The A's addressed their shortstop depth with a familiar name while turning a painful roster decision into a promising left-hander with a 42.3% strikeout rate.
The A's made a pair of roster moves on Saturday, patching a shortstop depth problem and picking up a strikeout artist in the process.
The first move the A's made was to acquire Alika Williams from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-hander Kyle Robinson. Williams has been added to the A's active roster, and the team has designated Michael Stefanic for assignment after he was called up on May 12 as a utility infielder.
Williams last played in the big leagues in 2024 with Pittsburgh and was the No. 37 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. Across 83 games spanning two seasons in the majors, Williams has batted .202 with a .257 OBP and a .528 OPS. This is a depth addition for the A's with more upside than they had.
The San Diego native has played second and shortstop in the bigs, while he spent most of 2025 at third base in the minors, and has started this season primarily at short, while also getting time at the hot corner. He has hit .317 with a .385 OBP in 34 Triple-A games this season.
Since Jacob Wilson landed on the IL, Darell Hernaiz has started all four games at shortstop, which is a formula that has worked in the past. The issue here is that with both Wilson and Max Muncy on the IL, there isn't a clear-cut option to man short when Hernaiz needs a day off.
Robinson was selected by the A's in the 11th round of the 2024 MLB Draft and has gone 7-13 with a 4.52 ERA in 155 1/3 innings. This season he has a 3.62 ERA across 27 1/3 innings (six appearances, five starts), striking out 19 and walking 13.
He was not listed in the A's top-30 prospects, and will be Rule 5 eligible in December of 2027, making him a player that needs to develop quickly or be left exposed to the Rule 5 Draft after next season — regardless of whether or not there's a lockout.
A's add intriguing pitching prospect
Earlier this week, Athletics Roundtable wrote about the difficult decision to protect Junior Perez during the offseason after a breakout second half, and the repercussions of that decision after he was designated for assignment. Today, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for left-hander Jackson Nove.
Nove was signed by Chicago as a non-drafted free agent on July 23, 2025 out of the University of Kentucky, and made his pro debut this season. In 23 innings (12 appearances) he holds a 1.96 ERA and has struck out an impressive 41 batters while walking 10.
That adds up to a 42.3% strikeout rate for the 23-year-old in A Ball, while also holding a 10.3% walk rate and a .188 batting average against. He has been assigned to the Stockton Ports.
When the A's added Perez to the 40-man roster last offseason, they did so because of his upside. After faltering out of the gate, they're flipping his upside to the mound.