Oakland Athletics DFA reliever Angel Felipe

The Oakland Athletics have designated reliever Angel Felipe for assignment, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com.

The move was made in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for the newly acquired JD Davis, who signed a contract with the A's just yesterday.

Felipe underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week to repair a UCL injury sustained this offseason. It's the second time the young righty has been DFA'd in the past calendar year.

In June of 2023, the San Diego Padres designated Felipe for assignment and he was picked up by the Athletics. He was immediately sent to Triple-A Las Vegas but did end up making his major league debut in Oakland, throwing 15 innings to the tune of a 4.20 ERA.

He was a bit of a long shot to make the opening day roster but he almost certainly would have spent time in Oakland this year prior to the injury.

It's interesting to see the A's choose to DFA him, rather than place him on the 60-day IL. Players on the 60-day don't occupy a 40-man roster space, so it was speculated that the A's might just move Felipe to the long term IL to open up a spot for Davis.

The front office clearly decided otherwise. It's likely that Felipe will pass through waivers and return to the Athletics minor league system where he'll undergo the rehabilitation process and work his way back from Tommy John.

Due to the timing of his surgery, he's likely going to be out until the middle of 2025. It's possible he makes it back a bit quicker than that but he likely won't be at full strength in time for opening day next year.

It's certainly a disappointing turn of events for the young Dominican right-hander, who has had success in the minors in the A's system, and also with San Diego and Tampa Bay in years past.

With any luck, Felipe will be able to come back and pitch effectively at the major league level. We'll have to wait and see whether that's in Oakland or for another organization.