The A’s announced this afternoon that they have acquired right-hander Alex Speas from the White Sox in exchange for cash considerations. Speas had been designated for assignment by the Sox yesterday. To clear space on their 40-man roster for Speas, they’ve designated right-hander Zach Jackson for assignment.
Speas, 26, was a second round pick by the Rangers in the 2016 draft and made his big league debut with the club last year. His first cup of coffee in the majors did not go well, as he surrendered three runs on five walks and two hits while striking out four in two innings of work. Those difficulties at the big league level were reflective of his work at Triple-A with the Rangers last year, as he posted a 5.08 ERA with a 19.2% walk rate in 28 1/3 innings at the level. With that being said, his work at Double-A last season was nothing short of phenomenal as he punched out 40.9% of batters faced en route to a 0.64 ERA across 23 appearances.
The right-hander was designated for assignment by Texas at the tail end of the 2023 campaign and claimed off waivers by the White Sox in early October. He lasted through the offseason on the club’s 40-man roster, but his tenure with the club ended after just two appearances at the Triple-A level with the club. His brief stint with the club’s affiliate in Charlotte went poorly, as he allowed four runs on two walks and two hits, including a home run, while striking out just two. His time with Chicago came to an end yesterday when he was designated for assignment to make room for veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman on the club’s 40-man roster. Now, Speas will return to the AL West as a member of the A’s organization. He’s been optioned to Triple-A to begin his time with the club but could factor into the Oakland bullpen miss later this year alongside the likes of Michael Kelly, Austin Adams, and Lucas Erceg.
He’ll take the 40-man roster spot of Jackson, the Blue Jays’ third-round pick from the 2016 draft who made his way to Oakland via the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. Jackson pitched for the A’s since making his debut in 2022, with a 2.86 ERA in 66 innings, but was limited to just 20 frames by a flexor tendon strain last year and struggled badly both this spring and in three appearances at Triple-A so far this year. The A’s will now have one week to trade, waive, or release Jackson. Should he be passed through waivers successfully, the club will have the ability to assign him outright to the minor leagues, where he can act as non-roster depth going forward.
Zach Jackson’s career sub 3 ERA was going to be too expensive for Fisher to pay for.
Must’ve been wearing a “Last Dive Bar” wristband
I’ve always liked being refered to as a Smart Alex’, seems to promote ones career
Jackson was not the A’s 3rd round draft pick. He was the Blue Jays 3rd rounder and was drafted by the A’s in the rule 5 draft.
Did he just go from Bad to Worse?
Alex’s peas?
White Sox don’t need pitching? They keep dumping pitchers left and right.
I was wondering the same thing! How are they going through pitchers so quickly?
Speas recent outings weren’t good and pitching isn’t the issue for the Sox. They can’t hit worth a damn right now.
I just don’t seem to understand the WS. I am almost 80 years and have been a consistent sox fan since the 1950’s. As
I look back I think the only owner I ever liked was Bill ” the Wreck ” veeck . I do think he ever agreed to a bad trade . He traded for Dick Allen and Ritchi Zisk . They just don’t seem to have much quality management anymore . I guess JR doesn’t want to contend with the out of control salaries anymore . I though many teams would be bankrupt lime various governments. Oh well
Why the hell do the Cheep Sox give away players for money instead of players. Jerry is a terrible owner that should be reprimanded by MLB!!
When the A’s acquire a player for “cash considerations” does that mean they actually spend money?
Layaway plan.
Buffet vouchers for Vegas strip clubs.
Fisher IOU paper. That clown pays for nothing. He cancelled the A’s fan fest to save money and got mad when the fans held their own.
Gap dollars.
gap.com/customer-service/gapcash?cid=99996
It’s like their blueprint is too suck. Don’t want too many good Ps around might win a game.
Wasn’t Speas a brand of apple juice? I remember drinking little cans of it as a kid.
Don’t think I have seen it since well before this Speas was born.
All three Sox trades this week were for cash only apparently… ‘The Chairman’ strikes again.
Come to ‘Getz’s players emporium’.. Don’t worry about having to trade in, here we just take cash!
Watch then the Sox org will blame the fans somehow for this.
They are the BLIGHT SOX
He looks scared. That pic should be captioned, “The A’s? Do I HAVE to go?
He just got an email about bringing flip flops due to a rise in staph infections at their AAA ballpark.
He does look terrified!
If he had made any effort to better himself rather than stubbornly insist that throwing hard would be good enough he may have turned into a decent player. Now he’ll likely be working at Auto Zone in a couple of years.
Surely O’Reillys would pay him more.
I’m just here to say FU JOHN FISHER!!!!