A's Option Former Closer Candidate—Here's Why the Timing Makes Sense

The A's sent down a big, hard-throwing arm for some innings

Apr 5, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Elvis Alvarado (37) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the tenth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Coming into the season, Elvis Alvarado was seen as a potential closer candidate in the A's closer-by-committee carousel, given that he has a live arm with some tremendous stuff. The season has played out in a way that nobody predicted, with veteran Joel Kuhnel, a non-roster invitee this spring, taking a large share of the ninth inning work in recent games.

Alvarado had thrown just seven pitches in two appearances from Sunday through Thursday, and on Friday night he was asked to cover a couple of innings to save the rest of a taxed bullpen. To get through the two innings, he needed 45 pitches, which will essentially keep him off the mound for the A's for at least a couple of days.

With a bullpen that has racked up 78 2/3 innings, tied for the ninth-most in MLB with the Los Angeles Angels, the A's are going to need some fresh arms to help get them through the next handful of games.

With Alvarado going down, starter Mason Barnett has been recalled, per the team.

What Barnett brings, red flags to be aware of

Sep 26, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Mason Barnett (63) throws during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Barnett made his MLB debut last season at the end of the year, getting five starts to close out the year. He held a 6.85 ERA in that span and held a low left on base rate of just 59.2% That accounted for his high ERA, and is a reason why his 4.88 FIP was nearly two runs better.

This year he has had more success in Triple-A to begin the year, posting a 3.07 ERA across 14 2/3 innings in three starts.

The worrisome aspects of his stat line, despite the low ERA, are that his walk rate has sat at 15.9%, which is entirely too high for someone that strikes guys out at a 22.2% clip. That rate will have to go down in order for him to have success with the A's this time around.

The other potential red flag in his profile is that his left on base rate is actually perfect this season, sitting at 100%. All five of the runs he has allowed this season have come on home runs. Because of the LOB% going fully the opposite of last season, his FIP sits at 7.47 through three starts, which is an indicator that regression could be on the way.

Barnett last pitched on April 14, which could be part of why he got the call for this spot. Of the members of the Aviators rotation, he has one of the fresher arms. As for why the A's would call up a starter instead of a different relief pitcher, they're after innings at the moment.

With a road series against the Seattle Mariners looming at the beginning of next week, heading into those three games against the favorites in the AL West with a rested bullpen that is fully available is fairly important.

In that series, the A's have J.T. Ginn, Jacob Lopez and Aaron Civale lined up. While they're each fully capable starters, they have each tended to go around five innings per contest this season. Having a rested bullpen could certainly come in handy if Mark Kotsay needs to make a quick move to give his team the best chance at a game.

Of course, if Barnett comes up and throws the ball well, he could end up taking a spot in the A's rotation, which would solve another issue for the A's. Presumably it would be Jacob Lopez that would slide to a bullpen role, as the green and gold need another lefty in the relief mix. That doesn't appear to be the plan right now, but things could change.