Elephant Rumblings: A’s Re- Lefty Ben Bowden, Others To Minors Deals

SB Nation

Happy Friday everyone! Ready for the pre-Thanksgiving weekend?

Yesterday afternoon we learned that the A’s made a trio of additions to their minor league depth. The club is bringing back one familiar face

in lefty reliever Ben Bowden, plus two new faces in right-handed reliever Geoff Hartlieb and first baseman Joey Meneses:

The 31-year-old Bowden finally made it back to the big leagues after three years in the minors. Bowden’s return should provide some left-handed pitching depth for a bullpen that currently has very few options on the 40-man roster or down on the farm. Bowden impressed in 31 games for the Aviators last season before getting a call-up to the A’s. He didn’t quite look as sharp in the big leagues but still managed to have a scoreless outing in seven of his 11 appearances. His season ended early due to a shoulder strain but all indications are that he’ll be throwing this offseason and be ready come Spring Training. We’ll almost certainly be seeing him suit up for the A’s next year.

Hartlieb meanwhile has more big league experience than Bowden, having pitched in the majors in six separate seasons spanning seven years. The soon-to-be 32-year-old right-hander made his big league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019 and pitched in 50 games for them over the next two seasons but the journeyman has made only 18 total appearances since then. His minor league numbers haven’t been very strong during that time as he’s bounced around the league and he’ll now be joining his ninth organization. Very much a depth piece but you never know.

And then we have the only position player added so far this offseason in Meneses. The definition of a late-bloomer, the righty-swinging Meneses burst onto the scene with the Washington Nationals in 2022, hitting .324 to go along with 13 home runs in just 56 games as a 30-year-old rookie. The first baseman predictably took a step back the following season but it wasn’t as drastic as one might expect as he remained a productive everyday player for a rebuilding Nats club.

His third season saw him take another, bigger step back at the plate and Washington elected to option him in the middle of the 2024 season and ultimately move on from him in the offseason. He then signed with the New York Mets, where he spent all of last season with their Triple-A team. He hit a solid .265 with 11 long balls but ultimately didn’t make it to the major leagues last year. He’ll try to return to The Show this coming season with the A’s, though his path to playing time is severely blocked by the presences of Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker. Doesn’t hurt to have depth though!

Those were the only announced signings, but we also got one more late “addition” last night. The club has invited their first player to join them for Spring Training, inviting right-handed pitching prospect Yunior Tur to come join the A’s during camp:

Tur has been in the Athletics organization since 2023 when he signed out of Cuba. He began his pro career in a relief role but began transitioning to starting in 2024 before making it his full-time role this past season when he started 26 of his 30 games. He rose from High-A at the beginning of the season, breezed through Double-A and made it to the final minor league stop by the end of the year, though he looked a bit overpowered with the Aviators. You gotta like his goal of cracking the roster but it’s much more likely he begins next season in Triple-A, which is only one call away from the big leagues.

While those three have all been officially inked and are now under contract, the same can’t be said for reliever Nick Anderson and catcher Abrahan Gutierrez. We reported on both of those names but may have jumped the gun on announcing them as official. They will both likely put pen to paper any day now, but it’s worth monitoring until they do.

Have a great Friday everyone!

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