A’s Announce Several Roster Moves

The Athletics announced several post-deadline roster moves Tuesday. First baseman Nick Kurtz and lefty Jeffrey Springs were placed on the 10-day IL and 15-day IL, respectively. Kurtz has a strained right thumb. Springs is dealing with right hip discomfort. The A’s reinstated righty J.T. Ginn and recalled infielder Max Muncy from Triple-A in a pair of corresponding moves. Additionally, left-handed reliever Ben Bowden was designated for assignment. Finally, righty Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang cleared waivers after his recent DFA. He’s been outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Kurtz, 23, missed two weeks with a capsule injury in that same thumb in July. He returned for all of seven games, went 1-for-22 in that time, and now heads back to the injured list. The thumb has clearly been bothering him for some time. Over his past 40 trips to the plate, Kurtz has just one hit and three walks.

Even with that offensive freefall, Kurtz is still batting .256/.396/.483 on the season. He’s belted 21 homers in 431 plate appearances, continuing to flash the plus power that pushed him to American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2025. This year’s production pales in comparison to last year’s jaw-dropping .290/.383/.619 as a rookie, but by measure of wRC+, Kurtz has still been 43% better than average — even after weighting for his hitter-friendly home environment.

The A’s haven’t yet specified how long Kurtz will miss, but they’re not a playoff club this year. They may not be at this point yet, but if the thumb continues to plague him, they could eventually consider turning the page to next season and shutting him down for the remainder of the season.

Springs, 33, likely would have been traded at the deadline if he’d been pitching well enough to merit interest. He’s in the final guaranteed season of a four-year, $31MM deal he originally signed with the Rays. Springs has pitched 108 innings but been tagged for an ugly 6.17 earned run average. He’s a fly-ball pitcher with average-ish command and below-average bat-missing capability — a poor fit with the Athletics’ extremely hitter-friendly venue in West Sacramento. Springs has a 6.63 ERA and 17 homers allowed in 58 1/3 innings at home, but he’s also limped to a 5.62 ERA with 11 homers in 49 2/3 innings on the road.

The A’s hold a $15MM club option on Springs. It comes with a $750K buyout that’ll be paid instead of bringing him back at such a steep rate. If the hip injury doesn’t prove too serious, Springs will probably get the chance to string together a few decent starts late in the year, but he appears destined for free agency this winter.

Bowden, 31, pitched one inning with the A’s before being DFA. He allowed four runs on two hits, two walks and a hit batter. He’s now pitched 47 1/3 innings in the majors — 11 2/3 innings with the A’s, dating back to last season — and been tagged for a 6.65 ERA in that time. He pitched decently in Triple-A with the Phillies, Braves and A’s from 2023-25 but has been dinged for a 5.40 ERA in Las Vegas this season.

Since the trade deadline has come and gone, the Athletics’ only course of action with Bowden will be to place him on waivers. That can happen at any point in the next five days, and waivers would be a 48-hour process. We’ll know an outcome on the journeyman southpaw no latter than next Tuesday.