21 A's Minor Leaguers Elect Free Agency
Among the 21 A's farmhands that are electing free agency, nine are right-handed pitchers, four are southpaws, four are listed as outfielders, and there there is a catcher, a first baseman, and a second baseman. Some of the names will be familiar to A's fans after they received stints in Oakland in 2022.
Let's go down the list, shall we?
Angello Infante
23 years old, pitched all season in High-A Lansing, getting into 39 games and finished with a 4.29 ERA in 50 1/3 innings pitched.
Jacob Lemoine
He'll be 29 at the end of November, made his big league debut with the A's in 2022, getting into nine games and tossing 16 1/3 innings. He finished with a 7.71 ERA, but a 5.99 FIP. He signed as a minor league free agent with the A's last January.
Domingo Tapia
31 years old, claimed off waivers from the Royals at the end of April, and totaled 17 innings with the A's, posting an 8.47 ERA. He walked 14 and struck out 12 in that time. He had a 1.76 ERA with Las Vegas this season in 30 2/3 innings.
Brent Honeywell Jr.
27 years old, acquired from the Rays for cash before the lockout last off-season. He was injured for a large portion of the 2022 campaign, totaling 20 1/3 innings and a 7.08 ERA. His walk rate was ok, and he struck out more than a batter an inning, but he allowed 32 hits in just over 20 innings.
Matt Milburn
29 years old, drafted by the A's in the 29th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He got into 29 games (12 starts) with Double-A Midland, tossing 99 1/3 innings and accruing a 6.07 ERA. He gave up 130 hits.
Wandisson Charles
26 years old, and had been with the organization since he was 18. His walk rate has always been pretty high, and this season in Double-A he walked 38 in 37 innings pitched and struck out 34.
Chester Pimentel
His birthday was November 12 (happy birthday!), and he's turned 27. He signed with the A's as a minor league free agent with an invite to spring training in March. He started the season in Vegas, posting a 3.84 ERA after about a month, but he walked seven batters in 10 1/3 innings and spent the rest of the year in Midland. He struck out 40 in 28 innings there, but he also walked 27.
Nick Highberger
Highberger is 29 years old and was drafted by the A's in the 30th round back in 2016. He posted a 6.43 ERA with the RockHounds, nearly identical to the 6.41 he posted there in 2021, and walked 45 in 56 innings pitched.
Collin Wiles
Wiles is 28 years old and signed with the A's in March as a minor league free agent. He made his big league debut on September 14 in Texas (the team that drafted him in 2012). He tossed 9 2/3 innings with the A's in September across four appearances and finished with a 4.66 ERA. He only walked two in his big league stint, and just 27 in 143 1/3 innings in Las Vegas.
Aaron Brown
Brown is 30 and signed with the A's as a minor league free agent before the 2021 season. He spent that year split between Midland and Las Vegas, getting into 51 games and tossing 63 innings with a 3.14 ERA. He spent all of 2022 in Las Vegas and 13 home runs inflated his ERA to 4.77 across 66 innings after allowing just three the previous year.
Dalton Sawyer
Sawyer turns 29 on November 22 and was taken by the A's in the 9th round of the 2016 draft. Injuries have really limited his time on the mound since 2017. He had a 3.09 ERA in 11 2/3 innings to begin the 2022 season, but injuries found him again in May, and caused him to miss the rest of the season.
Ty Damron
The 2016 15th rounder is 28 and spent most of the year in Midland. In his final appearance with the RockHounds, he pitched out of the bullpen for the first time of the season and tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He continued that trend in Vegas, tossing another 10 1/3 scoreless innings out of the 'pen. Damron could catch on with another club as a relief option for 2023.
Sam Selman
Selman turned 32 on November 14 and was a waiver claim from the Angels back in March, just days after the new CBA took effect and transactions were allowed once again. He appeared for the A's in Oakland in every month of the season, but those appearances were usually quick stints, resulting in 16 total games and 18 1/3 innings in the big leagues. He finished the year with a 4.91 ERA in Oakland and a 2.83 in Las Vegas across 35 innings.
Beau Taylor
This isn't the first time Beau Taylor, a 5th round selection in 2011 for the Oakland, has declared for free agency from the A's, doing so the first time back in 2019. Earlier in that season he had also been DFA's by the A's, picked up by Toronto, then DFA'd by the birds and re-claimed by the green and gold. The 32-year-old backstop latched on with the Orioles system this season, but was DFA'd in July and picked up by the A's. He hit .250 with a .375 OBP in Vegas in 27 games.
Dalton Kelly
The 28-year-old from Redding signed with the A's right before the lockout, and spent the season in Vegas split between left field and first base. He hit .219 with a .328 OBP and a .744 OPS. He struck out 118 times in 360 plate appearances, for a 32.8 K%, and he walked 12.2% of the time.
Nate Mondou
The A's drafted Mondou in the 13th round out of college in 2016. The 26-year-old made his big-league debut on October 4, going 0-for-2 with a walk in his only plate appearances. He was in Triple-A for the second year in 2022, and put up a nearly identical stat line to the one he produced in 2021, hitting .283 (.282 in '21), with a .374 OBP (.371), slugging .431 (.432), giving him an OPS of .805 (.803).
Sheldon Neuse
The soon-to-be 28-year-old got a good look in Oakland this season, playing in 89 games, primarily at third, while getting some work at second and first as well. He finished April hitting .328 with a .394 on-base, but hit just .170 in May, then rebounded to bat .297 in June. From there on it was all downhill, with Neuse batting .125, .091, and .188 in more limited opportunities in July, August, and September. He finished the season batting .214. His Triple-A stats just haven't seemed to translate to the big leagues yet.
Billy McKinney
The former first rounder for the A's (2013) returned to the A's system this spring, along with Neuse, after being part of the Jeff Samardzija trade in 2014. He made the A's Opening Day roster, but after going just 5-for-45 (.111) in April, and starting off May 0-for-7, he was DFA'd by the A's and then sent to Vegas.
Skye Bolt
The 28-year-old centerfielder was drafted by the A's in the 4th round back in 2015 and has been up and down between the big leagues and Triple-A since 2019. He spent the month of April last season with the San Francisco Giants after being DFA'd, but he was placed on waivers a month later and re-claimed by Oakland. He was called up this season when Cristian Pache was optioned to the minors, and got into 42 games and hit .198.
Gabriel Maciel
Maciel is 23, and actually had a decent season with Lansing. He hit .275 with a .357 on-base in 62 games, struck out just 14% of the time and walked at a 9.5% clip. He doesn't have a lot of pop, hitting just 12 homers in six pro seasons, and he's bounced around a decent amount already, signing with the Diamondbacks before getting traded to the Twins in the Eduardo Escobar deal, then getting claimed off waivers by the A's last off-season.
Vince Fernandez
The 27-year-old Livermore native was claimed off waivers from the Giants last December, and he put up decent numbers in his first season in Triple-A, batting .248 with a .344 on-base and 15 home runs. He struck out one-third of the time, and is still looking to make his big league debut.