There have been a lot of surprising developments early on this season in the American League West, but perhaps the biggest surprise of the bunch is the fact that the Oakland Athletics are sitting in third place currently. While their 19-26 record is nothing to write home about, it's far better than what many fans had expected of them entering the year.
Conversely, the Houston Astros, who have dominated the division for nearly a decade now, sit below the Athletics in the standings with an 18-25 record. These two teams are surprisingly competing with each other right now, but that didn't stop them from pulling off a trade on Thursday that saw Brandon Bielak head to Oakland in exchange for cash considerations.
Via Chandler Rome:
“The Astros have traded Brandon Bielak to the A's for cash considerations.”
Athletics hoping Brandon Bielak can rediscover 2023 form
Bielak had been with the Astros since 2020 as an on-again-off-again part of their pitching staff. He finally seemed to find a consistent home in 2023 when he appeared in 15 games for Houston (13 of which were starts) and generally put up good numbers (5-6, 3.83 ERA, 62 K, 1.53 WHIP). After being sent back to the bullpen this season, though, Bielak has struggled in limited action (0-0, 5.71 ERA, 9 K, 1.67 WHIP) resulting in him getting dealt to the Athletics.
The Athletics always seem to need pitching help, and that is true once again this season. Bielak is a versatile piece who can pitch in any sort of situation, although he will have to build his arm back up if they intend on using him as a starter. But chances are, Bielak will be thrown in the bullpen for the time being with the hope being that a change of scenery can help him get back on track.
Houston's pitching hasn't been great this season, but they no longer had a need for the struggling Bielak, and opted to get something in return for him from the Athletics. Just getting cash considerations isn't exactly glamorous, but it's better than losing him for nothing, and realistically speaking, Bielak was never going to yield a massive return for the ‘Stros.
Bielak's upside as a back-of-the-rotation starter was likely enough to convince the Athletics to take a flier on him, as they can use all the help they can get right now. Bielak has a track record of struggling in the majors, so there's no guarantee he will pan out, but again, the cash being sent the other way is nothing worth losing sleep over.
Even if Bielak can find a way to carve out a role for himself in Oakland's pitching staff, he's not going to magically turn them into a playoff contender overnight. You can never have enough good pitchers on your team, though, and it will be interesting to see if Bielak can make the Astros regret dumping him to the A's in this under-the-radar move.
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