The Athletics have made their signing of a right-hander Shintaro Fujinami official, announcing the move today. To open a spot for him on the 40-man roster, fellow righty Tyler Cyr has been designated for assignment.
Cyr, 30 in May, was drafted by the Giants in 2015 and spent many years in their organization. However, he reached seven-year minor league free agency when the end of the 2021 season rolled around and he hadn’t been added to their roster. The Phillies then signed him to a minor league deal for the 2022 season.
He got into 35 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley with a 2.50 ERA, striking out 24.8% of opponents but walking 12.1% of them. The Phillies selected him to their roster in August when Seranthony Domínguez was placed on the injured list. They put Cyr into one game, letting him face three batters, and then designated him for assignment. He landed with the A’s on a waiver claim and finished the season with them, posting a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings.
Cyr had some good results this year but control is a concern. He kept his walks down to a 9.1% rate in his brief MLB stint but the last time he stayed under the double-digit range was at Double-A in 2017. But he also gets a good deal of strikeouts, still has a full slate of options and less than a year of service time. The A’s will have a week to trade him or try to pass him through waivers.
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