NEW YORK -- Two turns through the rotation, Luis Morales has struggled to find the form he showed over a promising 2025 rookie campaign, and the Athletics will look to help him regain that in the Minors.
Before Tuesday night’s series-opening 5-3 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Morales was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The decision to shake up the rotation this early is a signal that the A’s, who enter 2026 with serious playoff aspirations, can’t afford to let a young starter try to figure it out at the Major League level like they might have in previous rebuilding years.
“We talked a lot about performance being something that we were really evaluating,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “You look through these last two [outings], command has been a big issue for Luis.”
Morales’ stuff has never been in question. We saw his electric arm on full display in the big leagues last season, as he posted a 3.14 ERA through 10 games (nine starts) in a strong first impression that left the A’s envisioning him as a potential frontline starter in due time.
The club still believes in Morales’ talent. But after a pair of subpar starts to begin 2026, including a career-high six walks in three innings Saturday against the Astros in his last time out, combined with a poor Spring Training that saw him post a 7.58 ERA and issue 14 walks in 19 innings, the Athletics decided it was best to let the 23-year-old catch his breath and regroup in Triple-A.
“You don’t look at performance in Spring Training, but you look at the quality of the pitch-making,” Kotsay said. “He didn’t have a great spring. We felt like he could make the adjustment to being able to fix some mechanical things that he needs to work through, and I think just the lack of overall confidence, you could see that in his last start.
“I think this is a good reset for Luis. My expectation is that he goes down, gains his confidence back and he’ll be back with us at some point.”
Right-hander Joel Kuhnel, who followed up an impressive spring with two scoreless outings with Las Vegas, was called up on Tuesday as a reliever who could be utilized in both a multi-inning role or leverage spots depending on the situation. Kuhnel, 31, brings 83 games of big league experience after he entered in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game, having last pitched in the Majors with the Astros and Rays in 2024.
Kuhnel, who retired the lone batter he faced on Tuesday, could help what has been a shaky bullpen to begin the year. The troubling early trend of A’s relievers being unable to hold late leads continued against the Yankees, as Mark Leiter Jr. inherited a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth following two scoreless innings by Justin Sterner and allowed four runs while recording just two outs.
The A’s identified Leiter early on this offseason as a free agent they targeted due to his veteran experience pitching in big markets on playoff teams. He’s recorded the lone save by the bullpen so far this season, but he’s also blown two saves and allowed two or more baserunners to reach in four of his first five outings.
“He’s been in some tough spots and some high-leverage situations here to start the season,” Kotsay said. “I’m still confident in him to be able to turn it around and get the job done. He had a lot of success last year against lefties.”
Rotation options
Morales should earn his way back with the team later this season. For now, his spot in the rotation remains vacant. There are a few different ways the A’s could fill Morales’ next turn in the rotation, which comes Friday against the Mets at Citi Field.
Long reliever J.T. Ginn has ample experience as a starter with the A’s and could make a spot start. Because the A’s had an off-day Monday, Jacob Lopez, who started Sunday’s series finale against the Astros, could be pushed up a day to start Friday. Another option would be calling up a starter from Triple-A. Mason Barnett and top prospects Gage Jump (No. 3) and Kade Morris (No. 12) would all be likely candidates in that scenario.
“We could make a move,” Kotsay said. “As of now, I think we’re still evaluating how we get through this series, especially with our long guys. … We’re not going to determine that until we get into this series.”