Catcher Soderstrom reassigned to minors
MESA, Ariz. — The A’s reassigned nine players to the minors Sunday, trimming their camp to 40 players ahead of the final full week of spring training.
Catcher Tyler Soderstrom, the 2020 firstround pick who impressed the majorleague staff with his hitting in Cactus League games, was one of eight nonroster players reassigned. The A’s also optioned righthanded reliever Jordan Weems to TripleA Las Vegas.
Also reassigned to minorleague camp were: righthanded pitchers Domingo Acevedo, Argenis Angulo, Matt Blackham and Ben Bracewell, shortstop Nick Allen, first baseman Frank Schwindel and outfielder Buddy Reed.
Soderstrom, from Turlock, is 4for8 this spring with three doubles and the A’s say he has made defensive strides at catcher. Allen, a top defensive prospect, is 5for23 with one error in his 18 games. Reed opened eyes with his defense and arm in center and hit two home runs early in camp but was recently shut down with a quad injury.
Weems has a 4.50 ERA in six spring innings. Players reassigned to the minors can still be used in Cactus League games and will continue working out alongside players in bigleague camp. With minorleague seasons delayed until early May, the
A’s will send up to 28 players to the Stockton alternate site when camp breaks and begin minorleague camp in Arizona in early April.
Turley claimed by White Sox: Lefthanded reliever Nik Turley was claimed off waivers from the A’s by the White Sox, the teams announced.
Oakland acquired Turley, 31, from the Pirates in January for cash considerations. But later bullpen additions resulted in no projected spot for Turley, who is out of options and also struggled in early Cactus League outings.
Turley hit 97 mph in his first appearance this spring. In five games, though, he allowed 10 runs in 41⁄3 innings. He allowed four home runs, walked four and struck out eight.
The A’s acquired lefthanded reliever Adam Kolarek in a February trade with the Dodgers and signed Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Romo and Trevor Rosenthal to a bullpen that returns Jake Diekman and J.B. Wendelken. Lefthanders A.J. Puk or Cole Irvin could be considered for one of the remaining bullpen spots as a swingman if they don’t open the season in the rotation.