A's Notes: Bullpen Move, and Shea Langeliers to Miss a Couple of Games
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On Saturday, the Athletics recalled Luis Morales to eat some innings, and manager Mark Kotsay ended up using him for the final two innings of the game, giving up four hits, five earned runs and four walks while notching a pair of strikeouts. To replace him on the roster is right-hander Tyler Ferguson.
The results weren't good, and neither was the fact that he needed 64 pitches (37 strikes) to get through those two innings. His control hasn't been there this season, as he's walked 12 batters in just 9 1/3 innings while striking out seven. This is something he'll certainly have to work on in Las Vegas in order to have a lasting stay with the A's.
Kotsay said after the game, "I definitely think things can be fixed," in reference to Morales. "For Luis today, the assignment was to come in and finish the game, really. Down four, with where our bullpen is, we wanted to make sure we align some things for [Sunday]. With him in the game throwing confidently, he can give us that chance to keep the game at four.
"I think there's a lot for him to work on right now. There's a lot mechanically that we can improve and focus on and move forward with him. There's no question that as a young starter, he's still got a lot to learn and to grow."
Joining the bullpen, Tyler Ferguson
Ferguson was optioned to the minors before the season began, and when he takes the mound for the A's he'll be making his 2026 debut. In his two seasons with the A's, Ferguson has held a 4.20 ERA across 109 1/3 innings, striking out 116.
This season in Triple-A he struggled in his second appearance of the year, giving up five runs on three hits and a walk. If the math doesn't add up, it's because the first batter of the inning he actually struck out, but a wild pitch allowed the batter to reach first. From there, the inning snowballed on him and he lasted just two-thirds of an inning.
Since the calendar flipped to April, he has been much better, despite holding a 6.17 ERA on the season. In his eight appearances, Ferguson tallied 10 innings and a 2.70 ERA, giving up seven hits and four walks, striking out five.
Mark Kotsay mentioned before Sunday's game that his velocity is back, sitting 95 to 97.
"He's got some swing and miss. Obviously we're very familiar with him, and he comes on a couple of day's rest. He can be used in multiple innings as well."
Shea to miss a couple of games
The Langeliers' welcomed their new baby on Sunday morning, the A's catcher is not at the ballpark for Sunday's game.
Before Sunday's contest, Kotsay said, "He will not be joining us in Philly until a time determined by Shea and the team."
We also asked if that means that Tyler Soderstrom is the team's backup catcher for the day, to which Kotsay emphasized that he is the emergency catcher for Sunday's contest. The A's are in discussion of which player will be called up from the minors to serve as the A's secondary catching option while Langeliers is away for a few days.
Langeliers will always be able to tell the story of how he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI the day before he welcomed his child to the world.
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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. Mason Miller once said he likes Jason's content.
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