Athletics Rumors & News

MLB.com "The A’s bullpen, which has developed into one of the top relief corps in baseball this season, took a hit on Thursday with the loss of right-hander J.B. Wendelken. Wendelken was placed on the injured list prior to Thursday night’s three-game series finale against the..." September 25

Bleacher Report "Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts led all MLB players in jersey sales during the 2020 season in his first year with the team after a trade from the Boston Red Sox.  Betts was followed by the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge and Philadelphia..." September 25

USA Today "So, that was something. Can we never do it again, please? Major League Baseball’s 60-game season has stumbled into its final weekend dazed but intact, like a wayward outfielder spun around by a fly ball, only to right himself at the last and haul in the ball at the..." September 24

ESPN "Humans are heat factories. If the average human being produces heat at a rate of 80ish watts, then 19 humans hunched together would radiate as much heat as my 1,500-watt space heater. Humans' surplus heat warms a housing project in Paris, a 13-story office building in..." September 24

Bleacher Report "It's MLB mailbag time once again, and this time around, we asked Bleacher Report app users to choose the most memorable moment of the 2020 MLB season. The results were a mix of individual achievements, impressive team performances, COVID-19 issues, a bold challenge to..." September 23

USA Today "Go ahead, be honest. You didn’t really miss us in the media this year – the reporters and camera crews, banned from the clubhouse during the pandemic, who always manage to turn 32 flavorful quotes into a big scoop of vanilla. Instead,..." September 23

Ballpark Digest "The Atlantic League has been designated the first MLB Partner League, extending the independent circuit’s relationship in terms of rules testing into areas like joint marketing and promotional opportunities. Prior to the 2019 season, MLB and the Atlantic..." September 23

The Score "Major League Baseball plans to have fans attend games at Globe Life Field in Texas during the National League Championship Series and the World Series, according to commissioner Rob Manfred. "We are pressing ahead to have fans in Texas," Manfred told Bob Nightengale of..." September 22

MLB Trade Rumors "The Athletics have outrighted hurler Daniel Mengden after he cleared waivers, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com was among those to report. The A’s previously designated the right-handed Mengden for assignment Sept. 20, which came a little over a month..." September 22

The Score "As the shortened regular season nears its conclusion, it appears the worst teams in baseball have something to look forward to. MLB's 2021 draft order is highly likely to be determined by the results of the 2020 campaign, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan. " September 22

MLB Trade Rumors "The following players are projected to reach free agency after the 2020 MLB season.  Numbers in parentheses represent the age at which the player will play the 2021 season. Catchers Alex Avila (34) Drew Butera (37) Welington Castillo (34) Jason..." September 22

Yardbarker "The Associated Press (h/t ESPN) confirmed on Monday that the highest seed playing in the World Series will serve as the "home team" and receive the final at-bats in Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Games 6 and 7.  Per an agreement between the league and..." September 22

Baseball America "In a normal world, the Arizona Fall League would have begun on Thursday. Instead, citing an abundance of caution in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the league has been officially canceled for 2020. Specifically, MLB did not believe the AFL's traditional facilities—Salt..." September 22

CBS Sports "MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) on Monday announced a $10 million joint commitment to promote and enable increased Black participation in the sport of baseball at all levels. The commitment is being made through the Players Alliance, which comprises more than 100..." September 21

MLB.com "There are playoff spots on the line, injuries to keep an eye on and home-field advantages up in the air. The Marlins are on the verge of pulling off what would amount to a little bit of a baseball miracle. The Cardinals would be in that conversation as well. The Mariners are still..." September 20

MLB Trade Rumors "SEPT. 18: The A’s are optimistic Puk, who underwent a debridement and cleanout of his shoulder, will be ready for spring training next year, Slusser tweets. He could start throwing again in 10 weeks. SEPT. 11: Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk will undergo..." September 18

Sportsnet "Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced Friday that there have been two positive COVID-19 tests across baseball over the last week. Of the 12,381 samples collected and tested through the end of Sept. 17, none of the positive results came from major league..." September 18

The Big Lead "Major League Baseball's shortened regular season is coming to a close and its extended postseason is fast approaching. When the playoffs arrive, teams will leave their home ballparks and move to regional bubbles, leaving their fans behind. That means the time to destroy the cardboard..." September 18

Bleacher Report "Get ready for a Major League Baseball postseason unlike any that's come before.  We've known since MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to an expanded playoff field—from 10 to 16 teams—in July that this year's postseason would be..." September 17

The Score "The New York Yankees did nothing at the trade deadline. Mired in a 3-7 slide that had hamstrung their chances of a division title and plainly reeling from the injury absences of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and James Paxton, among others, the Yankees still felt no need for..." September 17

Sportsnaut "Major League Baseball’s 2021 Spring Training will begin on Feb. 27 in Florida and Arizona with each of the 30 clubs in action on the first day of exhibition play, officials said on Wednesday. Select exhibition games will be played at MLB ballparks and Spring Training facilities..." September 16

ESPN "White Sox broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was furious with umpire Joe West, as many have been these past 44 years. On this day in 2010, West had called a second balk of the game on Mark Buehrle, and Hawk was so outraged he said on the air, "Joe West should..." September 16

Washington Post "Major League Baseball and its players’ union reached agreement Tuesday on the format for the expanded, 16-team postseason, which will see the final three rounds played in controlled, neutral-site bubbles in Southern California and Texas and the World Series at the Texas Rangers’ new..." September 16

Bleacher Report "Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reportedly reached an agreement to host most of the 2020 playoffs, including the division series, league championship series and World Series, in neutral-site "bubbles." Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the..." September 15

MLB.com "­­­­The Oakland A’s placed infielder Chad Pinder on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring and selected infielder Nate Orf from their alternate site, the club announced today. Pinder was batting .226 with two home runs and seven RBI in 23 games..." September 15

Larry Brown Sports "The MLB has officially announced its plans for the 2020 postseason, and pitching depth will likely be more important than ever in determining which team is crowned World Series champion. Expanding the postseason from 10 to 16 teams means more games, and MLB is accommodating that with..." September 15

CBS Dallas Forth Worth "The World Series will be played entirely at the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark in Arlington as part of a bubble agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ association, the first time the sport’s championship will be played entirely at one site since..." September 15

Yahoo! Sports "At the end of a two-month season played behind a mask, at a responsible distance and between clouds of spittle, there arrives an opening to contemplate again the concept of value. Baseball value. In 2020. The value of anything, really, in 2020, when a trip to the grocery store is a..." September 15

USA Today "It wasn’t a doubleheader the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics staged on Monday as much as it was a reckoning, one crisis forcing the teams to meet up on what was supposed to be a day off, and another practically choking them out when they did. This 60-game Major League..." September 15

CBS Sports "Although MLB has yet to finalize reported plans for postseason bubbles in California and Texas, commissioner Rob Manfred is already pondering the idea of fans back in the seats for most meaningful playoff games.  Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, fans have not been..." September 14

The Score "The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners played baseball on Monday despite the Pacific Northwest wildfires leaving the city of Seattle in a haze of smoke. Although the roof at T-Mobile Park was kept closed, the field itself was shrouded in smoke. Some players,..." September 14

MLB.com "For all the talk about how short this season has been, there has been plenty that every team has learned about itself. And one of the key things any team can learn: Who is in this for the long haul? So, today at the Thirty, we take a look at the player on each team whose positive 2020..." September 14

New York Post "Teams control the alcohol. So that is one area MLB will not worry about as it insists on clinching celebrations that are more restrained, distant and outdoors. The league was still finalizing a memorandum it expects to deliver to clubs and players this week in which it will urge..." September 14

Bleacher Report "If it seems a little early to be looking ahead to the 2020-21 Major League Baseball free-agent market, that's because it is. The regular season isn't even over yet. Still, we thought we'd get a head start on predicting which teams will claim the top..." September 14

USA Today "Albert Pujols continued his climb up the all-time home run list on Sunday by hitting a two-run blast against the Colorado Rockies for No. 660 in his career. That tied the 40-year-old Los Angeles Angels slugger with Hall of Famer Willie Mays for fifth place in MLB..." September 14

MLB Trade Rumors "Pinder has been formally placed on the IL, the A’s announced. Orf’s contract was selected in a corresponding roster move. " September 13

The Score "The Oakland Athletics will sign former All-Star third baseman Jake Lamb, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Lamb can't officially put pen to paper until he becomes a free agent Monday, but he'll be signed in time to be eligible for the..." September 13

Bleacher Report "The 2020 MLB playoffs will begin Sept. 29. If that feels soon, well, it's because it is.  The final couple of weeks of this abbreviated 60-game slate should bring ample drama as clubs jockey for position in the expanded 16-team postseason field. While we wait for..." September 13

The Mercury News "The Oakland A’s will be without one of their best players for the rest of the season. Platinum Glove third baseman Matt Chapman will undergo surgery on his right hip Monday that will sideline him for the rest of a 2020 season in which the A’s look primed for a deep playoff..." September 12

MLB Trade Rumors "Athletics right-hander Daulton Jefferies will make his major league debut with a start in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Rangers on Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Jefferies is already on the A’s 40-man roster, so they won’t..." September 12

MLB Trade Rumors "Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk will undergo shoulder surgery next week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A healthy Puk is regarded as one of the majors’ premier pitching prospects, but he has had a hard time staying off the shelf in..." September 11

The Score "The upcoming offseason was always going to be a nightmare for free agents. Reduced revenues in 2020 because of the pandemic are set to precipitate a winter of austerity, with many teams looking to cut costs rather than spend big. Uncertainty over the game's financial future beyond..." September 11

Yardbarker "The MLB and MLB Players Association are closing in on an agreement for where the playoffs will be played, with the World Series set to be played at Globe Life Field, a neutral site in Arlington, Texas. Currently, the MLB plans to implement a two-bubble strategy, with separate..." September 10

CBS Sports "At this point, we're close enough to MLB's regular-season finish line to know that the 2020 season -- the 60-game version -- is going to finish. It's going to be one of the craziest things we've ever seen in the sport, and no doubt the most doubleheaders in such a short time..." September 09

MLB Trade Rumors "Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman left today’s game due to a right hip strain, as manager Bob Melvin later told reporters (including Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle).  Chapman will undergo an MRI to..." September 07

MLB Trade Rumors "The Athletics have shut down rehabbing left-hander A.J. Puk because of ongoing shoulder problems, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Shoulder issues have prevented Puk from pitching at all this year, which he and the Athletics hoped would be his..." September 07

MLB.com "Another week, another slew of exciting big league callups for top prospects. From MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list alone, we saw the Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes, Miami's Jazz Chisholm, and the Yankees’ Deivi García and Clarke Schmidt make their Major..." September 07

Sportsnaut "The MLB season is speeding by a with the postseason right around the corner and the regular season has been full of surprises. As the final month of the regular season rolls on, the New York Yankees are sliding down the MLB standings and our latest MLB power rankings. Unsurprisingly,..." September 07

MLB.com "Ken Caminiti might have company. It has been nearly a quarter century since any Padre made a serious run at the National League MVP Award. But a 21-year-old shortstop with a sweet swing and endless swagger seems intent to change that. Fernando Tatis Jr. ’s..." September 05

Sportsnaut "It has been a devastating 2020 calendar year for Minor League Baseball. The season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With this cancellation came the loss of jobs throughout the minors — players themselves included. Sadly, this is going to be taken to a whole new..." September 05