Changes Likely Coming to A's Pitching Staff After Blowout Loss to Dodgers

As has too often been the case this season, the Athletics were on the wrong side of a lopsided game on Thursday night, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 19-2. Starter Osvaldo Bido was rocked for six runs in 1.2 innings of work, giving up five hits and a pair of walks while striking out two.

The 29-year-old right-hander started the season with solid starts in five of six outings, giving up two or fewer runs while hovering just above five innings pitched each time out. Since the calendar flipped to May, however, Bido has given up 13 runs in 12 innings of work, giving him a 9.75 ERA through three starts this month.

Even when Bido was getting good results, he was still working out of a lot of jams, leading to a 1.53 WHIP through April. This month, those runners he's putting on base are coming around to score. It's a risky mix that can sometimes blow up like it did tonight against the Dodgers. Just two of his stats on Baseball Savant rank as high as the 50th percentile; his fastball velo (50th) and his hard hit rate (56th).

While this one start may not be enough to remove Bido from the rotation, the recent trend of starts that he's had could be something the A's could take a look at before ultimately making a decision.

J.T. Ginn made a rehab start on Wednesday night, and if the team is comfortable with him being at around an 80-85 pitch limit for one game, they could decide to reinstate him from the IL in a few days, effectively taking over Bido's spot in the rotation for the time being.

In recent years, the A's would likely wait to have him figure things out, but the team is trying to contend this season, so tough decisions will have to be made.

Bido has one option remaining.

Since he was unable to complete two innings, the A's also had to bring in their long-man, Jason Alexander, who tossed 75 pitches to complete 2.1 innings of his own, giving up nine runs in the process. He gave up seven hits, four walks, and three home runs. Two of those were to Shohei Ohtani.

With Alexander being used so heavily, there is a good chance that the A's make a roster move to get a fresh arm in their bullpen for the weekend series against the San Francisco Giants. The one problem is that the guy that would have seemingly been the best fit, Jacob Lopez, started for Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday night.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers prospect, Carlos Duran, could be an option, but he pitched on Wednesday and needs to wait until May 17 before he can be called back up after he was optioned on May 2. Barring injury, a pitcher has to wait 15 days before they can be called back up to the big leagues. The same limitation exists for Elvis Alvarado.

Joey Estes may be the only option that is both rested and on the 40-man roster, but he's also more of a starting option. If he were to be called up, it would likely be to get them team through the weekend series against the Giants.

The one wrinkle here is that the A's roster currently sits at just 39 players, meaning they could add a non-roster pitcher to the 40-man without having to designate anyone for assignment. 27-year-old Anthony Maldonado could be a candidate for that spot, given that he holds a 0.73 ERA across 12.1 innings of work this season. He has also gone two innings a couple of times.

We may not see a Bido-related roster move at all, but with Ginn nearing a return, he'll at least be available should an opportunity arise. As for Alexander, the A's will need a fresh arm for a brand new series, so it would make sense for them to make that move on Friday.