Joey

Meneses

The Athletics need some catching depth with Shea Langeliers’ (thumb) availability in question, so Meneses will head back to the minors and be replaced by Brian Serven on the active roster.

The A’s will get their superstar first baseman a breather with left-hander Sam Aldegheri on the slab for the Angels. Expect him to make an appearance off the bench should a key late-game situation arise. Joey Meneses will start in his place at first base and will bat second for the A’s on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.

Meneses receives his first opportunity in the big leagues since his time with the Nationals back in 2024. The 34-year-old first baseman gets a look in a bench role with the Athletics after hitting an absurd .347 with 11 round-trippers in 34 games at Triple-A Las Vegas.

It’s been a hot minute since Meneses was an interesting fantasy option, but landing in extremely hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento gives him a shot at deep-league relevance. The 34-year-old veteran hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since he was with the Nationals back in 2024. He earns another shot after hitting .347 with 11 round-trippers in 34 games at Triple-A Las Vegas.

Nuñez was awful in his limited action in 2025 with a 7.11 ERA and 1.90 WHIP over 10 appearances. The 26-year-old will likely be an up-and-down option for the A’s in 2026.

The Athletics are one of the few organizations with an overabundance of first base and DH options heading into next season with the emergence of AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz and veteran slugger Brent Rooker occupying the full-time DH role. Meneses didn’t appear in the big leagues last year but was an everyday regular for the Nationals from 2022-2024, hitting .274/.322/.408 with 29 homers and three steals in 286 contests during that span.

Meneses, 32, was brought in as a non-roster invite, and won’t be a part of the Mets to open the 2025 campaign. Gose and Reid-Foley are both non-roster invitees as well who will need to be added to the 40-man roster to pitch for New York this summer.

The Mets’ obviously want to bring back Pete Alonso as their starting first baseman for the 2025 season and beyond, but in the event that he signs elsewhere, building quality depth at the position isn’t a terrible idea. Meneses, 32, struggled mightily at the dish in 2024, but he’s just one year removed from a season in which he slashed .275/.321/.401 for the Nationals with 13 homers and 89 RBI.

All three have elected free agency and will search for new opportunities after being jettisoned from Washington’s 40-man roster. Of the trio, Meneses was the only one with any semblance of fantasy relevance in the past few years, but he was unable to parlay his late-career breakthrough into a long-term role with the Nationals.

Menses is hitting .235 on the season with three home runs and a 63/21 K/BB ratio in 75 games. He is also coming off a month of June in which he hit just .198; however, he was 4-for-12 in his first three games in July. No corresponding move has been announced and Joey Gallo has yet to start a rehab assignment, so the Nationals could opt to use Jesse Winker at first base in the near future.