The Oakland Athletics have signed right-handed pitcher Austin Pruitt to a minor league contract, as reported by MLB.com’s transactions tracker. Pruitt has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas, providing the A’s with additional pitching depth outside of their current roster.
Pruitt is a familiar face for the Athletics, having played for the team during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Over those two years, he pitched 103 2/3 innings for Oakland, posting an ERA of 3.65. While his strikeout rate of 16.2% was below average, he demonstrated solid control with a 5% walk rate and an average ground ball rate of 41.2%.
This has been the general pattern throughout Pruitt’s career, which includes stints with the Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, and Texas Rangers. Over his 315 major league innings, Pruitt has maintained a 4.54 ERA, a 16.6% strikeout rate, a 5.6% walk rate, and a 45.7% ground ball rate.
At the end of last season, Pruitt was removed from Oakland’s roster and subsequently signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He was added to their major league roster in mid-April but only made four appearances before suffering a right knee medial meniscus injury.
After starting a rehab assignment in late June, the Rangers released him at the end of July instead of reinstating him.
After three weeks as a free agent, Pruitt has now returned to a familiar organization by signing with the Athletics. Oakland currently has several veteran pitchers on the injured list, including Austin Adams, Scott Alexander, Alex Wood, and Trevor Gott. With the active roster short on experience, Pruitt could be called up to provide the A’s with a seasoned arm if needed.
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