The A’s announced they’ve selected reliever Tyler Ferguson onto the major league roster. Dany Jiménez was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, Oakland designated Lazaro Armenteros for assignment.
Ferguson gets his first major league call at age 30. A Vanderbilt product, he entered the professional ranks in 2015 as a sixth-round pick of the Rangers. Ferguson topped out at High-A in the Texas system and was released shortly before the start of the 2019 season. He bounced between the independent Can-Am and American Associations between brief affiliated stints in the Dodgers and Braves systems. Ferguson made it as high as Triple-A with Atlanta before qualifying for minor league free agency.
The right-hander spent last season working in multi-inning relief with Arizona’s top farm team in Reno. He posted a 5.49 ERA over 78 2/3 innings and returned to free agency. The A’s signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to MLB camp early in the winter. He tossed 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball this spring and opened the regular season in Vegas.
Ferguson has logged 15 frames over 14 appearances for the Aviators. He has allowed eight runs (only four of which were earned) while striking out 24 hitters. That strong start was enough to crack the A’s bullpen after a nearly decade-long climb through the professional ranks. He steps in for Jiménez, who has walked 13 of his first 67 opponents.
Armenteros, 25 this month, has yet to reach the big leagues. The right-handed hitting outfielder was a high-profile amateur signee out of Cuba back in 2016. Massive strikeout totals have long since damaged his prospect stock. Even though Armenteros hadn’t shown signs of significantly improving his contact skills, the A’s surprisingly added him to the 40-man roster to keep him from getting to minor league free agency at the start of last offseason.
The A’s assigned Armenteros to Triple-A for the first time this year. He has punched out a staggering 37 times in 72 plate appearances, making him the only Triple-A hitter (minimum 50 PAs) to strike out more than half the time. He’ll likely end up on waivers in the next few days. Assuming he goes unclaimed, the A’s could assign him back to Las Vegas without keeping him on the 40-man roster.