Bethancourt, 33, had a decent showing at the plate as recently as 2022, when he slashed .252/.283/.409 (99 wRC+) with 11 homers in 101 games between the A’s and Rays. His bat has tanked since that time, with a combined .220/.250/.377 between Tampa Bay, Miami and Chicago (Cubs).

Once one of the game’s top-100 prospects, Bethancourt has never really found his footing as a big league regular. He moved on from catching entirely at one point, attempting to reinvent himself as a reliever, but he’s now spent several years back behind the plate. He’s a lifetime .229/.259/.367 hitter in the big leagues.

While that offense (or lack thereof) leaves plenty to be desired, Bethancourt has controlled the running game quite nicely thanks to a rocket arm that received 80 grades (on the 20-80 scale) during his prospect days. As the average caught-stealing rate has dropped to just 20.3% leaguewide following tweaks to the size of the bases and limits on pickoff attempts, Bethancourt has excelled. He thwarted 30% of stolen base attempts against him last year. Dating back to 2022, Bethancourt boasts a gaudy 29.9% caught-stealing rate. Over the past four seasons, only J.T. Realmuto, Patrick Bailey and Gabriel Moreno have contributed more value with their throwing, among catchers, per Statcast.

Bethancourt won’t be in the mix for the starting job in Toronto. That belongs to Alejandro Kirk. But the Jays’ only other catcher on the 40-man roster right now is journeyman Tyler Heineman, who has a .212/.298/.273 slash in 299 career plate appearances in the majors. Bethancourt could very well be in the mix for that spot, though time will tell if the Jays bring in a more established veteran to solidify that critical role. As it stands, an injury to Kirk would leave Toronto with Heineman and one of Bethancourt or fellow non-roster invitee Ali Sanchez as manager John Schneider’s top options behind the dish.

Lovelady, 29, split the 2024 season between the Cubs and Rays, struggling with the former but pitching pretty well for the latter. The southpaw gave Tampa Bay 28 2/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, albeit with a sub-par 16.8% strikeout rate. Lovelady’s 7.6% walk rate and 53.5% ground-ball rate were both strong marks, however, and the lefty has long shown an interesting blend of missed bats and grounders to go along with solid command.

Even with a decent showing for Tampa Bay, Lovelady was cut loose in November. The Rays designated him for assignment to open roster space for outfielder Jake Mangum, whom they wanted to protect from the Rule 5 Draft. Lovelady was non-tendered rather than traded or placed on waivers, immediately making him a free agent.

In 99 1/3 big league innings, Lovelady has a 21.1% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 50.9% grounder rate. He’s still been tagged for a 4.98 earned run average, thanks in large part to a 66% strand rate, but metrics like xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.02) have been more bullish than ERA. He’ll now try to catch on in Toronto, where the only lefty relievers on the 40-man roster are the inexperienced trio of Brendon Little, Easton Lucas and Josh Walker. Prospect Adam Macko also throws left-handed, but the Jays hope his future is in the rotation.

Onto the transactions…

• The Angels announced that they have non-tendered left-hander Patrick Sandoval, infielder Eric Wagaman, as well as outfielders Jordyn Adams and Bryce Teodosio. You can read more about those moves here.
• The Astros tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
• The Athletics announced that they did not tender a contract to right-hander Dany Jiménez, who was projected for a $1MM salary. He posted a 4.91 in 25 appearances for the A’s in 2024. He struck out 21.4% of opponents but gave out walks at a 16.2% clip.
• The Blue Jays are planning to non-tender righty Dillon Tate, per Ben Nicholson Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (X link). Tate was just claimed off waivers at the start of September and had a projected salary of $1.9MM. He’s a former fourth overall pick with some good numbers in his career but he missed most of 2023 due to injury and then posted a 4.66 ERA in 2024. The Jays are also non-tendering righty Jordan Romano, which you can read more about here.
• The Guardians have non-tendered outfielder George Valera and right-hander Connor Gillispie, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (X link). Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week.
• The Mariners are going to non-tender outfielder Sam Haggerty, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link). He was limited to just eight games in 2024 due to a torn achilles. He was only projected for a salary of $900K but the M’s have decided to move on. They also non-tendered infielder Josh Rojas and righties Austin Voth and JT Chargois, moves that are covered with more depth here.
• The Orioles plan to non-tender right-hander Jacob Webb, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner (X link). Webb was projected for a salary of $1.7MM next year. The righty tossed 56 2/3 innings for the O’s in 2024 with a 3.02 ERA and 24.5% strikeout rate, but an 11.4% walk rate.
• The Rays announced they have non-tendered outfielder Dylan Carlson as well as left-handers Tyler Alexander, Colin Poche and Richard Lovelady. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed the news (X link) prior to the official announcement. Carlson once seemed like a building block in St. Louis but his offense has declined for three straight years now and he was projected for a $2.7MM salary. Alexander was projected for $2.8MM and had a 5.10 ERA this year. Poche had a solid 3.86 ERA but was projected for $3.4MM. Lovelady was designated for assignment a few days ago.
• The Rangers tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
• The Red Sox announced that right-handers Bryan Mata and Isaiah Campbell were both non-tendered. Those two had been designated for assignment earlier this week.
• The Royals tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
• The Tigers announced that they have non-tendered infielder Eddys Leonard as well as right-handers Ricky Vanasco, Brendan White and Wilmer Flores. Three of those four were designated for assignment earlier this week. Flores, the lone exception, is the younger brother of the same-named Wilmer Flores of the Giants. The younger Flores was once a notable pitching prospect but was injured for most of 2024.
• The Twins tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
• The Yankees have non-tendered infielder Jon Berti, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). He was projected for a salary of $3.8MM. He was injured for much of the year and only got into 25 games. The Yankees also announced that they have non-tendered left-hander Tim Mayza, who was projected for a $4MM salary but had a 6.33 ERA in 2024.
• The White Sox will non-tender first baseman/outfielder Gavin Sheets, which MLBTR covered earlier today. The Sox later announced Sheets and also that they non-tendered right-hander Enyel De Los Santos as well. De Los Santos was projected for a salary of $1.7MM but posted a 5.20 ERA this year.

Lovelady, 29, split the 2024 season between the Cubs and Rays, struggling with the former but pitching pretty well for the latter. The southpaw gave Tampa Bay 28 2/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, albeit with a sub-par 16.8% strikeout rate. Lovelady’s 7.6% walk rate and 53.5% ground-ball rate were both strong marks, however, and the lefty has long shown an interesting blend of missed bats and grounders to go along with solid command. In 99 1/3 big league innings, Lovelady has a 21.1% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 50.9% grounder rate. He’s still been tagged for a 4.98 earned run average, thanks in large part to a 66% strand rate, but metrics like xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.02) have been more bullish than ERA.

The Rays will have a week to trade Lovelady or attempt to pass him through waivers. They can also non-tender him before Friday and cut him right from the roster without first exposing him to any form of waivers — the only time of year clubs are able to do so. He’s out of minor league options, so any club that acquires Lovelady would need to carry him on the 40-man roster to open the season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Lovelady for a $900K salary in 2025. He’s controllable through the 2027 season.

Mangum, 28, came to the Rays as the player to be named later in the deal that sent utilityman Vidal Brujan and righty Calvin Faucher to the Marlins. He spent the 2024 season in Triple-A, where he slashed .317/.357/.442 with six homers and 20 steals in 428 turns at the plate. Mangum is a switch-hitter with good speed, strong bat-to-ball skills and the ability to play all three outfield spots. He’ll likely get an opportunity to make his MLB debut in a fourth-outfielder role with the Rays in 2025.

Poche last pitched on April 23, as he has been recovering from tightness in the middle of his back.  Poche required two injections to aid the healing process, the second coming just under a month ago after his initial throwing program was shut down due to recurring back discomfort.  He officially returned to the mound in game action this past week with Triple-A Durham, tossing 2 2/3 total innings over three rehab appearances.

The back problems likely contributed to Poche’s slow start, as he had a 6.75 ERA across his first 9 1/3 big league innings for Tampa this season.  Poche’s average fastball velocity was down to 90.9mph from 92.5mph in 2023, and his strikeout rate plummeted from 24.8% to 14.3%.  After allowing 15 homers over 119 1/3 relief innings for the Rays in 2022-23, Poche had already given up three long balls in his small sample size of work this season.

A return to form for Poche would greatly aid a Rays bullpen that has been uncharacteristically average this season, with a cumulative 4.20 ERA that ranks 20th of 30 teams.  Poche joins Garrett Cleavinger as the pen’s two left-handed options, while Lovelady will now be sidelined with a potentially serious arm injury.

Lovelady’s health history includes a Tommy John surgery in 2021, and then a pronator muscle strain in his forearm that brought an early end to his 2023 season.  A flexor strain likely indicates a lengthy rehab process even for a pitcher without these past injuries on his resume, though hopefully Lovelady can avoid another surgery.

The Rays only just brought Lovelady into the organization three weeks ago, when Tampa acquired the left-hander from Chicago after the Cubs had designated him for assignment.  The results haven’t been there for Lovelady before or after the trade, as his 7.62 ERA breaks down as a 7.94 ERA in 5 2/3 frames for the Cubs and a 7.36 ERA in 7 1/3 innings with Tampa Bay.  Despite the ugly bottom-line numbers, Lovelady’s SIERA is only 3.65, as he has hampered by a very low 45.9% strand rate and a very high .386 BABIP.

Chicago designated Lovelady for assignment earlier this week, and today’s trade will officially end his Wrigleyville tenure after seven appearances.  Lovelady signed a minor league contract with the Cubs over the offseason, and the team’s spate of bullpen injuries created another opportunity for the southpaw in the Show, as his contract was selected to the 26-man roster at the end of April.  Unfortunately for Lovelady, he posted a 7.94 ERA over his 5 2/3 innings with Chicago, making him expendable when the Cubs needed a roster spot for the newly-acquired Tyson Miller.

Lovelady has pitched in five of the last six MLB seasons, with a 5.48 ERA across his 70 2/3 innings as a big leaguer.  The home run ball has presented some problems for Lovelady and he isn’t a particularly hard thrower, yet some elements to his game hint at the potential for more consistent effectiveness.  Lovelady has a 49.8% grounder rate at the Major League level, as well as solid strikeout (22.7%) and walk (8.8%) rates.

If any team can make Lovelady a late bloomer as he approaches his 29th birthday, it might be the Rays, given their history of turning unheralded pitchers into quality contributors.  Lovelady is in his final minor league option year, so Tampa Bay has some flexibility in moving him between the majors and minors as circumstances warrant.  Garrett Cleavinger is the only other southpaw in the Rays’ bullpen, so Lovelady will bring some more depth against lefty-swinging batters.

The 26-year-old Belge was an 18th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2019 draft, and he came to Tampa in the December 2022 trade that sent J.P. Feyereisen to Los Angeles.  Working almost exclusively as a relief pitcher in his 165 1/3 minor league innings, Belge has a 3.81 ERA and an impressive 32.59% strikeout rate, though his 14.56% walk rate is also inflated.  Belge has pitched with Double-A Montgomery for the last two seasons and has yet to make his Triple-A debut.

Waguespack was placed on the 15-day IL on May 6 due to inflammation in his right rotator cuff.  The issue is serious enough that he’ll need at least a 60-day stint to fully recover, so he’ll be out of action until the second week of July at the earliest.  Waguespack has a 5.40 ERA across 10 innings and four appearances with Tampa Bay this season, which marked his first MLB action since 2020.  The interim three seasons were spent in the Blue Jays’ farm system and then with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Lovelady, 28, signed a minor league pact with the Cubs back in January and was selected to the big league roster in late April. He’s tossed 5 2/3 innings out of Craig Counsell’s bullpen and been tagged for five runs on nine hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts. That marks the fifth big league season in which the southpaw has appeared; Lovelady made his MLB debut with the 2019 Royals and pitched in K.C. from 2019-21, and he logged 23 1/3 innings with the A’s last season. Overall, in 70 2/3 big league innings, he carries a 5.48 ERA but with a far more encouraging 22.7% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 49.8% ground-ball rate.

That blend of strikeouts, walks and grounders, coupled with a strong Triple-A track record, has made Lovelady appealing to MLB teams over the past year despite a history of success in the majors. The Cubs are his fourth organization since Opening Day 2023. Lovelady has been picked up by the Braves in a small trade, claimed off waivers by the A’s, and quickly selected to the big leagues with the Cubs.

In parts of six Triple-A seasons, Lovelady has a 2.95 ERA with a sharp strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 26.6%, 6.8% and 50.7%, respectively. He’s not a power arm, but he has added more than a mile per hour to both his four-seamer and sinker since last year’s showing with Oakland. He sat at 91 mph with both pitches last year but averaged 92.8 mph on the four-seam and 92.5  mph on his two-seam during his brief showing with Chicago.

Lovelady does have a minor league option remaining, so any club that picks him up via trade or waiver claim could send him to Triple-A without first passing him through waivers themselves. He’ll be traded, claimed off waivers or assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa within the next week (if he clears waivers). He’s been outrighted previously in his career, so Lovelady would have the right to reject a minor league assignment from the Cubs if he does go unclaimed.

News of Wicks’ injury broke yesterday, as the left-hander was an early scratch from what was supposed to be a start in tonight’s game against the Red Sox.  It isn’t surprising that Wicks was placed on the IL for at least precautionary reasons, though the severity of the strain isn’t yet known.  Speaking to Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune and other reporters today, Wicks didn’t feel too concerned about the strain, though the forearm soreness first arose prior to his previous start and resurfaced afterwards.

The 24-year-old Wicks was selected 21st overall in the 2021 draft, and made his MLB debut in the form of seven starts and 34 innings for the Cubs last season.  A respectable (if not totally inspiring) 4.41 ERA over that first taste of the majors put Wicks in the running for a rotation job heading into Spring Training, though Jameson Taillon’s injury helped clear Wicks’ path to a starting role.  Justin Steele was then lost to the IL on Opening Day and both Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly were also injured within the last week, so Wicks’ forearm strain only continues the string of health woes hitting the Cubs early in the season.

Wicks had performed pretty well over five starts and 23 innings in 2024, or at least better than his 4.70 ERA would indicate.  A .358 BABIP and a 64.3% strand rate helped inflate that ERA almost a full run beyond Wicks’ much more palatable 3.62 SIERA, and his 25.9% strikeout rate is well above the league average.  Batters have been making solid contact against Wicks’ offerings, though he has also fooled his share of hitters with a chase rate that sits in the 88th percentile of all pitchers.

With Wicks out for at least the 15-day minimum, the Cubs will have to again dig into their starting depth.  Shota Imanaga has emerged as the ace of the staff in his outstanding rookie season, youngster Javier Assad has looked very sharp over five starts, and Taillon is now back from the IL.  Beyond this trio, rookie Ben Brown might now be sticking in the rotation, and Hayden Wesneski could be stretched out into starter’s duty.  Veteran Julio Teheran is available at Triple-A, and Steele might not be too far away, as he is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment this week as he recovers from his hamstring strain.

Palencia has some starting experience in the minors but has worked exclusively as a reliever during his two Major League seasons.  He could get some multi-inning work if Wesneski is indeed bumped back into the rotation, while Lovelady should take on a strict (and possibly short-term) bullpen role.

Lovelady signed a minor league deal with Chicago during the offseason, and his 5.84 ERA over 12 1/3 innings (10 appearances) for Triple-A Iowa is one of the more misleading stat lines in recent memory.  Despite a 33.3% strikeout rate, 1.7% walk rate, a 53.8% grounder rate and zero homers allowed, Lovelady still has a 5.84 ERA, due mostly to an extreme .564 BABIP.

The 28-year-old southpaw will now get another look in the majors after posting a 5.26 ERA over 65 previous big league frames with the Royals and A’s since the start of the 2019 season.  Lovelady missed all of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and resurfaced last year to deliver a 4.63 ERA across 23 1/3 innings for Oakland.

Lovelady, a 28-year-old southpaw, has pitched in parts of four MLB campaigns. A former 10th-round pick of the Royals, he debuted with Kansas City in 2019. Lovelady struggled in 26 appearances between 2019-20 before an impressive small-sample showing in ’21. He worked to a 3.48 ERA over 20 2/3 innings that year. Lovelady punched out an above-average 27.2% of opponents while running an excellent 56.6% grounder percentage.

Unfortunately, his time in K.C. was cut short by injury. A UCL sprain in his throwing elbow was a precursor to Tommy John surgery. He spent the following season rehabbing and was traded to the Braves in Spring Training last year. Lovelady never made an MLB appearance with Atlanta, who tried to sneak him through waivers in mid-April. The A’s stepped in to make a claim.

Oakland manager Mark Kotsay called on Lovelady 27 times. The Kennesaw State product allowed 4.63 earned runs per nine. He punched out a quarter of opponents with a 47.5% ground-ball rate. Those are reasonable peripherals but down from the numbers he showed in 2021. His average fastball speed was down to roughly 91 MPH after sitting in the 93 MPH range before the surgery. There wasn’t as dramatic a dip in his slider velocity, which was only marginally down from 86.6 to 85.9 MPH.

Injuries again ended Lovelady’s season and, ultimately, his tenure with the organization. He was shut down around the All-Star Break after being diagnosed with a pronator strain in his forearm. Lovelady finished the year on the injured list. Oakland waived him at season’s end and he became a minor league free agent.

Driveline included video of Lovelady throwing a recent bullpen session at their training facility. That’s a positive indicator for his arm health and seems to suggest he’ll be ready for game action this spring. Chicago is very light on left-handed bullpen options. Drew Smyly is likely pushed into relief after struggling as a starter. Luke Little and Bailey Horn, neither of whom have much MLB experience, are the only other lefty relievers on the 40-man roster.

McWilliams, 28, has spent time on the 40-man rosters of the Mets and Padres in his career. He has yet to make his major league debut. Sky-high walk rates in the upper minors kept him from getting a look in the majors. The 6’7″ hurler sat out last season before a return in the Mexican winter league this year. Over 25 1/3 frames there, he owns a 3.55 ERA with a 28.4% strikeout rate but a 13.7% walk percentage.

OCTOBER 4: The A’s cleared some space off their 40-man roster, announcing today that right-handers Austin Pruitt, Zach Neal, and Yacksel Rios, and left-hander Richard Lovelady were all outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers.  There hadn’t been any public knowledge that the quartet had been designated for assignment, yet all four passed through the waiver wire and (for now) will remain in Oakland’s organization.

Pruitt, Neal, Rios have each have the option of electing free agency rather than accepting the assignment to Triple-A, since they’ve previously been outrighted during their careers.  Pruitt and Rios are both eligible for salary arbitration this winter and will probably be non-tendered, so they’re likely to just hit the open market now rather than wait for an official release.

Neal signed a minor league contract with the A’s in April, and posted a 6.67 ERA over 27 innings at the big league level.  This marked Neal’s first MLB action since he pitched with the Dodgers in 2018, as Neal had in the interim pitched three seasons in Japan and then with the Rockies’ Triple-A club in 2022 without receiving a call up to Colorado’s active roster.

Pruitt, Rios, and Lovelady all finished the season on the injured list.  Pruitt had seen the most action (48 1/3 innings in 38 appearances) before a right forearm strain ultimately ended his season on August 17.  It doesn’t appear as though Pruitt’s injury is a long-term issue, as he had started a throwing program and had advanced to throwing live batting practices in September.

That’s some good news for a pitcher who has already had one major injury setback in his career, as Pruitt missed all of the 2020 season and half of the 2021 season recovering from a hairline fracture in his right elbow.  Pruitt posted a 4.83 ERA over 207 MLB innings with the Rays, Astros, and Marlins from 2017-21 before catching on with the A’s on minor league deals in each of the last two seasons.  Pruitt had a 4.23 ERA in 55 1/3 frames for Oakland in 2022 and then a 2.98 ERA this past season, giving him some solid bottom-line results even if his advanced metrics (4.32 SIERA in 2022-23) indicated that he benefited from some good fortune.

The Athletics acquired Rios in a June trade with the Braves, and after the righty’s contract was selected from Triple-A, he made only three appearances before heading to the 15-day (and then shortly thereafter the 60-day) injured list.  Rios has Raynaud’s Syndrome, and was feeling numbness in two fingers caused by a reduction in blood flow to his hands.  A surgery in July removed an axillary branch aneurysm from Rios’ shoulder, which should help him ultimately heal up even if it meant the end of his 2023 season.

Rios is a veteran of six Major League seasons, with a 6.32 ERA over 98 1/3 career innings with five different teams.  He didn’t pitch in the majors in 2022 while playing in the White Sox organization, and inked a minors deal with Atlanta last winter.

Lovelady also came to the A’s from the Braves, as Oakland selected him off waivers in April.  Lovelady had a 4.63 ERA in 23 1/3 relief innings for the Athletics before being shut down after suffering a pronator strain in his throwing forearm in July.  This new injury comes in the wake of a 2021 Tommy John surgery that caused Lovelady to miss the entire 2022 season while rehabbing.  The southpaw had a 5.62 ERA in 41 2/3 innings over parts of the 2019-21 seasons with the Royals, and Kansas City traded him to the Braves a couple of weeks before Oakland’s waiver claim.

[Related: How to acquire players after the trade deadline]

As noted at the time of the trade yesterday, it seemed quite likely Newcomb would be in line for a look at the big league level with the A’s sooner than later. He’d be a free agent at season’s end if not added to the 40-man roster, so there was little sense in making a trade to acquire him if the plan wasn’t to see if he could contribute for them. He has 4.073 years of big league service, so he won’t have enough time remaining this season to get to five years. As such, if Newcomb can pitch well enough to hold a 40-man spot, the A’s would control him for an additional two seasons beyond the current year.

The 30-year-old Newcomb has pitched to a 3.16 ERA and fanned 30.5% of his opponents through 31 1/3 Triple-A frames this season, though his longstanding command issues have persisted as well (15.3% walk rate). Traditionally more of a fly-ball pitcher, Newcomb is sporting a huge 59.4% ground-ball rate in Triple-A this season.

In 406 big league innings, Newcomb has a 4.52 ERA, though he’s now nearly five years removed from the majority of his MLB success. The headline prospect acquired by the Braves in the trade that sent Andrelton Simmons to Anaheim, Newcomb posted a combined 3.87 ERA and 23% strikeout rate in his first 332 1/3 Major League innings. He looked to have cemented his status on the Braves’ pitching staff at that point, but Newcomb was blasted for 17 runs in 13 2/3 innings over four starts in the shortened 2020 season and has yet to recover. Dating back to 2020, he has a 7.45 ERA in 73 2/3 frames at the big league level.

The A’s, on the lookout for pitching help they can control beyond the current season, will see whether Newcomb’s new ground-ball approach can lead to better results in the big leagues. He’ll still need to improve his command, but Newcomb’s blend of missed bats and grounders is at least somewhat intriguing.

Lovelady made his debut with the Royals back in 2019 and spent parts of three seasons in the club’s bullpen. He struggled badly to a 7.71 ERA in 21 innings of work between 2019 and 2020, though in 2021 he began to look like a valuable relief option with a 3.48 ERA, 3.85 FIP, and a 27.4% strikeout rate against a walk rate of just 7.1%. Unfortunately for the lefty, he would require Tommy John surgery near the end of the 2021 campaign and missed the entire 2022 season while rehabbing.

The Royals moved on from Lovelady prior to the 2023 season by shipping him to Atlanta in a cash deal on Opening Day. Lovelady struggled at the start of the season with the Braves, giving up four runs in five innings of work while striking out just 18.2% of batters faced. The Braves then attempted to pass Lovelady through waivers in mid-April, prompting Oakland to swoop in and claim the southpaw. In 23 1/3 innings of work with the A’s this year, Lovelady posted a slightly below average 4.63 ERA with a 4.58 FIP, though he struck out 25% of batters faced. Those undesirable run prevention numbers were primarily due to an elevated 10.4% walk rate and an unusually low 63% strand rate.

Going forward, the A’s seem poised to rely on Sam Moll and Sam Long as their primary left-handed options out of the bullpen. Kirby Snead is also on the 40-man roster, while Garrett Williams and the newly-acquired Easton Lucas are both additional lefty options available to the Oakland relief corps as they look to finish out the remainder of the 2023 campaign without Lovelady, who the A’s control through the end of the 2027 campaign.

Wade, 28, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason and has twice now been selected for brief stints with the big league club before being outrighted. He was with the A’s for about two weeks in April, in addition to joining the club for the past four weeks or so. He’s managed to get into 26 games this year and take 55 trips to the plate, hitting .255/.309/.314 in those for a wRC+ of 81.

He’s never been able to hit much at the big league level, as shown by his career batting line of .217/.293/.300 in 709 plate appearances. His best attribute is his versatility, as he’s lined up at all three outfield spots in his career and the three infield positions to the left of first base. He also brings a speed element, having stolen 42 bases in his career, including succeeding in all four of his attempts this year.

Wade was once an intriguing prospect while with the Yankees but his lack of offensive output has limited him to bench/utility roles thus far. This is the second time this year he’s passed through waivers unclaimed. Players with previous career outrights or more than three years of major league service time have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency. Wade qualifies on both counts though he accepted an outright assignment to Las Vegas earlier this year.

There had been no public indication that Atlanta had made any kind of roster move with Lovelady, but they evidently tried to pass him through waivers at some point in recent days. Since the A’s swooped in to grab him, Atlanta’s 40-man count will drop to 39 as they also lose a bit of optionable bullpen depth. They liked the lefty enough to acquire him just a couple weeks ago by sending cash considerations to Kansas City but will now see him move out west.

For the A’s, they are adding an intriguing southpaw arm to the roster. Lovelady, 27, struggled in his first major league action but seemed to take a step forward in 2021. He posted a 3.48 ERA in 20 appearances for the Royals, striking out 27.4% of batters faced with a 7.1% walk rate and 56.6% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in September of that year. The Royals then non-tendered him but re-signed him on a minor league deal.

He returned to health and made a couple of minor league appearances late last year, which encouraged the Royals enough to add him back to their roster in November to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. But when faced with a roster crunch around Opening Day, they flipped Lovelady to Atlanta for cash. He’s made four appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett this year with a 7.20 ERA in that small sample.

Lovelady is in his final option year, which will mean the A’s can potentially keep him stashed in the minors for the rest of the year, though it’s possible he gets back to the majors by performing well or simply due to the club needing a fresh arm. The rebuilding club has a bullpen that’s light on experience and also light on lefties, with Sam Moll the only southpaw currently in the big league bullpen.

As for Tarnok, he was acquired from Atlanta in the Sean Murphy trade this winter but began the season on the injured list due to a strained right shoulder. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out of action but he’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which would be late May.

Shuster, 24, will be making his major league debut once he gets into a game. The club came into spring with four rotation spots taken by Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton. It was believed by many that the final spot was going to be a battle between Michael Soroka, Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder. However, Soroka got delayed by an injury and the latter two were simply out-pitched by Shuster and Dylan Dodd. Anderson and Elder were optioned to the minors, then Wright was also delayed by injury. That will seemingly allow for both Shuster and Dodd to crack the rotation early in the season, though Dodd still hasn’t been added. Shuster posted a 3.29 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A last year then a 1.45 ERA here in the spring.

Pillar, 34, has been a glove-first outfielder for most of his career, most of it with the Blue Jays. He was drafted and developed by that club while Alex Anthopoulos, now Atlanta’s president of baseball operations, was with Toronto. Last year, he only got into four games with the Dodgers before a shoulder fracture ended his season. He and Sam Hilliard should serve as reserve outfielders on the bench in Atlanta.

Chavez, 39, is a veteran who will be appearing in his 16th season once he gets into a game. He was twice acquired by the Braves last year and ended up posting a 3.76 ERA over 60 total appearances for three different clubs. He’ll give the club a veteran arm for its relief mix.

Adrianza, 33, is a veteran utility infielder who has played for Atlanta in each of the past two seasons. He’s a career .239/.309/.354 hitter in the big leagues. The club recently decided to option its young shortstops Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake for more seasoning in the minors. That left Orlando Arcia as the starting shortstop and bumped Adrianza up to a bench role.

As for the IL placements, none of those comes as a shock. Ynoa and Matzek both had Tommy John surgery late last year and will be out for most of this season. Allard, meanwhile, suffered an oblique strain a few weeks ago.

Lovelady, 27, hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. He made it back to the mound for four minor league innings in 2022 and posted a 9-to-1 K/BB ratio during that time. He was terrific this spring, tossing eight shutout innings with only five hits allowed, no walks and 10 punchouts during Cactus League play.

Prior to undergoing surgery in 2021, he’d given Kansas City 20 2/3 innings of 3.48 ERA ball with a 27.4% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and excellent 56.6% ground-ball rate. In 110 2/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, Lovelady has a 2.44 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. He’s in his final minor league option year and can be controlled through at least the 2027 season, as he currently has one year and 26 days of Major League service time.