Athletics: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Rule 5 Update: June Edition

MLBTR checks in with periodic updates on last offseason’s Rule 5 class throughout the year. There have been a few changes since our most recent check-in during the first week of the regular season.

Features

The Morning Bark

The Quiz of the Day

Early MVP polls mix new and familiar faces

At 12:05 p.m. on June 3, MLB posted on X their current top five MVP candidates for both the American and National Leagues. In the National League, front runner Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers is far from a surprise.

J.J. Bleday News / Athlon Sports / June 3

Reds' JJ Bleday Secures MLB Honors After Tremendous Month

Cincinnati Reds outfielder JJ Bleday has caught the attention of Major League Baseball with his emerging play. On Wednesday, Bleday was chosen as the National League Player of the Month for May after hitting .301 with eight home runs, 25 RBI and a 1.018 OPS.

Mason Miller News / Athlon Sports / June 3

Padres' Mason Miller Wins Award for Second Month in a Row

San Diego Padres' closer Mason Miller started off his dominant 2026 campaign by winning the National League Reliever of the Month award in April, and then he repeated the feat in May.

Los Angeles Dodgers News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The 'Foreign-born 250-HR club' quiz

How many of the 53 Major League Baseball players not born in the United States of America with 250 or more career home runs can you name in seven minutes?

The 'Last 30-HR season by MLB team' quiz

The 'Most K's to start an MLB career' quiz

The 'Active 40-HR MLB seasons' quiz

Lawrence Butler News / Athletics Nation / June 3

Wednesday Potpourri: What’s Up With Butler, Closer, June Plan?

Today’s grab bag of talking points comes after the A’s squeaked out a 2-1 win over the streaky Cubs. A good and important win, if frustrating because the A’s faced a flammable SP and had to eek out a victory by the seat of their pants.

MLB News / Yardbarker

The 25 greatest rookie seasons in MLB history

Not every all-timer has instant success at the next level. For many baseball players, it takes a few bumps in the road out of the gate before they ever reach stardom.

Nick Kurtz News / Athlon Sports / June 3

Athletics Star Nick Kurtz Earns Major Honor After Historic Month

Nick Kurtz continues to add to his growing resume in his sophomore season with the Athletics. Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that Kurtz has been named the American League Player of the Month for May.

Athletics News / Field Level Media / June 3

Cubs continue search for offense against Athletics

The Chicago Cubs continue to be stuck in an offensive slump that has seen the club score three or fewer runs in 10 of its past 16 games. The Cubs will attempt to break out of the pattern on Wednesday night in the middle contest of a three-game series against the Athletics in Chicago.

Athletics News / Oakland Athletics on SI / June 3

Athletics' Jump Solidifying Rotation Spot Following Severino Injury

Following a rough first inning in West Sacramento against his former team, Luis Severino left the game with an apparent injury. The team then elected to place Severino on the 15-day injured list with a strained right shoulder.

Athletics News / Total Pro Sports / June 3

Top 5 MLB Home Run Prop Bets: Exclusive Picks For June 3, 2026

The 2026 MLB season continues in the month of June with all 30 teams taking the field this Wednesday. There are a couple of key division battles on the schedule this weekend.

Athletics News / Oakland Athletics on SI / June 3

Bold Predictions for Athletics' Game 2 Showdown vs. Cubs

After stealing Game 1 from the Cubs, the Athletics will need some of the things on this list to come to fruition. Right now, the Athletics are not in a good spot.

Athletics News / Oakland Athletics on SI / June 3

Athletics Squeak Past Cubs: Key Takeaways From Winning Effort

After a rough series vs. the Yankees, the Athletics would steal Game 1 from the Cubs. Considering the Athletics are 18-14 on the road, the result of this game was expected.

MLB News / Yardbarker

Which 20 players have hit four home runs in an MLB game?

The only two things rarer in modern-day baseball than the four-homer game is the Triple Crown and the unassisted triple play. The former is, of course, done over an entire season, while there's a large level of lucky in the unassisted triple play.

Gage Jump News / Minor League Baseball on SI / June 3

A's Pitching Prospect Gage Jump Ends Second MLB Start in Dominant Fashion

Athletics left-handed pitching prospect Gage Jump made his second appearance on a big league mound on Tuesday. And this time around, the young southpaw matched his longest outing of the year and finished his night on a high note.

Athletics News / Field Level Media / June 3

MLB roundup: Reds rally, earn walk-off win over Royals in 10th

Blake Dunn's RBI single in the 10th inning completed a comeback and gave the host Cincinnati Reds a 4-3 walk-off win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

Click here to get Yardbarker's Quiz of the Day emailed to you!

The 'Most field goals-per-game by playoffs' quiz

The '20-point Stanley Cup Playoffs' quiz

The 'Last 10 3-pointer NBA game by team' quiz

The 'Men's French Open champions' quiz

Athletics News / Field Level Media / June 2

Rookie Gage Jump, Athletics shut down slumping Cubs

Gage Jump pitched seven stellar innings in his second big league start and Zack Gelof had the decisive tiebreaking single to lift the Athletics to a 2-1 victory over the host Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

Athletics News / MLB Trade Rumors / June 3

White Sox’ GM Chris Getz Discusses Deadline Approach

The White Sox are probably the most surprising team in playoff position through the season’s first two months. Chicago takes a 32-28 record into tonight’s game in Minnesota, placing them three games up on the competition for the second AL Wild Card spot.

Athletics News / New Baseball Media / June 2

2026 Transactions: Twins Trade for Lawrence, Cowen & Way Promoted

With a full slate of games on June 2, there were plenty of transactions made. Among them included first-time Major League call-ups, plus a trade that went down late on June 1 between the Twins & Pirates.

Kade Morris News / New Baseball Media / June 2

What to Expect from Athletics Pitcher Kade Morris

On June 2, the Athletics officially called up pitching prospect Kade Morris. Morris spent much of the last two seasons in Triple-A, where he’s navigated a turbulent pitching environment and managed to post a respectable ERA in that circuit.

Athletics News / MLB Trade Rumors / June 2

Athletics' Luis Severino to be re-evaluated in four to six weeks

The Athletics have taken a few rotation hits lately, with both Luis Severino and Aaron Civale hitting the injured list, the former due to a shoulder strain and the latter due to right shoulder tendonitis.

Mark Kotsay News / Athlon Sports / June 2

Athletics Begin Pitching Changeup Following Mark Kotsay's Blunt Comments

The Athletics are already acting on manager Mark Kotsay's call for improvement. On Sunday, the A's suffered a 13-8 loss to the New York Yankees, with all 13 runs and 11 hits coming in a disastrous third inning.

Athletics News / Just Baseball / June 2

AL Players of the Month: May 2026

As the 2026 MLB season heats up, it’s important to acknowledge the players and teams that are off to hot starts as the summer approaches. In the AL, early returns have been impressive for small-market teams like the Rays and Guardians.

Athletics News / EasySportz / June 1

A’s Pitcher Faces Absurd Strike Call — But It’s Not the Real Scandal

It wasn’t a blown call. It was a *phantom* call. According to ESPN, a pitch to Tyler Soderstrom — one that missed the zone by less than an inch — was tagged as a strike by the ABS system.

Aaron Judge News / HITC / June 1

Aaron Judge said “a couple choice words” and the New York Yankees scored 13 runs in one inning

The Yankees did nothing for two innings against the Athletics on Sunday, and Aaron Judge had seen enough. New York had gone hitless through two against lefty Jacob Lopez, an early error had handed the A’s three runs, and the visitors’ dugout in West Sacramento felt flat.

MLB News / Yardbarker / June 1

Yankees flirt with franchise record vs. Athletics

One inning was all the New York Yankees needed to beat the Athletics on Sunday. In their 13-8 victory, one that clinched the weekend series, New York scored all 13 of their runs in an epic third inning.

Ben Rice turns weakness into strength to become one of MLB’s best hitters

Yankees could enter Tarik Skubal trade talks under one condition

Three potential trade candidates for Tigers

Juan Soto's clutch hitting sparks joy for struggling Mets

Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski finishes May with a bang vs. Astros

Athletics News / Fastball on SI / May 31

Yankees Pull Off Bizarre MLB First Against Athletics

The New York Yankees and Athletics faced off on Sunday and it was a bit of an odd game, to say the least. New York racked up 13 runs and 11 base hits. With those two numbers, it sounds as if the club had an explosive all-around game.

Athletics News / Larry Brown Sports / May 31

Athletics got robbed by weird ABS challenge glitch

The Athletics fell victim to a bizarre glitch in the challenge system Saturday night against the New York Yankees. Athletics catcher Tyler Soderstrom was at the plate in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, Ca.