Domingo

Acevedo

Acevedo cleared waivers after being designated for assignment. There’s a good chance he’ll reemerge in the beleaguered Oakland bullpen later this season.

Acevedo has been scored upon in three out of four appearances since returning from a knee injury and has now been bumped off the 40-man roster. The 29-year-old was pretty good with the A’s last year and could draw some interest around the league.

Acevedo went down earlier this month with a back strain, but he managed to return as soon as he was eligible. The 29-year-old allowed eight runs in 5 1/3 innings to begin the year prior to the injury and will look for better results in his return. With the status of this bullpen, it’s not crazy to think he could find himself in the late-inning mix before long.

No, Acevedo isn’t in Las Vegas scouting potential ballpark sites. He’s merely working his way back from a left back strain that he suffered last week when he slipped on the dugout steps. It’s difficult to find a more fitting metaphor for the state of the Athletics franchise at the moment unless you count the literal opossum in the press box earlier this year.

Acevedo suffered the injury during Monday’s game against the Orioles when he slipped on the dugout steps. He’s given up two homers and eight runs in 5 1/3 innings out of the Athletics’ bullpen, so he wasn’t much of a part of the closing picture at this point. He’ll likely be asked to throw a few innings at Triple-A Las Vegas before being returning.

The A’s were down 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth tonight, so they didn’t necessarily have their pen lined up the same way they would have if they were leading much of the game. Still, Jiménez might have gotten that save chance anyway, given that Trevor May had a very difficult spring. May did wind up with the win tonight after throwing a scoreless eighth. Jiménez wasn’t great this spring, either, finishing with a 5.00 ERA and a 5/6 K/BB ratio in nine innings. We have the most faith in Domingo Acevedo out of anyone in the A’s pen for the short term, though that’s not saying a lot. He pitched a perfect seventh tonight.

Probably a little unfair to give Acevedo the blown save, here, as Livan Soto advanced to third base on a single and two errors to lead off the top of the ninth. Granted, one of those errors was by the closer, himself, so perhaps it all evened out in the end. Matt Duffy made certain that Acevedo and crew paid for their sloppy ball, notching a subsequent game-tying RBI single. Acevedo is now 4-of-8 in save chances with a 3.33 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 58/17 K/BB ratio in 67 2/3 innings.

Acevedo had no safety net to work with in this one, as he came in for the ninth with the A’s clinging to a 2-1 lead. While he did allow a leadoff infield single to Julio Rodríguez, the 28-year-old reliever quickly squashed the would-be rally, inducing a double-play ball from Ty France before ending the game with a swinging strikeout of Mitch Haniger. Acevedo is now 4-of-7 in save chances while working to a 3.34 ERA and 55/16 K/BB ratio across 64 2/3 innings this season.

Acevedo entered for the top of the ninth with the A’s holding a 4-1 advantage and he kept things right where they needed to be, wrapping up having struck out one while throwing 10 pitches (seven strikes). Acevedo improved to 3-of-6 in save chances this season with Tuesday’s successful conversion. He holds a 3.39 ERA and 54/16 K/BB ratio in 63 2/3 innings this season.

Acevedo allowed a hit without picking up a strikeout or walk. The right-hander has his second save of the season, and should see more chances over the final few weeks.