The Athletics have claimed outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates, adding another arm to the depth chart as Oakland tinkers with its 40-man roster down the stretch.
For Rodríguez, this is less a fresh start than the latest stop on a whirlwind ride. The 26-year-old was a 2017 Guardians draft pick who got designated for assignment by Cleveland back in March, landed with the Orioles in a trade, got DFA'd there in July, bounced to the Pirates, and lasted only a few weeks in Pittsburgh before getting cut loose again. Oakland is organization number 4 for him in a span of roughly 5 months.
To open a 40-man spot for the claim, the A's transferred outfielder Tyler Soderstrom to the 60-day injured list, a corresponding move that reflects a tougher storyline: Soderstrom reportedly needs season-ending hip surgery. Rodríguez, meanwhile, has been optioned straight to Triple-A Las Vegas rather than joining the big league club right away.
The appeal is obvious on paper. Rodríguez has raked at Triple-A, hitting a combined.298/.388/.508 across more than 1,400 plate appearances at that level, numbers that would play anywhere. The problem is he hasn't been able to translate it to the majors, hitting just.177/.288/.301 with a strikeout rate north of 31% in limited big league at-bats, with scouts pointing to trouble handling spin as the culprit.
Still, he's young enough and cheap enough that the risk is minimal. With under a year of service time and remaining minor league options, Oakland can stash him in Las Vegas, let him keep hitting, and see if a fourth organization is the one that finally unlocks the bat against big league arms. For a rebuilding club stockpiling upside, that's a low-cost bet worth making.