Athletics name Joe Boyle 5th starter, Hoy Park to Triple-A

The obvious choice for the final rotation job

On the eve of the final game of the spring, A’s manager Mark Kotsay told reporters that right-handed rookie Joe Boyle had claimed the fifth and final rotation spot:

It’s a well-deserved job after Boyle’s solid spring performance. The 24-year old’s final ERA is an unsightly 5.89 but that’s sort of skewed by his final outing when he allowed seven runs. Before that Boyle had a much better 2.93 ERA and had generally looked good.

Boyle has already made his big league debut, making it into three games at the end of last year and impressing in his first cup of coffee. He pitched 16 frames and only allowed three runs while walking five and racking up 15 K’s. He pitched a career-high 117 innings last year and probably won’t pitch much more than that as he experienced his first season in the big leagues.

In other news, outfielder Hoy Park has been informed that he won’t be on the Opening Day roster:

Park has been a sleeper candidate for a roster spot after a stellar spring that saw him hit .471 with just one strikeout over 36 plate appearances. It was always a long shot that he makes the roster but he sure made Mark Kotsay’s job harder. The left-hander has a couple years of major league time under his belt and should serve as outfield depth for the campaign. He could be in Oakland sooner rather than later if an injury pops up.