6 HRS AGO - Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports Muller was roughted up Friday after being announced as the Opening Day starter Opening Day starters for all 30 teams were announced by Major League Baseball Friday with the Oakland Athletics tabbing young lefty Kyle Muller. Muller was one of the principle pieces obtained in the three-team trade that sent Sean Murphy to Atlanta this offseason. The announcement comes as a bit of a surprise, but with Paul Blackburn delayed due to a torn fingernail, Drew Rucinski slowed by a tight hamstring and James Kaprielian still working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, it was almost Muller by default. Concern was ratcheted up even higher when Muller went out Friday and struggled in a 12-0 loss to the White Sox. Muller allowed eight runs in just 3 2/3 innings. Only four of the runs were earned, but he also allowed 10 hits, including a pair of homers. A’s manager Mark Kotsay wasn’t too concerned about the performance after the game as he told Collapse

21 HRS AGO - Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Kyle Muller struggles early as Chicago takes early lead and never look back. The Oakland A’s played host to the visiting Chicago White Sox at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona for the first game of a split squad doubleheader. Fresh off being named the Opening Day starter, lefty Kyle Muller took the bump against Dylan Cease, the White Sox Opening Day starter. As the game unfolded, there was little doubt as to why Cease was picked by Chicago. Today’s start by Muller left Athletics’ fans scratching their heads. Muller’s disastrous first inning for the A’s set the tone for the entire game. He was hit early and often, giving up four earned runs off six Chicago base hits. The former first round pick gave up a two-run homer to Yoan Moncada and struggled to stop the bleeding. Romy Gonzalez scored Luis Robert Jr on a sacrifice fly and Hanser Albeto’s double scored Eloy Jimenez. Muller ended the inning striking out Selby Zavala and Jake Marisnick. The Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images Muller’s first career start for Oakland will come on Opening Day. The Oakland Athletics officially announced Friday that Kyle Muller will get the start on Opening Day against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels. The A’s acquired Muller during the offseason in the big three-team trade that sent Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves. Kyle Muller gets the ball on #OpeningDay! pic.twitter.com/3cAwAR6RHr— Oakland A's (@Athletics) March 24, 2023 While Muller earned a rotation spot with his spring performance, he probably wasn't the first choice for Opening Day. Paul Blackburn would have been the likely candidate, but he is dealing with a torn fingernail on his pitching hand and his start to the season will be delayed. Muller has appeared in just 12 games during his brief major league career with 11 of those coming as starting assignments. He has a career 5.14 ERA and a 4.05 FIP to go along with 49 strikeouts in 49 career innings. He had Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Oakland takes on Texas in a night game. The Oakland Athletics are back in action Thursday evening when they take on the Texas Rangers in Cactus League action. JP Sears will get the start for Oakland while the Rangers will go with lefty Cole Ragans. Sears will be making his fifth appearance of the spring and is still in the mix for a spot in the rotation to start the season. He got off to a bit of a rocky start this spring, but has pitched better of late. Sears allowed three hits, two runs and struck out six over five innings against the Giants in his last time out. Domingo Acevado, Drew Steckenrider and Chad Smith are also scheduled to pitch in Thursday’s game. The A’s will roll out a different looking lineup for Thursday’s game. Nick Allen will lead off and play shortstop. Ryan Noda will start at first base and will bat third. Cristian Pache gets another start in center field and will hit ninth. A’s lineup at Rangers: Allen SS, Capel RF, Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Jesus Aguilar launched his first home run of Spring Training to tie the game with the Chicago Cubs 1-1 in the 4th inning. . | Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports Kaprielian continues to pitch well even in A’s Spring Training Loss While the baseball world is still abuzz from the incredible World Baseball Classic (WBC) Championship game last night, our A’s were back in action at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa to take on the Chicago Cubs. James Kaprielian took the mound after an impressive start Friday against the Giants. The Cubs jumped out in front in the first on free agent acquisition Cody Bellinger’s solo homer to right field. Both teams were frustrated early on by double play balls; three in the first two innings. Jesus Aguilar tied the score in the bottom of the fourth with a majestic homer to left field. It was his first homer this spring and his seventh RBI. The Cubs looked like they may take the lead in the top of the fifth with two runners on and one out, but Shea Langeliers Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images MLB news roundup Happy Wednesday, Athletics Nation! Few of us here are fans of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but it’s pretty hard to deny that the Shohei Ohtani versus Mike Trout finale to the World Baseball Classic was, well, classic. With Japan holding just a one run lead in the ninth inning, the two best baseball players on the planet faced off with the game on the line. Trout struggled to make contact with Ohtani’s triple digit heaters, but managed to work a full count before striking out swinging on an 87mph slider, sealing a 3-2 victory for Japan. Shohei Ohtani STRIKING out MIKE TROUT to win the WBC is ICONIC. That’s a bad man. pic.twitter.com/0MBM3O1f8b— Swipa (@SwipaCam) March 22, 2023 Ohtani got the save and was named the MVP of the tournament. He excelled on offense and on the mound, slashing .435/.606/.739 and striking out 11 in 9⅔ innings with a 1.86 ERA. Team USA jumped to an early lead in the second inning on this Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports MLB news roundup Welcome to Tuesday, Athletics Nation! With the recent news that backup catcher Manny Pina would begin the season on the injured list, the Oakland A’s decided to beef up their catching depth, signing veteran Carlos Perez to a minor-league deal for the coming season. He was then assigned to minor-league camp. It’s been a while since the 32-year-old Perez saw major-league action, last appearing in the bigs all the way back in 2018 (for the Braves and Rangers). He did make it into 86/87 games in 2014/‘15 respectively, though, and is a career .215/.257/.319 hitter with 11 career bombs in The Show. He’s not being brought in for his bat, to be sure. He’s generally been considered a solid defender behind the plate and has a terrific 38.4% caught-stealing rate. Perez spent last season with the Colorado Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate and put up an impressive season, hitting .254/.341/.524 with 31 home runs. The only caveat is that Collapse

5 DAYS AGO - Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images Oakland now has 36 players remaining in camp. The Oakland Athletics announced their latest round of roster cuts following Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The A’s announced that they have reassigned pitcher Jake Fishman, right-hander Rico Garcia, catcher Tyler Soderstrom, infielder Zack Gelof and outfielder Denzel Clarke to minor league camp. The team now has 36 players remaining in camp. The A’s have reassigned left-handed pitcher Jake Fishman, right-handed pitcher Rico Garcia, catcher Tyler Soderstrom, infielder Zack Gelof and outfielder Denzel Clarke to their minor league camp.— Oakland A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) March 20, 2023 Soderstrom and Gelof are the biggest names here, but there never was much of a chance that either would crack the Opening Day roster. Both turned in good spring performances and could be a factor at some point during the 2023 season. Clarke split last season between Low Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images The list is now complete The Athletics Nation Community Prospect List for the 2023 season is now complete as Hogan Harris edged out outfielder Conner Capel to take the final spot. Here is a look at the complete list: Tyler Soderstrom, C/1B Ken Waldichuk, LHP Zack Gelof, 2B/3B Esteury Ruiz, OF Mason Miller, RHP Kyle Muller, LHP Jordan Diaz, INF Lawrence Butler, OF Daniel Susac, C Max Muncy, SS Denzel Clarke, OF Freddy Tarnok, RHP Darell Hernaiz, INF Brett Harris, 3B J.T. Ginn, RHP Gunnar Hoglund, RHP Ryan Noda, 1B Luis Morales, RHP Luis Medina, RHP Royber Salinas, RHP Henry Bolte, OF Ryan Cusick, RHP Junior Perez, OF Clark Elliott, OF Hogan Harris, LHP I think this is a good list and while we could have kept going, it is somewhat refreshing knowing that some good prospects got left off as that bodes well for the future. Those that just missed in order of most votes received on the final ballot are: Conner Capel, Collapse