Athletics DFA Former Closer After Rough Few Outings
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On Friday, the A’s made a somewhat surprising move. The team elected to designate right-hander Joel Kuhnel for assignment. Kuhnel was looking to collect his fifth save of the season on Thursday against Chicago.
The justification for designating him for assignment comes after a rough last seven appearances. In that time, he posted a brutal ERA of 7.88 in eight innings pitched.
The corresponding move for Kuhnel is the team finally recalling Elvis Alvarado. After pure dominance in Triple-A Las Vegas, the team is finally calling up Alvarado.
Alvarado has pitched 9.2 big league innings for the A’s this season. In that time, he’s posted an 8.38 ERA. He regained some confidence in the minors and will now look to join the solid A’s bullpen after Thursday’s blown game against the Cubs.
Kuhnel’s Second-Longest MLB Season
Kuhnel joined his fourth big league team when he got called up from the minors by the A’s on April 7.
The right-hander would make an immediate impact on the club, as he would get a save opportunity in just his second appearance on the team. Fortunately for Kuhnel, he’d become one of the most trusted bullpen arms upon his call-up.
The months of April and May would be really solid for Kuhnel. In April, he posted a solid 2.70 ERA in 10 appearances. In May, he’d make 13 appearances and post a 3.29 ERA.
However, a rough bunch of times out was all the A’s needed to designate him for assignment. This means the A’s will outright him to Triple-A, still removing him from the 40-man roster, or another MLB team is free to claim him.
This was a solid go for Kuhnel in what was his second-longest MLB season. He only pitched more innings back in 2022 with the Reds, where he posted a rough 6.36 ERA in 58 innings.
How Elvis Alvarado Fits in the Bullpen Mix
The corresponding move for Joel Kuhnel was to recall the flame-throwing Elvis Alvarado. Alvarado pitched in the big leagues earlier this season before he was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Now, Elvis Alvarado joins one of the most underrated bullpens in all of baseball. The A’s have had many pleasant surprises in their bullpen, like Luis Medina, Scott Barlow, Hogan Harris, and Justin Sterner.
One thing that’s common in the current A’s bullpen, aside from Medina, is that there isn’t much heat in the bullpen. The team is also lacking a true closer.
Harris, Barlow, and even Sterner have gotten looks at the closer role recently, but none have really locked down. With the addition of the flame-throwing Alvarado, this could change.
Heading into this season, Alvarado was a candidate to be the closer for the A’s. However, his rough start early led to fewer leverage appearances, and he was ultimately demoted to the minors.
Perhaps now is a perfect time for the A’s to give Alvarado a shot at closing out games. Unlike the other arms in the pen, he brings the heat, and his dominance as the Triple-A closer shows he could be ready.
Even if Kotsay elects to continue with a closer by committee, the A’s will still be adding a solid and likely reliable bullpen arm. We’ll just have to wait and see how the A’s plan to use Alvarado going forward.
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Dylan Quinn grew up playing baseball, and also enjoyed watching and writing about his favorite team, the A’s. Being a diehard A’s fan from New Jersey is certainly not common, but he loves the team and all of the current and former players so much. Quinn currently attends school at Penn State Scranton where he plays baseball.
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