Oakland Athletics: Daniel Mengden, sliced, diced, and designated
The road has been tough for Daniel Mengden recently, and making his way back to MLB will be tougher now that the Oakland Athletics have designated him.
The Oakland Athletics have a knack for getting the most out of their players. For a couple of years, the team capitalized on the ability of Daniel Mengden. Unfortunately, looks like the end of the road has come for Mengden in an A’s uniform, as he was recently designated for assignment.
With the news coming as literally insult to injury, the A’s will now have to decide whether to release the oft-injured pitcher or reassign him to the alternate training site. He has officially been removed from the 40-man roster and his road back to the big leagues with the A’s is all the more difficult now.
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Mengdon was on the COVID-19 injured list before getting taken off momentarily before being designated. The offseason was brutal for the right-handed pitcher. He had two intestinal surgeries to go along with elbow surgery.
He worked his way back to appear in four games this season, three of which came out of the bullpen.
After a rocky rookie season, Mengden became a reliable arm in the starting rotation for the Oakland Athletics. From 2017-2019, he was 15-10 with an ERA around 4.00. Most of his appearances came as a starter, though the team was making use of him out of the bullpen as well.
A former fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft, Mengden sits in limbo until he finds out what the Athletics are going to do with him.
Should he be released, he will most likely latch on somewhere next year on a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Mengden does not miss many bats, as referenced by his 6.7 K/9 statistic, though he is a tested arm who will benefit whoever picks him up.
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As many injured starting pitchers do, he may have to find a home in a bullpen, either as a long reliever, or mop-up guy. One thing is for sure, his days as a major league pitcher should not be over.