Houston Astros Trade Righty to Oakland

Jason Burke | May 16, 2024

Apr 10, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Brandon Bielak (64) pitches during / William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A's have acquired Brandon Bielak from the Houston Astros for cash considerations, per the A's. To make room for Bielak on the 40-man roster, Oakland has designated left-hander Easton Lucas for assignment. Lucas was acquired last season in the Shintaro Fujinami trade with Baltimore.

Bielak was drafted by Houston in the 11th round in 2017 and has spent his entire career with the Astros. In five seasons in the Majors, he is 11-13 with one save and a 4.65 ERA, including 155 strikeouts and 85 walks in 191 2/3 innings pitched across 70 career appearances. He has started 21 of those 70 career outings, and is 6-9 with a 4.50 ERA, averaging 4 2/3 innings per start. This season, he has a 5.71 ERA in 10 relief appearances with Houston, striking out nine and walking seven in 17 1/3 innings of work. Bielak had been DFA'd by Houston to make room on the roster for a returning Cristian Javier.

Bielak, 28, has been relying on his changeup and sinker combo this season, pushing his four-seamer to the third most-used pitch after it had been his main weapon the previous four seasons. Addressing the pitch mix could be one thing the A's are looking to do to get a little more out of him, but relying on other offerings is something that is becoming more and more common in today's game too. The Red Sox as a group are a team that has been cutting their fastball usage. While it may work for some, it may not work for everyone.

In terms of velocity and movement, his pitches still have both compared with where they were last season. One interesting wrinkle is that his slider is moving just a touch more, going from 12.1 inches of horizontal break last season to 12.4 this year, but that movement went from being ranked 34th in 2023 to 8th this season.

It's also worth noting that with the addition of Bielak, the A's have three pitchers that rank in the top-11 in horizontal movement with their slider. Mitch Spence (2nd) and Paul Blackburn (11th) join Bielak on that list.

The A's have been in need of fresh arms since the beginning of last week, with Alex Wood, Paul Blackburn, and Joe Boyle all landing on the IL in the past 10 days. They also had that doubleheader last week that ate through their bullpen a bit, so getting a fresh arm on the roster, plus the seven innings Aaron Brooks put up last night, should help get Oakland back to where they need to be.