Athletics acquire reliever Nik Turley from Pirates

The Oakland Athletics further fortified their bullpen on Thursday. 

Oakland announced the acquisition of left-handed relief pitcher Nik Turley from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Athletics sent Pittsburgh cash considerations in return. According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Pittsburgh received $60,000 in the deal. 

Pittsburgh previously designated Turley for assignment and then claimed outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. off waivers. 

Turley made his big league debut as a member with the Minnesota Twins in 2017 but made no MLB appearances in 2018 and 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, the southpaw appeared in 25 games with the Pirates and finished the year with a 4.98 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 20 strikeouts across 21 2/3 innings of work. 

As noted by Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Turley earned the first save of his career facing the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 27. 

The A's won the 2020 American League West title with a 36-24 record and then toppled the Chicago White Sox in the wild-card round. Oakland eventually fell to the Houston Astros in the AL Division Series.