5:18PM: Wood had a setback during his throwing program, as the team told MLB.com and other media. Wood has subsequently been shut down and no timeline has been given about when he might get back to the rehab process.
11:25AM: The A’s announced a series of roster moves this afternoon led by the club selecting the contract of right-hander Michel Otañez. Making room for Otañez on the 40-man roster is Alex Wood, who the club transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move, while lefty Jack O’Loughlin was optioned to the minor leagues to create space on the active roster.
Otañez, 27 next month, made his professional debut in the Mets organization back in 2018. Initially a starting pitcher, the right-hander converted to relief following the cancelled minor league season in 2020 and reached the upper levels of the minors in 2022. While he dominated Double-A hitters to the tune of a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings of work, he quickly met his match in a promotion to Triple-A, where he struggled to a 6.37 ERA in 29 2/3 frames. Otañez then elected minor league free agency and landed with the Diamondbacks, though his struggles continued with a brutal 6.08 ERA in 37 innings of work split between the Double- and Triple-A levels that year. While Otañez struck out an excellent 35.3% of batters faced with Arizona, a ghastly 16.2% walk rate held him back from being a major league caliber relief arm.
Otañez returned to minor league free agency last offseason and latched on with the A’s on a minor league pact. The club assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas and he finally found success at the level with his third organization. In 29 1/3 innings of work, Otañez has managed to cut his walk rate to a more manageable 11.8% while maintaining a strong 35.4% strikeout rate that’s nearly identical to last year. His work to cut down on free passes paid dividends in the results department as he’s posted a 3.99 ERA despite the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.
That performance was enough to convince the A’s to offer Otañez a chance at the big league level. The 26-year-old will make his major league debut the first time he gets into a game and figures to act as a middle relief option for the club from the right-hand side alongside Vinny Nittoli, behind late-inning arms Mason Miller, Austin Adams, and Dany Jimenez. He’ll replace O’Loughlin in an Oakland bullpen stacked with left-handed pitching options after the Australia native threw 3 1/3 scoreless relief frames against Toronto last night.
As for Wood, the lefty’s placement on the 60-day IL is ominous news given that Wood was set to begin a throwing program in his rehab from rotator cuff tendinitis on June 1. That seemingly could have put the veteran lefty on track to return sometime later this month, but now he’ll be out until at least after the All Star break. The 2024 campaign had been a struggle for Wood prior to his placement on the IL, as he pitched to a lackluster 5.26 ERA with a matching 5.27 FIP through nine starts with Oakland.
