A's outright former first-round pick Grant Holmes to Triple-A

The Athletics announced that right-hander Grant Holmes has been outrighted off the 40-man roster and been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. Such a move was necessary to remove Holmes from the 40-man since the 26-year-old is out of minor-league options.

Holmes was the 22nd overall pick of the 2014 draft, and a regular on top-100 prospect lists for his first few minor-league seasons. Originally selected by the Dodgers, he was dealt to Oakland as part of a deadline-day swap in 2016, as the A’s picked up Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton from Los Angeles in exchange for Josh Reddick and Rich Hill.

Arguably the best prospect of that three-player package at the time, Holmes has yet to reach the majors due to a lot of inconsistent performances down on the farm.  Holmes has a 4.43 ERA over 592 2/3 career minor-league innings, including a 7.61 ERA over 71 frames at the Triple-A level. Some shoulder problems have impacted him along the way, and Holmes was of course one of countless players whose careers were set back by the canceled 2020 minor-league season. With outright waivers now cleared, Holmes will try again in Triple-A and see if he can finally get on track.

The move opens up a spot on Oakland’s 40-man roster, which forecasts that the Athletics will be selecting at least one of their non-roster invites to the big-league roster. Eric Thames, Justin Grimm, Dany Jimenez and Austin Pruitt are among the notable names in camp on minor-league deals, and any or all have a case to break camp, so the A’s might need to carve out some more 40-man space between now and Opening Day. Injuries could play a role, as both of Deolis Guerra and Brent Honeywell Jr. could be headed for the 60-day injured list.