A with the Las Vegas Aviators. He posted an 11.32 ERA across 10 1/3 innings, giving up 16 hits, 13 earned runs, walking seven, and striking out 15. His batting average against was .356.
His last outing came on Saturday, and he was sitting at 91.7 miles per hour with his cutter, which he threw 52% of the time, and at 98.5 mph with his four-seamer, which was used for 35% of his pitches. He also mixed in a slider at 13%, that sat at 90.5.
So far this season, his strike percentage (61%) is the highest it has been since his first year of pro ball in 2016 (62%), but he's also throwing more pitches per inning (21.47) than he has in the past.
One stat that could lead to a little hope for Houston fans is that his BABIP with Las Vegas has been an astronomical .464. That figures to come down a decent amount over the course of the season, and when it does, we could see some some better results from the 26-year-old.
The A's had designated Speas for assignment back on Wednesday to clear a spot for Easton Lucas on their 40-man.
Speas is now one of four Astros relievers in Triple-A that are on the 40-man roster, joining Dylan Coleman, Parker Mushinski, and Forrest Whitley. Houston's bullpen ERA this season sits at 4.66 with a 4.48 FIP. In May the results have been better with the relief arms putting up a 3.67 ERA, but their 5.02 FIP suggests that the pitching hasn't necessarily improved, just the results.
We'll see if Speas can make it back to the big leagues this season with Houston after making his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers last season.
JASON BURKE
Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.