Giants claim Skye Bolt off waivers from A’s

The Oakland A’s are losing in every way imaginable this month. That means games, injuries, and now even players from the organization.

Outfielder Skye Bolt was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants on Monday, the A’s announced. Oakland had designated him for assignment on Thursday to remove him from the 40-man roster.

The A’s drafted Bolt in 2015 as a prospect with great raw tools but a lot to prove. He made it all the way up to an MLB debut in 2019, getting 11 plate appearances over five games and nearly hitting a homer that instead landed for a double.

Bolt, 2019 AAA: .269/.350/.459, 96 wRC+, 11 HR, 10.7% BB, 27.1% Ks, 7-for-12 SB

However, he didn’t get to play at all in 2020 due to the minor leagues being canceled, and he didn’t get another chance in the majors during the abbreviated 60-game season. Meanwhile, the outfield depth chart around him grew even more crowded, both above and below him, as his own prospect stock began to stall at age 27. This winter he barely missed our Community Prospect List Top 30, taking the first alternate spot at No. 31.

With Bolt gone, on the heels of Dustin Fowler in February, the outfield landscape now looks like this.

MLB

• Mark Canha
• ... Ramon Laureano (day-to-day)
• ... Chad Pinder (10-day IL)
• Stephen Piscotty
• Ka’ai Tom

Also, infielder/utilityman Tony Kemp can fill in on the outfield corners.

40-man roster, alt-site

• Seth Brown (No. 18 prospect)
• Luis Barrera (No. 8 prospect)
• Greg Deichmann (No. 9 prospect)

Note that Barrera and Deichmann have not yet played in Triple-A, much less MLB.

Non-roster, alt-site

• Cody Thomas (No. 27 prospect)

Other

• ... Buddy Reed (No. 20 prospect) (quad strain)

The 40-man roster remains unchanged, since Bolt had already been removed from it.