Oakland A’s prospect Soderstrom back in the majors as MLB rosters expand for September

Tyler Soderstrom is back after eight games at Triple-A; season-ending surgery for rotation hopeful

On Friday, the A’s recalled top prospect Tyler Soderstrom and left-hander Sam Long as teams increased their rosters from 26 to 28 players.

Soderstrom did not start the first game of the A’s weekend homestand against the Los Angeles Angels, but the catcher/first baseman/DH could fill a variety of roles in the season’s final weeks.

“Not a new face, but a new opportunity for him,” said manager Mark Kotsay prior to the game. “The message was pretty clear when he went down. We wanted him to come down and play every day so we could see him regain his confidence and do some other tangible things that we discussed with him.”

The 21-year-old catcher/first baseman has had mixed results in his major league debut. On Aug. 21, he was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas after beginning August with a 6-for-47 (.128) slump, 16 strikeouts, and a.457 on-base percentage. His stint in the minors lasted only eight games.

Soderstrom went 2 for 3 with six RBIs in his first game back at Triple-A and was 5-for-10 with ten RBIs three games later. Soderstrom, on the other hand, has gone 1 for 16 in his last five games. Soderstrom hit 21 home runs and drove in 62 runs in 77 games at Triple-A this season.

After only 78 career games above Double-A, the A’s first-round pick in 2020 made his big league debut in mid-July, hitting safely in two of his first three games. However, at the time of his demotion, he had a slash line of.165/.237/.247 in 93 plate appearances, with two home runs and 29 strikeouts.

Long has pitched in 38 games for the A’s this season, accumulating a 5.27 ERA. Long was optioned to Triple-A on August 12 and appeared in five games with the Aviators. Long allowed just one run in 6 2/3 innings in Las Vegas.

— According to Kotsay, hard-throwing Mason Miller, who has been on the IL since May 11 due to a UCL sprain in his right elbow, is scheduled to throw about 50 pitches for Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday and could be on his way back to the A’s. Since being shut down for about three months, Miller has made four appearances, two at Triple-A.

Miller, 24, burst onto the scene in mid-April, striking out 22 batters in 21 1/3 innings over four starts with the A’s before injuring his elbow. Miller’s fastball is now hitting triple digits once again. He hasn’t given up a run in two appearances for the Aviators, striking out five batters in three innings in his first game and three in one inning against Salt Lake on Tuesday. Miller, on the other hand, walked two batters against the Bees and did not return after throwing 29 pitches to get through the first.

Kotsay stated that pitching deeper into games is “something we want to see him do before we make a decision on whether or not to bring him back out here.”

• The A’s announced Thursday that promising right-hander Freddy Tarnok, one of the key players acquired in the Sean Murphy trade, had season-ending hip surgery.

Tarnok, 24, began the season late after suffering a shoulder strain during spring training. In mid-July, he made his A’s debut. He had a 4.91 ERA in 14 23 innings in five appearances, one start, allowing 11 hits and 11 walks while striking out 14.

Tarnok, who was placed on the injured list on Aug. 14 with a strained calf muscle, is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

Tarnok is a potential rotation candidate for the A’s, who have already used 21 different starting pitchers this season. In five starts at Triple-A Las Vegas this season, the former third-round draft pick posted a 1.83 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings, but he also walked 11 batters.

Tarnok, left-hander Kyle Muller, catcher Manny Pina, and right-hander Royber Salinas were acquired by the A’s from the Braves in a three-team deal for Murphy that also included A’s outfielder Esteury Ruiz from the Brewers.

• The A’s recently made room on the 40-man roster by waiving outfielders Conner Capel and Cody Thomas, as well as right-hander Spenser Watkins. None of the three were claimed, and they were assigned to Triple-A.