The Oakland A’s moved to try and shore up their shorthanded pitching staff Thursday, acquiring right-hander Brandon Bielak from the Houston Astros for cash considerations.
Oakland designated left-hander Easton Lucas for assignment to create 40-man roster room for Bielak, who had been designated himself by the Astros on Saturday to create space for right-hander Cristian Javier on the active roster.
Bielak has a 5.71 ERA in 10 relief outings this year, with nine strikeouts and seven walks over 17 1/3 innings. Houston originally selected him in the 11th round of the 2017 amateur draft and he has an 11-13 record with a 4.65 ERA and one save.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters in Houston before Thursday’s game that Bielak will join the A’s on Friday in Kansas City, where Oakland begins a three-game series to finish a 10-game road trip.
Bielak will start in the bullpen, but Kotsay said the A’s could build him up as a starter. The A’s, as of late Thursday afternoon, had not finalized who would start their game Friday. The Royals are going with Cole Ragans.
The A’s are without three of the five starting pitchers they began the season with in March.
Opening Day starter Alex Wood was placed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with rotator cuff tendonitis. Also on the IL for the A’s are Paul Blackburn (metatarsal stress reaction) and Joe Boyle (lower back strain).
Kotsay told reporters Wednesday that Wood will not throw for another 10-14 days. He’ll be re-evaluated after that.
WALDICHUK SURGERY: Ken Waldichuk underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow with Dr. Neil ElAttrache at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The A’s said surgery was performed to repair a flexor tendon and reconstruct an ulnar collateral ligament.
Waldichuk, 26, also had an internal brace procedure performed.
Waldichuk, a Saint Mary’s College alum, will return to Oakland to begin his rehabilitation and miss the remainder of the 2024 season. The recovery timeline for such surgeries typically ranges from 12 to 18 months.
Waldichuk is 6-11 with a 5.28 ERA over 175 2/3 innings in 42 games with the A’s. In Aug. 2022, he, along with Cooper Bowman, Luis Medina, and JP Sears, were acquired from the New York Yankees for pitchers Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino.