Athletics are catching lefties Cole Irvin in exchange for cash consideration in a deal with the Phillies, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link) Irvin’s departure will open a vacancy on the list of 40 men to Matt Moore, who agreed to the terms of a one-year contract earlier this week. Another move will need to be made to accommodate Didi Gregorius‘addition to the list once your two-year contract is finalized.
Tomorrow, Irvin, aged 27, has had nineteen appearances in the MLB (three games) in the past two seasons. At 45.2 entries, it has an ERA of 6.75 / 4.87 SIERA. He does not lose many bats; its elimination rate of 17.2% is well below the league average of 23.4%. However, Irvin compiled a long history of hitting the smallest and continued to do so at the highest level, beating only 6.9% of the opposing hitters as a major league player.
The southpaw twice ranked among the thirty best baseball contenders in America in the Phillies system. He still has a minor championship option left, which means that the A’s can shuffle him between the majors and Triple-A Las Vegas if he survives the off season in the 40-player roster.