Happy Friday A’s fans!
The team came away with a series-salvaging win yesterday in the finale against the Phillies. The Green & Gold got their teeth knocked in on Tuesday, dropped a heart breaker on Wednesday, and finally broke out the bats in a blowout victory on Thursday. Now the team is off to Baltimore to take on the Orioles for a three-game weekend series.
But before we get to the preview, the A’s made a trade yesterday that went a bit under the radar. Just a day after being designated for assignment by the club, right-handed reliever Tyler Ferguson found himself on the move as the Athletics traded him to the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations:
The move brings to an end Ferguson’s time with the organization after just over two years. Originally a 6th-round pick by the Texas Rangers in 2015, Ferguson finally made it to the big leagues with the Athletics in 2024 after nine years working his way up the minor league ladder. His rookie season went fairly well as the then-30-year-old pitched to a solid 3.68 ERA in 48 games for that A’s team that finished fourth in the AL West. That quality outing his first time facing big league hitters gave hope that the A’s had found a late-bloomer to help fill out the middle innings.
Unfortunately his second season in the big leagues did not go as smoothly as he regressed to a 4.66 ERA in 56 contests. The struggled were so great that he actually found himself demoted to Triple-A for a month in the middle of the season. Things didn’t improve this year as he struggled during Spring Training and began the year with the Aviators. He was recalled a couple days ago to help a tiring bullpen but got lit up for four runs in his lone appearance with the A’s this year, which led to the DFA. He’ll now head to Chicago and hope to right things with a Cubs squad that looks to be a contender this season.
Anyway, the Baltimore Orioles. Like the A’s they’re a team on the younger side of things led by Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Adley Rutschman. And this past offseason they added slugging first baseman Pete Alonso and outfielder Taylor Ward to go with top prospects Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo. Even though they only went 75-87 last year, there were raised expectations this year for this group of high-end talent.
Things have improved a bit for Baltimore here in 2026 but not by a whole lot as of yet. They’ve been bitten by the injury bug multiple times already this year, missing Holliday and Westburg for the entire season to date as well as seeing first baseman Ryan Mountcastle hit the IL after just eight games. Thanks to those injuries, a lineup that has some serious talent is around the middle of the pack in most offensive categories. On the bright side for them they’ve managed to tread water and at 17-21 are only a game out of a Wild Card spot. Once they get Holliday and Westburg back, they could become a bit more dangerous than their record suggests.
On the pitching side of things for Baltimore, the team yet again has problems with their starting rotation. Their top-four starters all have below-average ERA’s as guys like Shane Baz (4.99 ERA), Kyle Bradish (5.03 ERA), Trevor Rogers (4.75 ERA and currently on the IL) and old friend Chris Bassitt (5.91 ERA) have all struggled in the early going. The A’s will be seeing the three B’s this weekend in Bradish, Baz and then Bassitt. The A’s offense needs to feast against these struggling arms, though the Baltimore bullpen hasn’t been much better and is also without closer Ryan Helsley against the A’s.
As for the A’s, they’ll be sending Jacob Lopez to the mound tonight, followed by veterans Aaron Civale and Luis Severino on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. This could be Lopez’s last chance to show he deserves to stick in the rotation as he’s coming off a six-run outing and has struggled all year. Civale and Severino, meanwhile, are both on a roll coming into the weekend, and Severino especially will enjoy getting a start on the road away from Sacramento.
The Green & Gold remain in first place as we begin the weekend, and though they’re seeing a Baltimore squad that is reeling, they can still be dangerous. They lost yesterday but won their series against the Marlins. Think the A’s can tame the Orioles and get a series win this weekend?
Have a great weekend everyone!
A’s Coverage:
- A’s demolish Phillies behind big bats and Ginn’s arm, 12-1!
- Kurtz had pets named after Phillies stars
- May Roster Shuffle Could Help The A’s — But They’d Have To Want It
- A’s roster moves: Langeliers reinstated, Wynns DFA’d
- Cubs Acquire Tyler Ferguson
- Phillies Claim Grant Holman
- A’s Blow Late Lead, Fall To Phillies 6-3
- A’s drop one to Phillies 9-1
- A’s trade for Jonah Heim to fortify catching depth
- Langeliers HRs twice on wife’s b-day, then welcomes 1st child; taking time off
- Civale and Soderstrom lead Athletics to a Sunday Victory
- He once struck out Giancarlo Stanton. Now he engineers cars for Ford
- A Walk In The Park Is Nice…To A Point
- Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In May
- A Moment To Appreciate The Awesomeness That Is Carlos Cortes
- Kurtz ‘starting to get back to himself’ — and that’s a scary prospect
- What the Athletics’ Hot Start Means for Their 2026 Trade Deadline Strategy
- When he Reached the New World, Cortes Burned Opposing Pitchers
MLB News and Interest:
- Astros’ Carlos Correa to undergo season-ending ankle surgery
- Yankees promote top prospect Spencer Jones from Triple-A
- Carlos Estévez Diagnosed With Rotator Cuff Strain
- Red Sox’s Roman Anthony hits IL with wrist injury
- Cubs’ Matthew Boyd injures knee playing with kids; has surgery, out 6-8 weeks
- Tigers pitcher Framber Valdez accepts 5-game suspension for throwing at Red Sox’s Trevor Story
- Reds starter Rhett Lowder exits with right shoulder discomfort
- Latest On Astros’ Rotation
- Nothing to see here, just your everyday 9-4-5-2-6 putout
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
500 base hits for Rooker already? Man, time flies:
Make that 31 straight for Kurtz:
Literally any day now:
Stadium update: