A's Kyle Muller elects free agency

Apr 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA;  Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Kyle Muller (39) delivers a pitch during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images
Apr 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Kyle Muller (39) delivers a pitch during the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images / James A. Pittman-Imagn Images
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After being outrighted from the roster for the second time this year, A's lefty Kyle Muller has elected free agency. The southpaw posted a 4.01 ERA across 49 1/3 innings with Oakland this season, and a big reason for his improvement came from lowering his walk rate to five percent for the year.

Muller was DFA'd in August and was able to get stretched out a bit in Triple-A before making his return to the big leagues during a mid-September road trip. When the A's returned home for their final slate of games at the Oakland Coliseum, A's on SI talked to him a bit about getting designated for assignment.

He said that he had an idea that it could happen to him heading into this season because he was out of options, and once Ross Stripling was moved to the bullpen he kinda figured he'd be the odd-man out at some point. He didn't hold any hard feelings though, saying it's just part of the business side of the game.

Obviously the A's are hoping to take another step forward in 2025 with the goal of reaching .500 already out there. While the A's may not view Muller as a starting option for the club, the work he did early in the season as the team's long-man really helped the A's avoid a similar start to the 2023 season when the bullpen was overworked and became gassed in the first few weeks. Muller and Mitch Spence gobbled up innings regularly and saved the rest of the bullpen in April of 2024.

From the A's perspective, it's always tough to have a guy that's out of options and that isn't quite established in the big leagues on the roster, because not all progress is a straight line. There will be steps backwards occasionally, too, and when they don't have options remaining, that means they can't be sent to the minors to tinker or get some confidence without being subjected to waivers first.

The decision by the A's to DFA Muller was likely due to that lack of roster flexibility that the A's will be looking to maximize in 2025.

For Muller, he showed enough improvement and command that he will likely end up with another opportunity elsewhere. There could even be a team around the league that is looking to take a chance on giving him some innings in the rotation, which is where he still thinks he pitches best.


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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.