The Athletics keep digging for pitching help, and their latest move brings in a right-hander with plenty of miles on him.
On the same night the club introduced former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel into the mix, the A’s also landed Scott Blewett from the St. Louis Cardinals after he was designated for assignment. The deal cost Oakland cash considerations, and it adds another arm to a staff that has been stretched thin by inconsistency and injuries.
Blewett is hardly a fresh face. He’s spent 12 years in the minors across several organizations and has bounced between clubs in a long, winding career. This season, though, he had stayed with the Cardinals the entire way before the move.
The right-hander has made two big league innings this season and hasn’t allowed a run, striking out two in that brief look. But his Triple-A numbers tell a different story: a 5.18 ERA over 48.2 innings with St.
Louis’ affiliate. That’s the kind of line that leaves questions about where he fits next.
Still, the A’s are short on experienced bullpen options, and Mark Kotsay has already pointed out the lack of experience in that group. Blewett’s increased velocity and his stuff could make him a useful middle reliever, even if the Triple-A results have been uneven.
The bigger question is where Oakland sends him. He could be sent to Triple-A Las Vegas, but with the club needing help in the majors right now, there’s a real chance he lands in West Sacramento for the series against the Boston Red Sox.
For now, the A’s have another pitcher in the fold, and with the way this staff has been pieced together lately, Blewett’s name may be showing up in the majors soon.
In Other News...
Athletics Deadline Hopes Just Took A Brutal Turn
The Athletics deadline picture has gone from murky to bleak over the past couple of weeks, with the club dropping 23 of its last 29 games and stumbling through another series loss to the Twins. The slide has only sharpened the pressure on a roster that was already trying to sort out whether it had enough healthy, productive pieces to make July interesting, and the answer has been getting harder to find with each passing night.
Adding Dallas Keuchel on a minor league deal is the latest sign of how thin the pitching depth has become, especially with injuries already squeezing the staff and more uncertainty hanging over the rotation mix. The offense has not done much to ease the strain, either, with key hitters going cold at the wrong time and the lineup lacking the kind of steady production that could have kept the As in the trade conversation for longer. [Read more 🡒]
As Latest Bullpen Shuffle Says Plenty About Their Pitching Depth
The Athletics latest bullpen move was less about one arm than the bigger picture around the staffs depth. Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot after Oakland acquired Scott Blewett from the Cardinals, another sign the club is still sorting through the back end of its pitching mix as it tries to find usable innings.
Hartliebs time in Oakland this season has been uneven, and his track record over parts of seven major league seasons has made him vulnerable in a crowded roster squeeze. He now has five days to be traded, placed on waivers or released, and if he clears waivers there is still a path for him to decline an outright assignment and choose free agency instead. [Read more 🡒]