A week ago the A’s designated Max Muncy for assignment in order to make room on the roster after signing free agent Rajai Davis.
Once a player is designated for assignment the Oakland Athletics (or whichever big league team the player was on the roster for) have a series of options that they can take with that player.
A team has a ten days to make a decision to place the player on waivers which he must clear within a seven-day period, trade him, release him or outright him to the minor leagues.
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To be placed on waivers a player must have a major league contract and is usually out of options.
Options are what allows teams to shuffle players up and down between the majors and minors as needed.
Once placed on waivers the player, in this case Muncy, is offered to each of the other 29 teams in the league.
They then have the opportunity to pick him up (and take on his contract) and put the him on their 40-man roster.
Clearing waivers means that not one of the other 29 MLB teams wanted to take the player on. Max Muncy cleared waivers.
With no room on their 40-man roster after signing Davis, Muncy was outrighted Tuesday to the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds.
A fifth-round draft pick by the Athletics in 2012, Muncy is a career 268/.375/.425 hitter in the minor leagues.
He is actually quite versatile in the field with the ability to play in the outfield as well as first and second base. Last season he even took a stab at playing third.
Muncy played three separate stints with the big league club for a total of 51 games in 2016. He played 19 games at second base, 13 in right field and one game at third base.
He hit just .186/.308/.257 over those 51 games in 2016 with two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.
Muncy also spent time with the Athletics in 2015, playing in just 45 games.
He hit a bit better ending up with eight doubles, three homers and driving in nine runs.
Still, it is a very small sample size and not all that convincing that he is MLB ready.
Muncy hit .251 with 26 RBIs in 64 games with Nashville last season.
The 26-year-old will be another non-roster invitee to the A’s spring training camp. The Athletics now have 27 non-roster invitees that will be in camp in the coming weeks.
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