Jordan Weems, Jonah Heim Back with Athletics; Blackburn, Allen Demoted
The A’s made a couple of tweaks to their roster heading into Monday’s opening of a four-game series in Arlington, Texas vs. the Rangers, bringing up right-handed reliever Jordan Weems and catcher Jonah Heim from their alternate site.
To make room on the roster, right-handed reliever Paul Blackburn and catcher Austin Allen went back to the alternate site in San Jose. Blackburn, recalled Wednesday, didn’t pitch in a game. Allen has been on the roster as the backup to Sean Murphy all along, and at the time of his demotion owned a .194 average, one homer and three RBI.
Weems, a one-time catcher who converted to pitching four years ago, began the season on the A’s roster, made the first two appearances in the big leagues – five innings, two earned runs – and then landed on the injured list the first week of August with a strained right latissimus dorsi (back muscle).
Oakland had hoped Weems might be back after missing 10 days, but after being activated on the 14th, he spent the next week-plus in San Jose.
Heim, a switch-hitter, had a .359/.412/.557 slash line with four homers for Las Vegas in 35 games in 2019. It was thought he had a chance to make the original roster, but the A’s opted to go with just two catchers with Murphy getting the bulk of the work.
A’s manager Bob Melvin, himself a former catcher, takes the position seriously.
“Jonah we’ve had in our organization for a while,” Melvin said in July. “The catching position is an important position for me. These guys all have relationships with the pitchers.”
Heim, originally selected by Baltimore in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, was dealt to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline in 2016. A year later he came to the A’s in a trade that saw Oakland deal Joey Wendle to the Rays. The 25-year-old switch-hitter combined to hit a career-high .310 with a career-high tying nine home runs and 53 RBI in 85 games with Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas last year. Heim hit .320 with five RBI in 14 games with Oakland this spring.
Allen had played in just one of the just completed five-game homestand in which the A’s went 4-1 to improve to 20-9, the best record in the American League.
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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