A’s roster moves: Noda, Salinas claimed off waivers; Muller and Nevin outrighted

Losing a pair of talented players to the waiver wire

The Athletics announced a few subtractions from the team on Friday afternoon, the second day of the offseason:

The big news from that announcement is the loss of first baseman Ryan Noda to the division-rival Angels. The former Rule 5 pick made it through his rookie season with the club in 2023 and looked decent enough to earn regular playing time at first base, save for the tough left-hander on the mound as Noda looked solid against right-handed pitching but predictably struggled against same-handed pitchers. He began the ‘24 season as the starter at first again but quickly found himself in Triple-A with massive struggles and the Rule 5 tag not applying anymore. That’s where he spent most of the year save for a quick stint in September with expanded rosters. He’ll now join the rival Angels but it’s not inconceivable that he bounces around this off-season. He’s fantastic on defense at first base, draws plenty of walks and might recover some power with a healthy season. It’s a loss for the Athletics organization.

The other player the organization lost today was pitching prospect Royber Salinas, a right-hander that made it to Triple-A by the end of 2024. Originally acquired as part of the return for All-Star catcher Sean Murphy, Salinas spent the past two seasons as a starting pitcher in the minors but looked shaky at best. Still, Salinas was one of the pieces for Murphy and a top-30 prospect in the organization. It’s likely that the team hoped to sneak him through waivers but the Atlanta Braves saw enough to scoop him up and potentially transition him to a reliever role, which many scouts saw as his ultimate future. This one doesn’t feel good, either.

The other two moves on the day saw left-handed pitcher Kyle Muller and right-handed hitter Tyler Nevin both outrighted off the 40-man roster. Muller, who was also part of the return for Murphy, has fallen far over the past couple years. Given the Opening Night start to begin the 2023 season, Muller looked solid in that first start while earning the win on Opening Night against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels. Things would mostly only go south from there for Muller as ineffectiveness first cost him his rotation slot, then his active roster spot, and now his 40-man roster spot. No one knows what the future holds for Muller in regards with the Athletics but it just feels like a change for both sides might be best at this point. For now, he’s still in the organization but off the 40-man roster.

As for Nevin, the right-handed hitter played all over for the Athletics in 2024, playing in both infield corners as well as both outfield corners. Nevin had his moments with the club but ultimately only hit .204/.288/.331 with seven home runs. The 27-year old will act as a depth piece for the club and with the way things are on the major league roster at the moment it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the journeyman make it back to the major league roster at some point next season with his positional fleixibility.

Those four moves open up four more spots on the 40-man roster, and with the recent loss of Tristan Gray off waivers the total now stands at 8 open spots. The team will surely be filling those over the next few days and weeks and as frustrating as some of the losses from today were, the gains will be exciting. Stay tuned.