The Oakland Athletics announced on Tuesday afternoon that reliever Dany Jimenez has been optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas, while RHP Tyler Ferguson has been recalled to Oakland.
In a corresponding move, in order to make room on the 40-man roster outfielder Lazaro Armenteros has been designated for assignment.
Ferguson has had a strong start to the year. He's pitched to a 2.40 ERA and has struck out 24 batters in 15 innings. The righty was signed to a minor league contract this winter after spending 2023 with the Diamondbacks' Triple-A club.
Ferguson was drafted in the 6th round by the Texas Rangers back in 2015. He spent five years in the Rangers organization, topping out at High-A in 2018. He didn't pitch in 2019 and missed the Covid year before signing with the Braves ahead of 2021 on a minor league deal.
In total, Ferguson has pitched in parts of 8 seasons, never reaching the majors until now. Based on his success in 2024, he should step in and become an immediate middle-inning weapon for Mark Kotsay and the A's.
The Oakland A’s selected right-handed pitcher Tyler Ferguson from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned right-handed pitcher Dany Jiménez to Las Vegas. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A’s designated outfielder Lazaro Armenteros for assignment.
— Oakland A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) May 7, 2024
Dany Jimenez had struggled prior to the demotion. He'd gotten a bit lucky, pitching to a 3.68 ERA with a much more concerning 7.17 FIP. In 14.2 innings, he'd walked 13 batters while striking out just 11, which is absolutely not the recipe for success.
Jimenez has spent the majority of his time in the majors over the past three years. He has a career 3.54 ERA and earned 11 saves for the A's back in 2022. He'll head back to the minors to focus on his control issues and work to get back on track.
The Athletics added outfielder Lazaro Armenteros to the 40-man roster this winter to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
He didn't hit well enough in his brief stint in Triple-A to warrant the roster spot, however. In 72 plate appearances, the righty was hitting .133/.278./.250 with just 4 extra base hits and 4 steals.
Lazarito was an international signing back in 2017 and though he's shown flashes of potential, has never seen that come to fruition over an extended period of time.
It'll be interesting to see if another team puts a waiver claim in for him. It's possible that there are teams out there who believe in his ability to hit at the major league level and want to give him the chance to prove it.
If not, he'll likely remain with Triple-A Las Vegas for the duration of the summer.