The Importance of Trevor May in the A's Bullpen

The A's closer is one of a number of players that could be moved as the trade deadline nears

Trevor May's season didn't get off to the best start. Through his first eight appearances, spanning six innings, he held a 12.00 ERA and had allowed at least one run in five of those eight appearances. On April 19th, the A's put May on the IL with issues related to anxiety. 

The veteran right-hander was sent out on a rehab stint with Triple-A Las Vegas on May 2 and completed one scoreless inning, giving up one hit and one walk. After that outing May suffered a setback in his progression and was pulled back for a couple more weeks before returning to the mound in Vegas on May 16. 

When he returned to the A's clubhouse a week later on May 23, he was a different pitcher than the one that started the season. In the time since he's come back, he holds a 2.55 ERA in 22 games (21.2 innings pitched). 

After a recent win, Mark Kotsay said of May's importance to the club after returning from the IL and locking down the closer role. 

"I tip my cap to Trevor for obviously where he stands today and how he's gotten here. That shows a lot of maturity. A lot of just self awareness. The club is benefitting from it as well right now. I'm thankful that MLB has that protocol. That he was given the time to reset and work through those challenging times. It's great to see him having success again. And not just for him personally, but like you said, the back-end of the games when he comes in it feels good." 

After losing about a tick and a half on his four-seamer this season, which now sits at 94.6 mph, he has been throwing it less and has increased the usage of his slider and changeup to keep hitters off-balance. He has also added a sweeper this season, throwing it 8% of the time, and it has taken the place of the split-finger he threw last season. He's only thrown 40 of them, but it has an opponent's batting average of .063 and a whiff% of 35%. Not bad for a brand new pitch.

With the trade deadline less than 24 hours away, there is a good chance that Trevor May has pitched his last game with the Oakland A's, as all teams need relievers this time of year as either depth options or upgrades. The righty could serve as either. 

May has been the reliever that the A's had hoped he would be this season, and now they're likely to use him as trade bait.