Houston Astros demand relief from Oakland A’s

The Houston Astros have claimed reliever Alex Speas from the Oakland A’s. To make room for Speas on the 40-man roster, Houston has DFA outfielder Corey Julks to make room for the right-hander on the roster. He was assigned to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

Speas was traded to the A’s in early April by the Chicago White Sox for cash and spent his entire time in the organization in Triple-A with the Las Vegas Aviators. He posted an 11.32 ERA in 10 1/3 innings, allowing 16 hits, 13 earned runs, walking seven and striking out 15. His batting average against was .356.

His last outing was Saturday, and he sat at 91.7 mph with his cutter, which he threw 52 percent of the time, and 98.5 mph with his four-seamer, which was used for 35 % of his throws. He also mixed in a 13% slider, which sat at 90.5.

So far this season, his slugging percentage (61%) is the highest since his first year of pro ball in 2016 (62%), but he also throws more pitches per inning (21.47) than per pass.

One stat that might give Houston fans some hope is that his BABIP with Las Vegas has been an astronomical .464. That represents a decent drop-off over the course of the season, and when that happens we could see better results from the 26-year-old.

The A’s had designated Speas for assignment Wednesday to free up a spot for Easton Lucas on their 40-man roster.

Speas is now one of four Astros relievers in Triple-A on the 40-man roster, joining Dylan Coleman, Parker Mushinski and Forrest Whitley. Houston’s bullpen ERA this season sits at 4.66 with a FIP of 4.48. In May, the results were better with the relief arms posting a 3.67 ERA, but their 5.02 FIP suggests the pitching hasn’t necessarily improved, just the results.

We’ll see if Speas can return to the big leagues this season with Houston after making his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers last season.