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Oakland A’s spend Valentine’s Day solidifying bullpen

By David Hill

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 05: Yusmeiro Petit #36 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates after retiring the side against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning in Game One of the American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 05: Yusmeiro Petit #36 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates after retiring the side against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning in Game One of the American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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While most people were spending Valentine’s Day with their significant others, the Oakland A’s had other matters to attend to. Their bullpen still needed to be addressed, especially in the later innings. Fortunately for Oakland, there were still several solid relievers available that could help.

On Sunday, the A’s signed two relievers to shore up their bullpen. Yusmeiro Petit is back for his fourth season in Oakland, and Sergio Romo has been brought on board. Both relievers signed one year deals.

Oakland A’s upgrade bullpen

These signings mark the second and third moves to address the bullpen in the past few days. On Friday, the A’s sent Sheldon Neuse to the Dodgers in exchange for Adam Kolarek, adding another solid lefty to the roster. Bringing Petit back and adding Romo only adds further depth to their bullpen.

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Romo made his mark on the other side of the bay, a solid closer and setup man for the Giants. He has bounced around since, as he will be joining his fifth team in the past five years. His 4.05 ERA is skewed by a couple of bad outings, but his 1.150 WHiP and 23 strikeouts with seven walks in 20 innings are certainly reasonable. Chances are, he will be in the A’s ninth inning mix this season.

Petit has been one of the more durable relievers in the game, as his 240 appearances since the start of the 2017 season are the most of any pitcher. He did not show any signs of slowing down last year, posting a 1.66 ERA and a 1.108 WHiP in his 21.2 innings, striking out 17 batters with five walks.

Bringing Petit back and signing Romo are not the biggest moves that the A’s could have made. However, they are the right moves for a team looking to solidify a bullpen that had been a strength in 2020. Petit is a dependable option to bridge the gap to the later innings, while Romo adds another option and experience in the ninth inning.

Next. Jed Lowrie returns to Oakland. dark

The Oakland A’s needed to address their bullpen. By bringing Yusmeiro Petit back, and signing Sergio Romo, they did just that.