Braves to sign Matt Joyce

The Braves will sign outfielder Matt Joyce, per the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman, who was released earlier in the day by San Francisco. It’ll be the third team this week for the 34-year-old Joyce, who was released Tuesday by Cleveland after the team informed him he wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster. Joyce enjoyed a late-career renaissance in 2016 with Pittsburgh, slashing .242/.403/.463 (136 wRC+), and again the following season in Oakland, where his 2.7 fWAR was a...

CPL #28: Alfonso Rivas brings an unusual skill set

Last summer’s 4th-round draft pick is a first baseman without big power.

Our 2019 Community Prospect List adds its fifth member of last summer’s draft class. Here’s the current list, including their winning margins (the difference between his % of the vote, and the % of the runner-up):

Athletics' Matt Olson underwent hand surgery, will start season on injured list

Athletics first baseman Matt Olson has undergone hand surgery, per a club announcement. The procedure “involved a right hamate excision,” according to the team. Olson’s timeline to return to competitive action is not yet clear, though there are plenty of comparable situations to look to for precedent. Hamate removals are rather common for hitters; the typical prognosis is a return within six to eight weeks, though that’s only a general expectation. Soon to turn 25, Olson was looking...

Matt Olson has surgery on right hand

The Oakland A’s first baseman had a right hamate excision.

Oakland A’s first baseman Matt Olson underwent surgery on his right hand on Friday, the team announced. The procedure was a right hamate excision.

The injury occurred in Thursday’s game against the Mariners in Japan, when Olson fouled off a pitch in what turned out to be his final at-bat in the 5th inning. He was replaced on defense to begin the top of the 6th. The A’s have not announced a timetable for Olson’s return, but...

Athletics 1B Matt Olson Out Indefinitely After Surgery on Hand Injury

The Oakland Athletics will open their 2019 season Thursday on first baseman Matt Olson 's 25th birthday against the Los Angeles Angels , but Olson won't be able to celebrate on the diamond...

Not A Good 48 Hours For The Green And Gold

If there are 3 words every woman wants to hear, there are also 3 words every A’s fan dreads and they are “Luzardo Shut Down”. However, before getting to the many negatives let me open with some silver linings.

First off, the hope and expectation appears to be that this is an injury from which Luzardo can recover with rest, rather than another in the string of “Tommy John surgeries/shoulder surgeries” that has been the fate of every single top A’s pitcher or prospect lately.

Also,...

Matt Olson injury shows the importance of depth

This is exactly why keeping Mark Canha around was the right call.

The Oakland A’s may have suffered a significant injury on Thursday. In just their second game of the season, Gold Glove first baseman Matt Olson exited after five innings. The problem was pain in his right hand, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle, and while we don’t yet know the specific nature, she suggests it “sounds like definite cause for concern.”

Any time missed by Olson will have a notable effect on the...

Athletics shut down Luzardo for four-six weeks; Olson to be evaluated for hand injury

The Athletics have received some unwelcome injury news in the past 12 hours or so, as general manager David Forst revealed prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mariners in Tokyo that top pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo will be shut down for four to six weeks due to a strain in the rotator cuff of his left shoulder (link via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser). That’s not all, however, as Oakland announced following today’s game that first baseman Matt Olson exited the game...

A’s Farm Report: Talking Top Prospects with A’s Special Assistant Grady Fuson

I had the chance to speak with A’s special assistant Grady Fuson last week about some of the top prospects in the A’s system. Some of you may have seen that interview on my Athletics Farm site, but for those of you who might have missed it, I thought I’d feature a portion of it here this week. You can find our complete conversation which also covers pitchers Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Grant Holmes, James Kaprielian, Daulton Jefferies, Parker Dunshee, Brian Howard and more on my site...

Athletics shut down Luzardo for 4-6 weeks; Olson to be evaluated for hand injury

The Athletics have received some unwelcome injury news in the past 12 hours or so, as general manager David Forst revealed prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mariners in Tokyo that top pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo will be shut down for four to six weeks due to a strain in the rotator cuff of his left shoulder (link via the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser). That’s not all, however, as Oakland announced following today’s game that first baseman Matt Olson exited the game...

Game #2: Up All Night, Nothing to Celebrate Except Ichiro

Congratulations on your retirement, Ichiro!

Revisit the Game Threads here:
Game Thread #1
Game Thread #2
Game Thread #3
Game Thread #4

“We don’t want to make too much about it, since it’s Game 2 of 162, but the A’s are clearly a contender; The Division, for a World Series…”.

I’d like to leave you with that magical thought as we close out the first two disappointing games of the 2019 season, ones that we will hopefully look back on in October, and pretend they belonged to Spring...

Game Thread #2: A’s vs. Mariners (4)

Revisit the Game Threads here:
Game Thread #1
Game Thread #2
Game Thread #3

(For those of you just joining us, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MATT OLSON! He left in the fifth and hasn’t been heard from since.)

We go to the ninth. It’s tied 4-4. CAN WE WIN HERE, PLEASE!

LET’S GO OAK-LAND!

Jesus Luzardo shut down 4-6 weeks with shoulder strain

Yet another key pitching injury for the Oakland A’s.

The Oakland A’s have shut down top pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo for 4-6 weeks due to a shoulder strain, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle. Specifically, it’s a rotator cuff strain, adds Daniel Brown of The Athletic. Before you read further, check out Slusser’s full writeup for all the first-hand details.

Luzardo was one of the final names in contention this spring for the fifth starter spot, but this news ends that...

Game Thread #2: A’s vs. Mariners (3)

Did you hear that Ichiro is retiring after the game?

Revisit the Game Threads here:
Game Thread #1
Game Thread #2

Tonight’s game: Brought to you by Ichiro’s retirement and also “It could have been worse”.

After falling behind 3-0, the A’s sort of rallied back to 3-2 with some Seattle defensive help, and only sheer luck got Soria out of the seventh with a deficit of 4-2.

Matt Olson is out of the game AND WE DON’T HAVE A CLUE WHY.

And also, this is Ichiro’s last game. Spread the...

Game Thread #2: A’s vs. Mariners (2)

The one where the A’s get a hit

Game Thread #1

Well, I’m not going to lie.

Down 3-0, still in the middle of the night, thanks to the home-run-friendly Tokyo Dome, watching our woefully under-Spring Training’ed starting pitching staff (shaky at best at full-strength), in front of a Mariners’ home crowd in a technical A’s home game; we aren’t quite enjoying baseball like we did all summer long in 2018.

Things look bleak for our plucky heroes, who have yet to record a hit in the...

Game Thread #2: A’s vs. Mariners

As the A’s try to leave Japan with a split

Good evening (morning?) and welcome to the second Game Thread of the season, brought to you by the unholy hour of 2:35AM. Not many things can voluntarily rouse me in the middle of the night these days, especially twice in a row, but the A’s certainly qualify. It just might be harder than it was a decade ago. And for those of you excited to see the A’s offense, but afraid of their starting pitching staff, all of your fears were justified in...

Oakland A’s Player Profile: Marco Estrada

Marco! Estrada! Marcoo! Estradaa!

Marco Estrada’s father fled the family when he discovered Estrada’s mother, Marissa, was pregnant, leaving her to raise Marco on her own.

When Marco was five, their hometown of Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico, was flipped upside down. The narcotics trade had hit. Violence and death stalked streets where peace and happiness once flourished. When Marco’s mom was forced to watch as the kids in their neighborhood turned to drug use, she knew it was time...

MLB strikes out with scheduling of Opening Series in Tokyo

The MLB regular season is underway — kind of. While 28 of the 30 teams will open on March 28, the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics got things going early on Wednesday morning (in the United States) with the first of a two-game series in Japan. The idea sounds good in theory. But the way it was executed in 2019 left much to be desired. Playing games overseas is a definite inconvenience for American fans. But, if we haven’t already done it, this is something we all have to find a way...

Game #1: A’s drop wild opener to Mariners, 9-7

Three dingers weren’t enough for Oakland in the first game of the season.

The Oakland A’s lineup was alive and well in their first game of the 2019 season, swatting three homers and scoring seven runs. Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite enough to support the pitching staff, who struggled to find the plate for much of the night. In the end, the Mariners fended off a late comeback bid to defeat the A’s 9-7 on Opening Day in Japan.

*** Game Thread #1 | Thread #2 | Thread #3 ***

Oakland...

Elephant Rumblings: A’s outslugged in Japan opener; extension day for MLB

A’s Coverage: Slusser: A’s show plenty of pop in opener, but Mariners take slugfest... Slusser: Beyond ‘Moneyball’ - Creativity still a must for A’s to win on a budget... Simon: Athletics Got An ‘A’ For Their Shift Defense In 2018... Gallegos: Ramón Laureano’s rapid rise to A’s Opening Day leadoff man... Slusser: Projecting A’s lineup, batting order, rotation: Will Jesus Luzardo make cut? McWilliams: A’s 2019 season preview: Hitters should thrive, but will the...