Athletics

Enright spent the last two seasons as pitching coach for the Angels. Over that stretch, the Angels posted a 4.73 ERA and a poor 20.4 percent strikeout rate. Enright will now be working primarily with minor league pitchers as Mike Maddux serves as the MLB pitching coach, so perhaps he’ll have more success in that role.

Lavastida bolsters the Athletics’ catching depth behind starter Shea Langeliers and veteran journeyman Austin Wynns. The 27-year-old former prospect appeared in six games for the Guardians back in 2023 and hasn’t been back to the majors ever since. He’s merely an emergency depth addition at this juncture.

Langeliers had a strong season, hitting .277/.325/.536 with 31 home runs, 72 RBI, and seven steals in 123 games. He’ll be a fixture in the middle of the A’s lineup again in 2026.

Waldichuk’s velocity was down about two mph as he returned from Tommy John surgery last summer, so the A’s left him in the minors and he went on to post an 8.65 ERA in 15 starts and one relief appearance in Triple-A. He looked like a potential middle-of-the-rotation arm when he debuted in 2022, and there’s the chance he’ll be stronger in his first full year back. The Braves figure to stick him in Triple-A and see what happens.

Serven last appeared in the majors with the Blue Jays in 2024. He spent 2025 with the Detroit Tigers, slashing .232/.335/.313 with three home runs in 62 games at Triple-A Toledo. He’s simply organizational catching depth.

Marlowe had a tremendous 2024 season in Triple-A with the Mariners and forced his way into nine MLB plate appearances. Unfortunately, he battled injuries in 2025 and was limited to 46 games at Triple-A, posting a .316/.401/.474 slash line with four home runs and 12 steals. There’s a good chance that he could win a job as a fourth outfielder for the Athletics.

The 31-year-old Hernandez, a slider specialist with an 89-92 mph fastball, has a 7.06 ERA in 21 2/3 major league innings with the Padres and Astros. He’ll compete for a spot in the A’s bullpen during spring training.

Couldn’t have saved this until tomorrow, eh? Soderstrom looked like trade bait after Nick Kurtz pushed him off first base, but he adapted to left field much better than anyone would have expected and it seems like he’ll be just fine there for the long term. He also broke through offensively in hitting .276/.346/.474 at age 23, and while the ballpark switch helped there, he actually fared better in road games than at home (.837 OPS to .804). Soderstrom would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time after next season and free agency following 2029. Passan says the new deal could make out at $131 million over eight years.

The Athletics needed a spot on the 40-man roster after acquiring Jeff McNeil, so Waldichuk was let go. The 27-year-old missed all of 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, so it’s unlikely anybody will claim him on waivers. He will then decide if he wants to stay in the Athletics’ organization or try his luck elsewhere.

This deal was reported earlier in the day and is now official. It seems likely that McNeil will shift back to the infield for the Athletics and take over the starting second base job. While contact skills remain, McNeil’s production has fallen off from his strong 2022 season. Playing in a minor league ballpark might help him a bit, but the smaller field will actually mean less room in the gap which could hurt his batting average upside more than you’d think.