Oakland Athletics Have Signed Numerous Minor League Free Agents This Offseason

The Oakland Athletics may have only made a few moves that have affected their Major League roster so far this offseason, including the addition of starting pitcher Rich Hill and reliever Liam Hendriks. However, the A’s have been very active when it comes to signing Minor League free agents. Since the beginning of September, the Athletics have signed a handful of unknown free agents to Minor League contracts. Some of these players are familiar to the organization while others are brand new.

Oakland has taken the Minor League free agent market by storm. In their wake, they have signed some players who have been in the A’s Minor League system before. This would include catcher Carson Blair, who was called up to the MLB in September this past season, reliever Ryan Doolittle – yes, Sean Doolittle’s younger brother, pitcher Angel Castro, who also spent some time with the Athletics in Oakland in 2015, and Taylor Thompson, who was injured most of the 2015 season, but is suppose to pretty good.

Besides the familiar faces, the Oakland Athletics have also signed some new players to Minor League contracts. The ones to note are the signings of LHP Patrick Schuster, RHP Chris Smith and infielder Josh Rodriguez. All of these players have spent extensive time in the Minor Leagues of various organizations.

Schuster, who is a relief pitcher, was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2009 and has had many chances to make a Major League club. He has since been with the San Diego Padres and the Kansas City Royals. Schuster has no Major League experience under his belt and has only made it to the Triple-A level once back in 2014.

Smith has seen his fair share of the Minors since he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2002. With over 800 innings pitched in the Minors and only 68 in the Majors, Smith is definitely looking for his second at the age of 34. However, this may be this reliever’s last opportunity at having a successful career in the MLB.

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Lastly, there is Rodriguez. Rodriguez was actually originally drafted by the A’s out of high school in 2003. However, he decided to go play college ball before beginning his professional baseball career. He has only played in seven MLB games since signing with the Cleveland Indians in 2006. However, one interesting fact about Rodriguez is that he has played at all of the positions on the diamond – excluding pitcher and catcher – at least once throughout his Minor League career.

Many may be wondering why the Athletics are signing all of these Minor League free agents when they should be concentrating on their Major League roster. However, Oakland is known for giving down and out players a chance. Just look at switch pitcher Pat Venditte. The A’s signed him to a Minor League contract in November 2014 and he ultimately found success in Oakland. Maybe one of these players will do the same in 2016.