The Oakland Athletics selected the contract of right-handed relief pitcher Fernando Rodriguez and designated right-handed reliever Chad Smith for assignment to clear space on both the 25- and 40-man rosters. With the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Rodriguez has pitched 16 innings over 10 games with a 2.81 ERA. He has struck out 18 and walked six while giving up two home runs. In 2014, Rodriguez appeared for nine innings with the major league club, giving up one run while striking out four and walking two.
Rodriguez, 30, surprisingly passed through outright waivers after he was designated for assignment on December 18 when the A's acquired left-handed reliever Eury De La Rosa in a cash transaction with the Arizona Diamondbacks. De La Rosa has since been waived and claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 25-year-old Smith could not find success in his brief turn on the reliever corp carousel, making two appearances. In his first, on May 3, he could not make progress in his second inning of work during the A's 7-1 victory against the Texas Rangers. In his second, on May 6, Smith recorded just one out and was charged with four runs, a double, two singles, and one walk. The five runs over four outs added up to a 33.75 ERA.