Oakland A’s veterans Aledmys Díaz, Sean Newcomb designated for assignment

OAKLAND — When manager Mark Kotsay called Aledmys Díaz into his office to tell the infielder that he had been designated for assignment, Díaz responded in an atypical manner.

He apologized.

“Just a true pro,” Kotsay said.

Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Angels, Díaz and left-handed reliever Sean Newcomb were designated for assignment. In a corresponding move, Oakland recalled infielder Brett Harris and right-hander Tyler Ferguson from Triple-A Las Vegas.

“You don’t get many players that will come in when you’re telling him that they’re going through this process of being put on waivers or DFA’d,” Kotsay said, “and they apologize for, in his terms, a lack of performance in the way we rewarded him and the confidence we had bringing him here and putting him on the contract.”

Díaz, 33, signed a two-year, $14.5 million deal with the A’s prior to last season, but performed poorly on both sides of the ball during his time with the green and gold. In 121 games, Díaz had a .218 batting average and .585 OPS with four home runs and 25 RBIs. With the glove, the utility man spent most of his time at shortstop, where he was worth -9 defensive runs saved. According to Baseball Reference, Díaz was worth -1.3 WAR. This season, Díaz has been limited to just 12 games due to a right calf strain.

“We’re hopeful that he goes somewhere and can land on a team and help impact that team, whether it’s a playoff team or just give him another opportunity where he’s going to get maybe more consistent at-bats,” Kotsay said.

Newcomb, 31, was traded to the A’s from the Giants last August. The left-hander performed well upon joining Oakland, allowing five earned runs over 15 innings (3.00 ERA) with 17 strikeouts before undergoing season-ending left knee lateral meniscus surgery.

After signing a one-year, $1 million deal this past offseason, Newcomb went under the knife again, undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Newcomb struggled upon joining the team (seven earned runs in 10 innings), but on June 22, he became the first pitcher in A’s history to record a win without retiring a batter.

“He really grinded to get back to be able to perform at the major-league level after two surgeries he went through and an extended period on the IL,” Kotsay said. “Our bullpen’s really left handed, and for us, it was time to move on.”

Harris, 26, and Ferguson, 30, both began the season with Las Vegas but made their major-league debuts earlier this year. With Oakland, Harris owns a .617 OPS with three home runs in 17 games while Ferguson has allowed five earned runs over 10 innings (4.50 ERA) with 10 strikeouts to seven walks.

Morales selected for Futures Game

Luis Morales, Oakland’s No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was selected as the club’s representative for the 2024 All-Star Futures Game.

“If you get that accolade, you’ve earned it,” Kotsay said. “He’s at a lower level right now. I can see him graduating after the All-Star break and see him being challenged a little bit more.”

Morales, 21, signed with the A’s out of Cuba in January 2023 during the international signing period. The right-hander has had mixed results with Single-A Lansing, posting a 4.46 ERA with 41 strikeouts over 38 1/3 innings, but features promise as a starter moving forward. At 6’3”, 190 pounds, Morales features a fastball that sits in the mid-to-high 90s and can touch triple digits, complementing the heat with a curveball, slider and changeup.

Injury updates

• Right-handers Ross Stripling (right elbow flexor strain) and Paul Blackburn (right foot stress reaction) will throw live bullpens on Wednesday. If everything goes well, they will go out on a rehab assignment together.
• Outfielder Esteury Ruiz (left wrist strain) and infielder Darell Hernaiz (left ankle sprain) are both in a hitting progression and advancing in the right direction. They will begin running the bases following their hitting progression, then go out for a rehab assignment.
• Left-hander Kyle Muller (left shoulder tendinitis) is scheduled to throw around 45 pitches tonight for Triple-A Las Vegas. Following his outing, the team will determine whether he needs another rehab outing or if he can rejoin the team.
• Dany Jiménez (strained left oblique) is progressing towards a throwing program.
• Left-hander Alex Wood (left rotator cuff tendinitis) is making “a lot of progress” and could start a throwing progression next week.
• Infielder Abraham Toro (strained right hamstring) will “hopefully” start a running progression this week.