A’s work out trade with Nationals for reliever Shawn Kelley to add another arm to their bullpen mix.
OAKLAND >> An already stellar A’s bullpen looks to be getting even more formidable.
The A’s acquired reliever Shawn Kelley from the Washington Nationals in exchange for an undisclosed amount international slot money. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, Jake Smolinski was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a blood clot in his left calf.
Kelley was solid in 35 appearances with Washington, going 1-0 with 3.34 ERA while striking out 32 batters and walking just five over 32 1/3 innings. After a bad outing against the New York Mets last Tuesday in which he allowed three runs and appeared visibly upset on the mound as he slammed his glove on the ground, Kelley was designated for assignment the next day. The right-hander cleared through waivers before Sunday’s trade.
Though Nationals GM Mike Rizzo called the pitcher’s actions “disrespectful,” A’s manager Bob Melvin Shawn Kelley gets a fresh start with the A’s after his tenure with the Nationals ended in a mound tantrum.
spoke with Blake Treinen, a teammate of Kelley’s while in D.C., was told the actions were out of character.
“I think that’s an isolated incident and one of the things we talked to Blake about,” Melvin said. “Sometimes emotions on certain days get away from you. I’ve never seen that from him before and we feel good about him being here.”
It’s unclear who gets removed from the bullpen for Kelley, but right-hander J.B. Wendelken could be an option to get sent back down to Triple-A given his remaining options.
The A’s bullpen entered Sunday’s game against the Tigers with a 3.34 ERA, good for third-lowest in the American League. With Lou Trivino, Jeurys Familia, and Blake Treinen pretty much cemented was the seventh, eighth, ninth inning pitchers, Kelley figures to slot in somewhere as a fifth or sixth inning option with Yusmeiro Petit, Emilio Pagan and Ryan Buchter.
“It just adds length to our bullpen. That’s obviously been a strength for us all year and it allows us to cut some of the innings on the starters,” Melvin said. “This is a guy that’s had a lot of success. Can give you a couple of innings. He’s given us some problems in the past, so it just makes it a little bit deeper down there.”