Lucas, we hardly knew yee
Double-header today! This morning we’re going to be taking a look at two players today, both relievers. First up: left-hander Easton Lucas.
How was he acquired?
The A’s acquired Lucas as the sole return piece for Japanese starter Shintaro Fujinami from the Baltimore Orioles. There was a lot of hype surrounding the foreigner joining the Athletics but instead ‘Fuji’ looked overmatched facing major league hitters for the first time. That signing turned out to be a big swing and a miss, but the club was at least able to get some future value out of it when they acquired Lucas from Baltimore on July 19th, 2023, adding a young and controllable lefty reliever in exchange for someone the A’s were clearly ready to move on from. Six years of a lefty reliever with some promise in exchange for a failed starting pitcher signed to a 1-year deal? I’ll take that.
What were the expectations?
A former 14th-round draft pick by the Miami Marlins back in 2019, Lucas arrived to the A’s organization after spending three years in the minors (four if you count the cancelled COVID season). He was entering his age-26 season so he was a bit on the older side for a reliever but the A’s have struck gold on older relievers like Lucas in the past. Lucas would make his MLB debut with the Athletics near the end of the 2023 season, making it into just six games with a high 8.10 ERA during that span. Not a great debut but the A’s are in the middle of a massive rebuild and can afford to let rookies like Lucas struggle.
Entering 2024 expectations were raised. Now 27, Lucas needed to have at least some success in the majors, or at least show signs of improvement. The club was fortunate that no one claimed Lucas during the Rule 5 Draft after removing him from the 40-man roster during the winter but they wouldn’t wait around forever for Lucas to earn that 40-man roster spot.
2024 Results
The 2024 season started well enough for Lucas. He didn’t begin the year with the major league team, instead heading to Triple-A to start the year. Lucas looked good during his short time in Las Vegas, pitching in 11 games and posting a solid 2.87 ERA with 13 K’s over 15 1⁄3 frames. That performance earned him his second promotion to the big leagues, joining the A’s on May 8th and taking the roster spot of fellow reliever Alex Speas.
Lucas was unfortunately unable to bring that success in the minors with him to Oakland. The lefty reliever got hit hard in just three games for the A’s, giving up six earned runs (seven total) over a small sample of just 3 2⁄3 innings. While he did rack up six strikeouts the club had evidently seen enough, electing to designate Lucas for assignment on May 16th. He was then claimed off waivers from the Detroit Tigers who also ended up designating him for assignment. The lefty reliever would finish the year in Toronto, playing in a pair of games with the Blue Jays before the season wrapped up.
2025 Outlook
No longer with the team, Lucas is now heading into his age-28 year and has shown little to nothing in the majors. Even with that bad track record though, it is still a small sample size and Lucas has had a lot of success in the upper minors. He is still on the Toronto 40-man roster as of this writing and figures to get another chance at some point during the coming 2025 season, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see him bounce around a bit more. For now however Lucas is teetering on the cusp of the majors and needs to show more in The Show than he has to this point. That chance just won’t be with the A’s.
