Reliever Casilla is released
Santiago Casilla’s long major-league career in the Bay Area appears to be over.
The A’s released the righthanded reliever Thursday after designating him for assignment Saturday. Oakland will be on the hook for the remainder of his $6 million salary minus the pro-rated portion of the major-league minimum should he sign elsewhere.
Casilla who turns 38 on Wednesday, had control trouble this season, walking 20 in 311⁄3 innings, and his appearances were becoming more infrequent, including just four this month, an issue for a bullpen that often has to fill in five-plus innings.
Casilla made his big-league debut with the A’s in 2004 and used the name Jairo Garcia until 2006, when he alerted the A’s and big-league officials that he had signed using fraudulent papers, a common issue with players from the Dominican Republic during that time.
Casilla pitched for the Giants from 2010-16, winning three titles, and he returned to his original team in 2017. His final game was Friday, against his former team, at San Francisco; he came in with the bases loaded and gave up a sacrifice fly, then his wild pitch allowed another run to come in, and a double by his former batterymate, Buster Posey, sent in one more.
Always known as a good teammate, friendly and a positive influence on younger pitchers, Casilla was 10-9 with 21 saves and a 4.67 ERA in 241 outings with Oakland, and overall in his 15 seasons, Casilla is 42-31 with 144 saves and a 3.29 ERA in 655 appearances. TV ratings up: Oakland’s ratings on NBC Sports California are up 15 percent compared to the same time last year, despite the fact that nationwide, baseball’s regional sports network ratings are down 5 percent from last year.
Overall, the A’s are averaging a 0.69 household rating for 2018, and July’s measurements are particularly good, coming in at a 0.85 rating through 12 games, up 45 percent from the first 12 games of July 2017.
Oakland is seeing similar jump for games streamed on devices, up 14 percent compared to the same point last year.