Following the Oakland Athletics’ 2-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants, A’s manager Mark Kotsay addressed questions about the bullpen choices that resulted in Michel Otañez earning his first career save. Kotsay explained that Mason Miller and Tyler Ferguson were unavailable due to high pitch counts from their previous game in New York, and Austin Adams is headed to the IL.
Adams has been impressive for Oakland this season since being acquired from the New York Mets for cash. He has posted a 3.92 ERA over 41 1/3 innings with a slider-heavy approach that has led to 53 strikeouts.
Earlier this week, the 33-year-old veteran made headlines for mimicking the Mets’ “OMG!” celebration on Tuesday night in Queens. Francisco Lindor responded with his own “OMG!” celebration on Wednesday after hitting a home run, directed at both teams’ bullpens.
Kotsay did not specify who would replace Adams in the A’s bullpen, but two potential candidates are emerging.
One option is to call up Will Klein, who was recently optioned to Triple-A but could be recalled without delay to replace an injured player.
The other option is to reinstate Dany Jiménez, who is currently on a rehab assignment with the Las Vegas Aviators. Since August 6, Jiménez has made four appearances for Las Vegas, with his most recent outing featuring an average fastball velocity of 93.8 miles per hour. In that appearance, he faced three batters, throwing six pitches to each, recording one out, walking one, and allowing a hit.
The key issue is whether the A’s believe Jiménez is ready to return to the major leagues, as they would prefer not to rush his return just to fill a bullpen spot.
A decision is expected to be made by Sunday morning.