Oakland Athletics Demote Jesse Hahn To Triple-A Nashville
By Joey Lopez
Jesse Hahn‘s wild ride in 2017 continues as the right hander was sent down to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday.
The Oakland Athletics are eager to give Paul Blackburn an extended look at the expense of Jesse Hahn’s spot on the major league roster.
The A’s announced that Hahn will be sent down to Triple-A Nashville. With Hahn set to rejoin the Sounds, Blackburn, who had a solid debut on Saturday, will take Hahn’s spot in the rotation. In addition, Zach Neal was called up as well and will take Hahn’s spot on the roster.
In 69.2 innings of work this season, Hahn is 3-6 with a 5.30 ERA. Hahn’s last two starts came against the Houston Astros. He was bombed, rocked, battered (insert your own adjective) over those two starts. He allowed 15 earned runs in a combined four innings of work.
The Astros are a juggernaut of sorts, but 15 runs? How could Hahn expect to keep his spot in the rotation after those two starts? He was making progress before facing Houston, but he completely fell off the rails.
Before facing the Astros, Hahn was 3-4 with a 3.56 ERA. He closed out the month of June going 2-2 with a 9.00 ERA. Prior to that, Hahn went 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA in four starts in May.
Oakland Athletics
According to several reports, including one by John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, Hahn was a bit upset by the move. At this point in the season it has become increasingly clear that the A’s have no intention of sitting idle while struggling to escape the AL West cellar.
Any move, then, should not come as a surprise. Blackburn had a solid debut on Saturday against the Braves and the A’s want to give him an opportunity to start.
In Other News…
The A’s have one All-Star representative headed to Miami this week for the All-Star Game. Yonder Alonso has earned a trip (his first) to Miami to play and represent the Athletics in the All-Star Game.
Alonso has exceeded everyone’s expectations this season by hitting .280/.377/.556 with 17 HR and 38 RBI in 72 games. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Alonso’s game this year has been his power.
Prior to this year, Alonso’s career high in home runs was nine. The A’s surprised many people when they decided to bring Alonso back after a mediocre 2016 season. Alonso, in turn, has surprised many people with his All-Star caliber performance.