Carlos

Duran

Duran didn’t get into a game during his two days with the A’s, but considering that he wasn’t on the 40-man roster before being called up Wednesday, this still works out nicely for him.

Duran came over from the Dodgers earlier this month in the Esteury Ruiz trade and will be making his big-league debut when he gets into a game. The hard-throwing 23-year-old righty is capable of touching triple digits, but holds a lackluster 6.75 ERA across seven appearances this season at the Triple-A level.

Duran is a 6-foot-7 right-hander who gets rave reviews for his fastball movement, and he can get his heater up to 98 mph. The 23-year-old needs significant work, but it’s not a bad return for a player the A’s had clearly soured on in Ruiz.

The 23-year-old backstop doesn’t have much left to prove in the minor leagues, but with Will Smit and Austin Barnes holding things down at the game’s highest level, he’ll need to work his way into the crowded outfield mix in order to have any shot of breaking camp. He’ll be an intriguing option for fantasy purposes when he does finally arrive in Los Angeles, but it’ll probably take an injury to Smith or Barnes for it to happen. Roki Sasaki and Zyhir Hope also received official invitations to spring training on Friday.