Oakland A’s DFA Joey Wendle, re-sign Simon Castro

The Oakland A’s officially announced the signing of pitcher Yusmeiro Petit on Thursday, which meant they needed to make room on the 40-man roster. They cleared a spot for Petit by designating 2B Joey Wendle for assignment.

Wendle came to Oakland in a straight-up trade for Brandon Moss after the 2014 season. He spent the next three years toiling in Triple-A Nashville, but was unable to put up anything better than a league-average batting line at ages 25-27. A couple of brief cameos in MLB resulted in solid defense but a poor 73 wRC+ in 118 plate appearances. He did record one cool moment in 2017, knocking a go-ahead grand slam in front of his family and friends in Philadelphia.

The trade for Wendle was one of the least popular in Billy Beane’s tenure. Most A’s fans were disappointed that the All-Star Moss (albeit injured) only fetched one unheralded prospect in return, and to make matters worse the prospect never made an impact in the bigs. Unless he winds up back in Nashville, Thursday’s move will close the book on that deal.

The remaining middle infielders on the 40-man roster include Jed Lowrie, Marcus Semien, and top prospects Franklin Barreto, Jorge Mateo, and Yairo Munoz. There’s also Chad Pinder, but really he should be an outfielder now. Max Schrock isn’t on the roster but could also be a candidate to play in Triple-A in 2018.

In other news, the A’s re-signed reliever Simon Castro, reports Melissa Lockard of Oakland Clubhouse. Castro pitched in 26 games for Oakland last season, finishing with a 4.38 ERA in 37 innings. Like last year, he’ll be a non-roster invitee at spring training, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle. They also added LHP Eric Jokisch, a 28-year-old who spent the last four seasons in Triple-A.