The As announced that they have claimed off waivers from the Pirates, a move that earlier today. To open a 40-man roster spot, right-hander has been designated for a signment. Maldonado, 27 next month, was a recent waiver claimee himself. The As grabbed him from the Marlins in November, though he has only lasted a few months on the Athletics roster. He made his major league debut with the Marlins last year, to sing 19 innings over 16 appearances. He allowed 12 earned runs, leading to a 5.68 ERA in that small sample, striking out just 13.4% of batters faced. The As were surely more interested in his minor league track record, which has naturally been of greater quality Gus Varland Jersey and quantity. Over the past four years, Maldonado threw 188 innings acro s various minor league levels. He had a 3.26 ERA, 32.4% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. That was enough to attract the interest of the As but hes now been bumped off the roster in favor of Alvarado. Maldonado will now be in DFA limbo for a week at most, giving the club some time to explore trades or put him on waivers. The waiver proce s takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would need to come together in the next five days. Maldonado still has two option years and le s than a full season of service time, which could perhaps attract other clubs looking to add some cheap bullpen depth. Earl Averill Jersey