A's Sign Former Texas Rangers Left-Hander

CD Pelham is 6-foot-6 and will hit his 30th birthday early on in camp. He most recently spent some time in the Los Angeles Angels' farm system, signing with them at the end of May and getting released two months later after posting a 2.00 ERA (3.20 FIP) in nine innings with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas. He struck out 11 and walked seven in that time. That worked out to a 26.7% strikeout rate and a 20% walk rate.

In his stint in the big leagues with Texas back in 2018 at the age of 23, Pelham held a 7.04 ERA (2.90 FIP) in 7 2/3 innings pitched, and was fairly unlucky with a .444 BABIP against him.

He spent time in the Mexican League before and after he was released by the Angels, holding a 1.04 ERA with Leonas de Yucatan in 17 1/3 innings, striking out 18 and holding a 0.923 WHIP. He also played with Tomateros de Culiacan, pitching to a 2.25 ERA in 28 innings with 28 strikeouts and a 1.393 WHIP.

For Pelham to make the A's 26-man roster, he's going to have to show some command of the baseball on a consistent basis, but that will also be the trick for other left-handed hopefuls, Matt Krook and Ben Bowden, whom the A's also signed this offseason.

As the roster currently sits, one of these three southpaws will be firmly in the mix for a roster spot come Opening Day, unless the Athletics make another addition to the mix.

While none of the trio are currently on the team's 40-man roster, the A's will have two openings as the regular season approaches with both Ken Waldichuk and Luis Medina set to miss extended time in 2025, which will result in their placement on the 60-day IL, opening up two spots for other players to join the club.

With the Athletics still needing to add a little payroll this winter, one way they could hand out some extra cash would be to sign a left-handed relief pitcher, which would turn Pelham, Krook, and Bowden into depth options.

The A's took a chance on hard-throwing right-hander Michel Otañez last offseason, and while his walk rate didn't improve a ton, still sitting at 13.2%, his strikeout rate was high enough (36.4%) in his 34 innings in Oakland that he's viewed as more of a late-inning option heading into 2025.

The same goes for Tyler Ferguson, who had walked 15.7% of hitters he faced in Triple-A in 2023, but signed with the A's and he put up a 3.68 ERA (3.28 FIP) in 51 1/3 innings as a 30-year-old rookie. He struck out 30% of the hitters he faced while walking 11.6%.

There is a path there for Pelham and the others to make their way to the big leagues in 2025, and given the team's current need for a second left-handed bullpen option, one of the three of them is likely to make it.