The Athletics announced that left-hander José Suarez has been reinstated from the paternity list and righty Mark Leiter Jr. from the 15-day injured list. In corresponding moves, lefty Matt Krook and righty Geoff Hartlieb have been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.
Krook, 31, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason. He started the campaign in Triple-A and put up some good numbers. He tossed 29 relief innings, allowing 3.72 earned runs per nine in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His 11.8% walk rate was high but he struck out 30.9% of batters faced and induced grounders on 61.4% of balls in play.
The A’s called him up to the big league roster on June 21st. Since then, he has made five appearances, logging 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs. There was some bad luck in that tiny sample of work but Krook didn’t do himself any favors by walking four of the 21 opponents he faced, a 19% clip. He also hit one batter, so he actually gave 23.8% of hitters a free trip to first.
That wildness was apparently enough to get him squeezed off the roster. Since he’s out of options, that means he’s been pushed off the 40-man and into DFA limbo. The A’s can now take as long as five days to explore trade interest, but they could also put him on waivers sooner than that if they so choose. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so Krook will know his fate within a week, one way or another.
Krook’s big league track record isn’t much to go on. This is his fourth big league season but he hasn’t topped four innings in any of those and only has 12 total big league innings under his belt. A former starter, he has generally put up good Triple-A numbers since converting to relief, though with notable control concerns.
He doesn’t throw especially hard, averaging under 90 miles per hour with his sinker, while also throwing a slider, changeup and cutter. Despite the lack of velo, he can get guys out. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has thrown 154 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.08 ERA. He has fanned 31.7% of batters in that time and gotten heaps of ground balls but walked opponents at a massive 15.7% pace. He has been outrighted in his career before, so he would have the right to elect free agency if he clears waivers again in the coming days.
Hartlieb, 32, has had a similar trajectory this year. He also signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason and began the year with good Triple-A numbers. He logged 33 2/3 innings at that level with a 3.48 ERA, 28.9% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate.
He was added to the big league roster on June 20th, one day before Krook. Hartlieb also struggled to replicate his minor league success in the majors, though not to such an extreme degree. Hartlieb tossed 8 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs. He only struck out three of the 39 batters he faced, a paltry 7.7% clip, while giving out three walks and throwing two wild pitches.
He, too, now heads into DFA limbo. His major league track record is a bit longer than Krook’s but isn’t necessarily better. He has thrown 91 1/3 innings over seven seasons with a 7.69 ERA, 18.9% strikeout rate, 14.4% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has thrown 273 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.48 ERA, 25% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. His four-seamer and sinker average in the mid-90s as he also features a cutter, slider and rarely-used changeup. Like Krook, he has been previously outrighted in his career and would have the right to elect free agency if he clears waivers in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of Scott Marshall, Imagn Images
