The Oakland Athletics and manager Bob Melvin announced a contract extension on Wednesday, as first reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Melvin's new deal is a two-year extension that will run through the end of the 2018 season. Prior to the deal, Melvin was only under contract through next year. The 53-year-old Melvin has been successful in his tenure with Oakland and is respected in their organization as a manager that combines the usage of analytics with "old-style," traditional managing methods. With the Athletics, Melvin has managed his team to a 385-339 record in five years (coming into tonight). He led the team to two American League West division titles and won the American League Manager of the Year award in 2012. "I'm fully committed to this team, this organization and this fan base to get this thing turned around sooner than later," Melvin said in a press conference. Melvin's extension was surely based upon his track record and not his seasonal performance, which can be quite rare. This season, the Athletics are a underwhelming 60-79. --Devan Fink
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The New York Mets announced the acquisition of left-handed reliever Eric O'Flaherty from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later.
To make room for O'Flaherty on the 25- and 40-man rosters, the Mets designated Alex Torres for assignment. O'Flaherty was signed to a to a two-year, $7 million deal with the Athletics after coming off Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2013 season. Considering he would not pitch the entire 2014 season coming off the procedure, the A's backloaded his deal, owing him $1.5 million last season and $5.5 million this year. The deal appeared to be in the Athletics' favor last season, when O'Flaherty came back to the team on July 4 and worked 20 innings, posting a 2.25 ERA and good 6.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 ratios. The former Braves setup man has not pitched nearly as well this year, going 21 1/3 innings to a 5.91 ERA with much poorer 6.3 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 marks. The Athletics designated the lefty for assignment after acquiring Aaron Brooks from Atlanta. With the Mets, O'Flaherty will be the left-handed specialist, where Torres was serving. He has been very good against left-handed hitters and this season they hit just .182/.286/.209 in 50 plate appearances against him. For his career, O'Flaherty has allowed just a .199/.266/.263 line against lefties. --Devan Fink
The Oakland Athletics have claimed Danny Valencia off of outright waivers from the Blue Jays, they announced on Monday.
Oakland activated switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Nashville to make room for Valencia on the 25-man roster. They did not need to make a 40-man move for Valencia. The 30-year-old Valencia has played both infield and outfield throughout his career, but played mostly left field with the Jays in 2015. When Ben Revere arrived from the Phillies via trade, Valencia was the odd man out and was designated for assignment. The Athletics did not need to make a trade for Valencia because he was outrighted to the minor leagues and off the 40-man roster. Valencia, considering how well he's hit, did not even pass through, which does not happen all the time. On the season, Valencia is hitting .296/.331/.506 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs over 173 plate appearances. --Devan Fink
The New York Mets have acquired right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Casey Meisner, a minor league right-handed starter, the teams announced on Monday.
This comes just hours after Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported that the Mets were making progress on a deal for Clippard. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported last night that a deal for Clippard could get done by Monday. The Mets bullpen has not been bad this season, they are third in the Majors in ERA and eighth in xFIP, but after the Royals went far in last year's playoffs with a deep bullpen, it's been proven that relief help can go a long way for teams. Clippard has been a name mentioned in trade talk more recently as of late, when the A's officially decided on selling. He's a free agent following this season, after making $8.3 million in his final year of arbitration this past offseason. The 30-year-old, despite his contract status, will be a very solid addition to the Mets bullpen, providing back-end relief experience. He's 1-3 this season with a 2.79 ERA (3.89 FIP) and a 38 to 21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 38 2/3 innings. He's saved 17 of his 21 opportunities, marking the first time he's been used as a closer since 2012 with the Nationals. The Mets are showing the willingness to buy this trade deadline season, as Clippard represents the third player they've acquired this month, along with Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, as well as the promotion of Michael Conforto. They're 51-48 and just two games out of the NL East and 3 1/2 out of the NL Wild Card. In return, the Athletics got Meisner, a 20-year-old righty in Single-A Advanced this season. The Mets' third round pick two years ago, Mesiner is 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.64 K/BB ratio this season. --Devan Fink
The New York Mets are making progress on a trade for Athletics' right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard, reports Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports.
The team reported that there are other teams still in play for Clippard, however, a deal is expected soon. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday evening that the A's could trade Clippard as soon as today. By no means has the Mets' bullpen been bad this season, ranking third in the league in ERA from that group, and eighth in xFIP. Though, if there's one upgrade that practically every contending team could make, it is in the bullpen, where strong performances could really make-or-break a team's postseason run. One would wonder if the Mets and Athletics are working on a trade for both Clippard and teammate Ben Zobrist. The Mets have shown a need for infield and outfield help and Zobrist would fit the bill for both those needs. On the season, Clippard is 1-3 with a 2.79 ERA (3.89 FIP) in 38 2/3 innings pitched this season. In his 37 appearances out of the bullpen, he has a 38 to 21 strikeout-to-walk ratio. --Devan Fink |
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