A’s Make 40 Man Roster Adjustments
By Sean Davis
The A’s announced today a few moves that finalized their 40 man roster in preparation for the Rule 5 draft at the MLB Winter Meetings on December 6th in Nashville. Today was the deadline to set your 40 man rosters, and thus protect minor league players who would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The A’s added 4 minor leaguers to the roster, pitchers Michael Ynoa and Arnold Leon, outfielder Shane Peterson, and second baseman (for now) Grant Green. To make room on the roster, the A’s had to remove 3 players. Pitchers Jim Miller and Andrew Carignan, and shortstop Brandon Hicks were taken off the 40 man roster.
July 18, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics shortstop Brandon Hicks (18) hits a walk off home run against the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE
Both Miller and Hicks were designated for assignment, so they will go through the waiver process or may be traded within that waiver period. They may still remain in the organization of they go unclaimed and accept the assignment, but I would imagine they’d elect free agency. Both of them found themselves on the outside looking in, and may look elsewhere for a better opportunity to prove themselves.
Brandon Hicks of course will be remembered for the huge walk off home run against the Texas Rangers on a Wednesday afternoon, but unfortunately aside from that his big hits were few and far between. In 70 plate appearances over 22 games Hicks hit .174/.243/.391 with 3 home runs.
Jim Miller was up and down between Oakland and Sacramento all season, and was relegated to mop up duty. He did fairly well in his role making 33 appearances and registering a 2.59 ERA. But he pitched around a lot of messes he created with walks, issuing 27 free passes in his 48.2 innings of work. If he can improve his control, he can be a servicable middle reliever, and assuredly he’ll get his chance somewhere if it isn’t ultimately in Oakland.
Andrew Carignan is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and probably won’t be pitching until next season is well underway. Carignan made just 11 appearances before hurting his elbow, and had a 4.66 ERA over his 9.2 innings. He was outrighted to Triple A so he’ll be staying with the organization while he continues his rehab process.
The protection of Green, Ynoa, Peterson, and Leon leaves a few recognizable names open for the taking in the upcoming draft. Of note are pitchers James Simmons, and Justin Souza, also eligible is outfielder Jermaine Mitchell. Infielders Tyler Ladendorf and Josh Horton, along with catcher Petey Paramore, and pitchers Travis Banwart and Jared Lansford round out the list of eligible players from the Athletics organization.
Barring another move of some sort that clears space on the roster, the A’s will not be selecting any players in the Rule 5 draft. They will be surely keeping a close eye on the draft to see if any of their players are taken from them.