Athletics recall Jonah Bride, add Tayler Scott to roster

Bride has continued to rake at AAA since being optioned while Scott is extending his run in the majors.

The Oakland Athletics are recalling infielder Jonah Bride to take the roster spot of Ryan Noda, who’s heading to the 10-day IL with a fractured jaw. Newly added reliever Tayler Scott is also joining the roster after being acquired via waivers yesterday. He’ll slot into the bullpen for Shintaro Fujinami, who was traded to the Baltimore Orioles yesterday.

Bride has been tearing up AAA pitching all year, carrying a .316/.432/.568 slash line with 10 homeruns so far this season. Even in the extremely hitter-friendly confines of Las Vegas Ballpark, that equates to a 141 wRC+. The 27-year-old didn’t have much success at the plate in his month-long stint in the majors, though much of that may be due to poor luck. While he only has a .262 wOBA, Statcast credits him with a very solid .348 xwOBA, which is a great improvement over his .282 xwOBA last season. He’s making harder contact with the bat and if it can start translating to hits, combined with an 11.1% walk rate, he could be a very solid utilityman.

The other addition is Scott, who had been pitching in the majors with the Boston Red Sox until he was designated for assignment on July 16. The A’s put in a claim and added him to their 40-man roster. It’s now confirmed that he’ll be directly joining the major league team rather than getting work in AAA. The 31-year-old righty also has a solid track record in the minors, especially this season as he’s held opposing lineups to a 1.59 ERA and struck out over 30% of batters faced. However, like Bride, he’s thus far struggled to translate that success to the majors, putting up a 7.45 ERA/5.39 FIP with the Red Sox. The A’s will take a flier on him as they have for many relievers this season with the hopes of stabilizing a major-league worst bullpen.