Aaron

Brooks

Five innings of one-run ball in relief Monday wasn’t enough to get Brooks a look from another major league team. He can become a free agent, but his best bet for more MLB time is to stick with the A’s.

Brooks passed through waivers unclaimed and will remain with Oakland moving forward as extra pitching depth. The 34-year-old journeyman righty has made five appearances (four starts) this season for the Athletics.

Well, that was fast. Brooks latest stint with Oakland lasted roughly 48 hours as he allowed one run over five innings, throwing 65 pitches (41 strikes) on Monday in mop-up duty against the division-rival Angels. The 34-year-old righty figures to pass through waivers unclaimed and remain with the organization as emergency pitching depth.

Brooks gets the call to fortify Oakland’s bullpen ahead of Sunday’s game against the Twins with Dany Jiménez heading to the injured list. The 34-year-old journeyman righty made four starts earlier this season for the Athletics before being jettisoned from the club’s 40-man roster. He’s likely to operate as a swingman or multi-inning low-leverage option.

Brooks went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment over the weekend. The 34-year-old righty made four underwhelming starts for the rebuilding Athletics and will most likely wind up electing free agency.

Brooks is removed from the active and 40-man roster a day after he was hit hard for seven runs over just 4 1/3 innings against Atlanta. The right-hander is booted to make room for Luis Medina, with Medina set to make his season debut Sunday against Atlanta. If Brooks goes unclaimed, he’ll either report back to Triple-A or elect free agency.

Brooks allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out one. While two of his previous three starts were quality starts, he’s now allowed at least five runs in consecutive starts. Brooks has also allowed at least seven hits in three of his four starts this year. His ERA is now 5.82 on the season. The 34-year-old right-hander is not recommended for his next start against the Blue Jays at home next weekend.

Brooks’ defense did let him down a bit on Sunday with the four unearned runs, but he also allowed nine hits and ten hard-hit baseballs. He had just three total whiffs for a nine percent whiff rate and 21 percent CSW. While he does have a 3.63 ERA, he’s not a recommended start next week against the Braves

This is definitely pushing the boundaries of the quality start; not only did he do the bare minimum in allowing three runs in six innings, but he was doing so against the road-team version of the Rockies in a strong pitcher’s park in Oakland. Still, he gave the A’s a chance to win, and they did so by scoring three runs off the Rockies pen. Brooks should remain in the rotation and face the Astros next.

Brooks was recalled for his first major league start on Wednesday. A single, double, and a sacrifice fly would bring two runs in for Houston in the first inning. The Astros would bring one more run in to score on two hits in the fourth. Brooks settled in to toss three more scoreless frames, striking out five over his seven innings of work. The 34-year-old right-hander should remain in the rotation with Alex Wood on the injured list. He lines up for a start against the Rockies in Oakland on Tuesday.