Oakland Athletics fans surprised as team designates outfielder Cristian Pache for assignment: "That’s crazy" "Weird to give up on him after one year"
The Oakland Athletics pulled off a surprising move as spring training draws to a close, informing young outfielder Cristian Pache that he will not make the opening day roster. Pache will be designated for assignment if the team is unable to trade him, as he is out of minor league options.
Pache, 24, was one of the main pieces the Athletics acquired in the trade that sent slugging first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves.
Christian Pache is reportedly going to be DFA’d by the A’s. He hit .302 in Spring. Interesting decision to say the least
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told reporters of the development:
"There are some teams interested, and they should be. This kid still has a big future in this game, in my opinion. He's a plus defender, and I think the offensive side always takes longer to develop. Unfortunately for us, where we're at, we kind of ran out of time with that."
Cristian Pache hit .302 with eight RBIs in 21 spring training games. However, he hit just .156 over 115 games across three seasons with the Oakland Athletics and Atlanta Braves.
In his first season with the Athletics, he hit .166 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 91 games. He is, however, known as a great defensive centerfielder with a career fielding percentage of .992, with a percentage of .995 last season.
@fuzzyfromyt Interesting that he’s going to be available. There has to be a back story to this.
@fuzzyfromyt Wasn’t a good hitter last year, but younger guy who was a former top guy? Seems like a guy you should still be giving a chance to
@fuzzyfromyt Wow that's crazy. Especially with how he was with fans and how he was a person. Not to mention his crazy glove talent.
The Oakland Athletics clearly had high hopes for Cristian Pache's bat that went unfulfilled last season. One of MLB's top-20 prospects in 2021, he was one of the centerpieces of the prospect-laden return that Oakland received for Olson. In addition to Pache, the Athletics also got catcher She Langeliers, as well as pitchers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes.
@fuzzyfromyt They basically gave up Olsen for a bag of balls and a $10 gift card to chipotle at this point
@fuzzyfromyt wasn't he part of the matt olson trade?
@fuzzyfromyt Weird to give up on him after 1 year after he was one of the main pieces in the Matt Olson trade.
Giving up on Pache after one season is not a good look for the Athletics. There's not a lot of love around the baseball world for an organization that spent nearly 25 years among the major league contenders, but has been relegated to the basement of MLB with few signs of emerging again soon – if ever.
@fuzzyfromyt One of the many decisions that proves the A’s are the worst franchise in MLB
@fuzzyfromyt I think the A’s are running a theme team in MLB the show called “worst team in the league” and are just trimming away their talent as much as they can. Not sure the captain for that theme team yet.
@fuzzyfromyt Sounds like the A’s. Scared to allow any productive players to remain on their roster
In the end, the Athletics went with another young, speedy, light-hitting centerfielder with great defensive prowess: Esteury Ruiz. Ruiz was received from the Milwaukee Brewers in a multi-team trade that sent catcher Sean Murphy from Oakland to Atlanta this offseason. Time will tell if this dealing between the Athletics and Braves will turn out better for Oakland.
@fuzzyfromyt Everyone: Since Pache is a solid younger player who hit well in spring training, and he could become a great player for the team, it means you'll be keeping him right??
The A's: https://t.co/3FKUVvGk5m
Oakland Athletics will look to trade Cristian Pache
The Athletics will have seven days to trade Pache, or else they will have to put him on waivers – making him available to every team in the league as a free agent – before possibly sending him to the minors.