Ahead of Wednesday's series finale against the Minnesota Twins, the Athletics officially added relief pitcher Chris Roycroft to the 26-man roster, optioning right-hander Hayden Juenger to clear room. 

The A's have added a number of waiver claim relievers in the past few weeks, with Roycroft being the latest player plucked. A's manager Mark Kotsay said that the hope with these claims is that it will give the club a chance to evaluate these arms and potentially make the team's roster decisions a little harder this offseason. 

"We're still going to sign free agents [this offseason]," Kotsay said. "We're still going to sign guys that may fly under the radar, that come off of bad years that we feel can rebound. So hopefully those decisions are made tougher by the guys that are currently here." 

With Roycraft specifically, Kotsay and the Baseball Operations team feel like there are some slight adjustments that could be made that can lead to improved results, especially against right-handed hitters. 

"We have an opportunity to claim a guy that is a power sinker ball pitcher for this type of yard," Kotsay said. "Why not go out and get a guy that goes 97 with sink and see if we can strike something there." 

His 8.39 ERA this season is a little worrisome, but given his high ground ball rate (56.5%) and his sinker having a -5 degree launch angle as his most-used pitch, there may be something the A's can unlock for their home ballpark. 

That sinker has been used 52.3% of the time this season and has a .349 batting average against (.308 xBA), but as Kotsay points out, it also has a BABIP above .500. "At some point that thing's gotta come down," Kotsay joked.

The A's skipper didn't want to go into details about the changes that would be implemented, but he did say that deception and angle both play, and they're not necessarily measured data points. 

Roycroft is the latest arm to get a look in the A's bullpen, but there are more options waiting for their own opportunity over the final five weeks of the season. A good final impression could go a long way heading into the offseason. 

Directly following the conclusion of the MLB regular season, the Arizona Fall League will be in full swing, with first pitch scheduled for October 3.

The AFL is used in a variety of ways by different clubs. It can be a place for top prospects to get a little extra seasoning at the end of the year. It can also be a venue for players who missed time during the regular season to see some extra innings. In the A's case, they'll be doing a little bit of both.

Devin Taylor, potentially the A's top hitting prospect according to manager Mark Kotsay, will be one of the organization's representatives according to Bill Moriarity of A's Farm. 

Another key player to keep an eye on will be right-hander Braden Nett, who missed the beginning of the season and has been unable to really get on track in 2026. The hope with Nett is that he'll be able to contribute to the big-league roster in 2027, but in order to do so, he'll need more innings. That's where the AFL comes in. 

The rest of the A's representatives, per Moriarity, are Cole Conn, Davis Diaz, Ryan Magdic, Jackson Finley, Jay Dill, Ben Hansen. 

Athletics Roundtable have more on the full roster in the coming weeks, but which prospect stands out to you?