Mark

Leiter Jr.

The 35-year-old right-hander had been sidelined since June 18 due to a right hip impingement. He returns to a 4.85 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 31/10 K/BB ratio over 29 2/3 innings through his first 32 appearances out of the A’s bullpen this season. Geoff Hartlieb was designated for assignment in a corresponding move on Friday.

Leiter started slow, but he’d allowed just one run in his last 14 innings of work out of the A’s pen, and he’d recorded three holds as an eighth-inning guy over the last couple of weeks. His absence should result in more late-game work for Mason Barnett.

Leiter came in to pitch the bottom of the 10th and had to deal with the free runner at second in a one-run game. He gave up a single to Jo Adell that moved that runner to third, but he was able to strikeout Josh Lowe, and Jorge Soler bounced into a double play to end the threat and the game. Leiter has four saves on the season with a 6.23 ERA over 24 appearances.

The A’s were down only 1-0 went Leiter entered to start the seventh, but it was 4-0 when he departed and 6-0 by the time the inning ended. The showing pushed his ERA up to 7.98, so it’s probably a good bet that he won’t be adding to his save total of two any time soon.

Joel Kuhnel got five outs between the eighth and ninth tonight, but since it was 5-1 when he entered, he wasn’t in line for a save. Leiter came in with one on in a 5-2 game in the ninth and walked Isaac Collins before striking out Jac Caglianone to end the game. It’s his third save, but he has a 6.23 ERA and seems to be only a minor part of the Athletics’’ closer-by-committee situation at the moment.

Mark Leiter Jr., who was brought in with a 6-2 lead in the eighth, gave up a three-run homer to Jake Burger, necessitating Kuhnel’s early entrance. All worked out for the A’s, though, as Kuhnel retired the four batters he faced. He’s 3-for-3 saving games and has yet to allow a run since being called up on Apr. 7. There still isn’t much reason to believe Kuhnel will be an above reliever going forward, but he’s definitely the pitcher worth rostering in the A’s pen at the moment.

Leiter Jr. got the call on Tuesday to close out the game against the Rangers with a one-run lead. He shut the door with a clean inning, striking out two for his second save of the season. He’ll remain in the closer mix for the A’s, with Hogan Harris and Joel Kuhnel recording the previous two saves. Just don’t expect any consistency here. Leiter Jr. holds a 6.14 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP across 7 1/3 innings.

If anyone in the A’s pen was worth taking a flier on, it seemed to be Leiter, and he made good for one day, at least. Hogan Harris, Justin Sterner and Scott Barlow all also pitched scoreless innings for holds. We wouldn’t bet big on Leiter getting consistent save chances with the A’s still trying to figure out their bullpen hierarchy, but the team lacks any clearly better options.

Kelly replaced Hogan Harris on the mound for the A’s with the bases loaded and two outs with a one-run lead in the eighth. He was able to escape the inning and returned for the ninth before blowing the save chance on a solo homer by Alejandro Kirk. Harris had given up two runs in the eighth, while Mark Leiter Jr. and Elvis Alvarado surrendered runs in the sixth and seventh. The takeaway here is to avoid the situation if hunting for saves.

Leiter has allowed one run through four innings this spring, so he’s still shaping up as a strong candidate for saves with the A’s. Ideally, a younger reliever would step up, but until it happens, Leiter might be the safest pick.