OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics selected left-handed pitcher Ken Waldichuk and recalled outfielder Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas, the club announced today.  To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A’s designated right-handed pitcher David McKay for assignment.

Waldichuk was acquired from the New York Yankees on Aug. 1 with Luis Medina, JP Sears and minor leaguer Cooper Bowman for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino and will be making his Major League debut.  He was a combined 6-4 with a 2.84 ERA, .211 opponents batting average and .644 OPS in 21 starts with Double-A Somerset, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Las Vegas in his third professional season.  The 24-year-old left-hander struck out 137 in 95.0 innings (12.98 per nine innings) and is tied for seventh among Double-A and Triple-A pitchers in strikeouts.  Waldichuk represented the American League in the All-Star Futures Game this year and recorded the final out of the game for the save.  He was originally selected by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 2019 First Year Player Draft out of St. Mary’s College in Moraga and is 12-9 with a 3.03 ERA in 54 games, including 52 starts, in three seasons in the minors.

Thomas is also making his Major League debut and has played in just 69 minor league games over the last three seasons.  He missed the 2020 season due to pandemic and parts of the last two seasons with an achilles injury that led to Feb. 22, 2022 surgery on his right achilles tendon.  The 27-year-old right-handed hitter began a rehab assignment with the A’s Arizona Complex League affiliate on Aug. 8 and was reinstated from the injured list and assigned to Las Vegas on Aug. 23.  He is batting a combined .226 with three doubles, a home run and seven RBI in 10 games overall this year.  Thomas was selected by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2016 draft and was traded to Oakland on Feb. 12 with Adam Kolarek for Sheldon Neuse and Gus Varland.  He is a .259 career hitter with 100 home runs and 337 RBI in 506 games over six seasons in the minors.

McKay was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay on July 12 and was recalled by Oakland on July 22.  He pitched once, allowing a run on four hits in 2.2 innings, before he was optioned back to Las Vegas July 25.  McKay has a 6.75 ERA in four appearances with the Yankees, Rays and A’s and is 3-0 with a save and a 4.50 ERA in 26 relief appearances with the Triple-A affiliates of those three teams.