Left-hander Kyle Muller, one of the headliners of the A’s ill-fated Sean Murphy trade a year and a half ago, was designated for assignment on Tuesday.
Oakland cut ties with the 27-year-old Muller, who went 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 18 appearances as a long reliever this year, in order to recall right-hander Joe Boyle from Triple-A. Boyle was on the Opening Day roster and went 2-5 with a 7.16 ERA in seven starts before injuring his lower back and later being optioned to Las Vegas.
After being acquired from Atlanta in Muller was Oakland’s Opening Day starter in 2023. Muller wound up going 1-6 with a 6.39 ERA in 39 games during parts of two seasons in Oakland. The A’s have seven days to either trade Muller or place him on outright or unconditional waivers.
Muller and speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz were the key pieces the A’s received in their three-team, nine-player deal that sent Murphy to Atlanta in December of 2022. Oakland’s trade return has been extremely disappointing as none of the five players are with them in the big leagues. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz, the other headliner, has struggled in the majors and is currently injured in Triple-A. Muller and righty Freddy Tarnok were designated for assignment, catcher Manny Pina was released after four games and minor league reliever Royber Salinas is out for the year after producing a 9.95 ERA in two Triple-A games.
What made the Murphy trade even more disastrous for Oakland was the fact they got star catcher William Contreras from Atlanta and flipped him to Milwaukee for Ruiz as part of the deal.
Meanwhile, the hard-throwing Boyle could find his way back into the A’s rotation after seemingly sorting things out in his last five Triple-A starts. He is 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA and a .477 opponents OPS over the last month with Vegas. His first seven minor-league starts this year produced a 0-3 record and an 11.15 ERA.