The Athletics announced a series of roster moves Friday, placing outfielder Stephen Piscotty on the COVID-related injured list in addition to placing catcher Austin Allen, left-hander A.J. Puk and left-hander Kirby Snead on the restricted list in advance of the team’s series in Toronto. In their place, the A’s recalled catcher Christian Bethancourt, left-hander Zach Logue and outfielder Drew Jackson as “substitute” players. That they’ve been designated Covid-related substitutes will allow the A’s to send all three back to Triple-A without needing to use an option or (in the case of Bethancourt and Jackson) pass anyone through waivers. Lastly, the A’s announced that outfielder Luis Barrera, whom they designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Las Vegas.
The series of placements on the restricted list quite likely stems from restrictions preventing unvaccinated athletes from traveling into Canada to participate in games there. Many teams will likely make a few placements of this nature in advance of road series against the Jays, at least so long as those regulations remain in place (although the Rangers did not do so prior to traveling to Toronto for last weekend’s opener).
Piscotty, 31, is out to a 4-for-14 start with four singles, a pair of walks and five strikeouts in 17 trips to the plate. He’s hoping for a bounce-back season after logging a combined .223/.277/.355 batting line in 359 plate appearances from 2020-21. That he was placed on the COVID-related injured list does not necessarily indicate a positive test from Piscotty; players can also be placed on the COVID-related IL if they’re deemed close contacts or experiencing symptoms.
Bethancourt, Logue and Jackson will provide some depth in the absence of the three players going on the restricted list. Both Bethancourt and Jackson have some MLB experience — Bethancourt, in particular — but this’ll be the first call to the majors for the 25-year-old Logue, who was one of four players Oakland acquired from the Blue Jays in the trade that sent Matt Chapman to Toronto (as was Snead). Logue has made a pair of starts in Triple-A Las Vegas thus far but will likely be available out of the ’pen, with Daulton Jefferies, Paul Blackburn and Adam Oller slated to start the next three games for Oakland.
As for Barrera, the A’s will surely be glad they were able to hang onto the 26-year-old — although the very fact that he went unclaimed speaks to the manner in which his stock has deteriorated in recent years. Barrera has long been considered one of the organization’s better prospects but hit just .276/.348/.393 in Triple-A last season, checking in at 12% worse than league-average by measure of wRC+.
Despite last year’s 10.1% walk rate in Triple-A, however, virtually every scouting report on Barrera cites a need to be more selective at the plate. Baseball America notes that he swung at 48% of the pitches he saw in 2021, which might make it tough for him to repeat that walk rate. Still, Barrera can play all three outfield spots and has above-average speed, as well as a solid track record up through Double-A.
More must-reads: