Philadelphia Phillies Latest Stop for Former A's Prospect
Over the weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies claimed a minor leaguer that has been traveling quite a bit the past couple of weeks. That player is Ryan Cusick, who was once part of the Athletics trade with the Atlanta Braves that landed Matt Olson with the NL East rivals.
The A's also received Shea Langeliers, Joey Estes, and Cristian Pache in the trade, and while Langeliers and Estes are still with the green and gold, Pache has also been a member of the Phillies organization after they acquired him for right-hander Billy Sullivan in 2023.
Cusick, still just 25, had been making his way through the A's system since 2022, spending the majority of his seasons through 2024 with the Double-A Midland RockHounds. After transferring to the bullpen midway through last season and experiencing more success than in previous campaigns, the A's added him to the 40-man roster and started Cusick in Triple-A Las Vegas this season.
feed
In 13 appearances spanning 14.2 innings of work, Cusick held a 6.75 ERA out of the Vegas bullpen, complete with a 1.91 WHIP after allowing 15 hits and 13 walks.
With the A's needing more flexibility on their 40-man roster and Cusick not being ready to contribute at the big-league level, they decided to designate him for assignment on May 27. On May 30 he was claimed by the Detroit Tigers, and would make one scoreless appearance for their Triple-A affiliate in Toledo.
On June 2, he was DFA'd by the Tigers, only to be picked up by the Chicago White Sox off the waiver wire. The following day, the Sox had also designated him for assignment before he'd received a chance to pitch for one of their affiliates.
And that is how he ended up with the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. Cusick's player page on MiLB.com currently has him listed as being on the team's Rookie affiliate, which could mean that they have some long-term plans for some mechanical changes they'd like him to work on in a lower pressure environment. It could also just be the placeholder on the website for the time being.
Not only have the Phillies now held two pieces of the A's return for Olson, but they also had Freddy Tarnok in their system, who was part of the Sean Murphy trade--also with Atlanta. Tarnok ended up with the Phillies at around this time last season, and would stick around through the end of the 2024 campaign, but he'd elected minor league free agency after the year. He's in the Marlins' system now.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Cusick, the Phillies designated Kyle Tyler for assignment. Tyler, 28, has racked up 48 innings of big-league time across three seasons in four years. Most of that work came last season with the Miami Marlins, where the right-hander held a 5.40 ERA with a 1.74 WHIP. Philadelphia had claimed off waivers him from the Marlins in August of 2024.
Twins Were Not Fans of A's Ballpark in Sacramento. Twins Were Not Fans of A's Ballpark in Sacramento. dark. Next
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.