Former SF Giants Arm Makes Sense For A's Flier Pickup

While the Athletics' new duo of president of baseball operations Taylor Smith and GM Cam Castro is saying the A's don't need as much pitching help as people might think, the team will certainly need to bring in some options to fill in the club's depth at some point. 

One suggestion Athletics Roundtable made last week was for the front office to target relievers on minor-league deals early this winter, because even with a lockout expected to begin on December 1, there will still be a minor-league season starting on time regardless of what is going on with the CBA negotiations in the big leagues. 

The idea is that a player signed to a minor-league deal can start to earn a spot on the A's big-league roster while showing what they have in the early going, and they'll be ready to go because they've been able to have a regular offseason. 

One name for the A's to consider is former San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Wilkin Ramos. Newly 26, the right-hander ranked in the 99th percentile in extension, while his ground-ball rate in Triple-A last season sat at 55.9% across 61 ⅔ innings. That rate has consistently been above 50% in his time in the minors. His walk rate in Triple-A last season also sat at 9.1%, which is a little high, but not a dealbreaker. 

Funnily enough, Ramos was originally signed by the A's as an undrafted free agent in July of 2017 and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in December of 2018 as the player to be named later in the Tanner Anderson trade. 

Apart from the ground balls, Ramos would be enticing to the A's because he has experience pitching at their home park in Sacramento, notching 27 ⅔ innings and holding a 4.23 ERA, compared to a 5.79 ERA across 37 ⅓ road innings. The experience at the ballpark is a plus for the A's, and the chance to reach the big leagues would be what Ramos is after.

Ramos made his MLB debut on June 1 of the 2026 season in Milwaukee against the eventual World Series champion Brewers. He entered a game in which the Giants were already losing 8-2 in the fifth inning and gave up just a double in his first inning of work. Since the Giants needed innings, he went out for a second inning, and things did not go as well.

He struck out Christian Yelich and got Jackson Chourio to ground out for two quick outs, but had already thrown 22 pitches. He then walked Brice Turang, gave up a single to William Contreras, then walked Jake Bauers to load the bases. Andrew Vaughn singled to score two before Ramos got Sal Frelick to line out. 

A few days later on June 4, Ramos was called upon against Milwaukee yet again, and that outing was less encouraging. He gave up back-to-back singles and then back-to-back walks before being pulled. He was optioned the next day and then designated for assignment at the end of June. 

Ramos stuck in the Giants organization through the end of the season, then elected free agency at the end of the year. 

The righty is an interesting arm for the A's specifically to consider as a potential test case for implementing their new development systems. Taking a player who could have success in a tough park to pitch in Sacramento and coaching him with the A's new philosophy would give the front office some data to work with if he made it to the big leagues by taking away some of the variables.

They'd be working with the same player and the same park, but changing out the philosophy and the coaches in an effort to get some real, live data for themselves. Ramos could also help out the bullpen as a depth option for the club throughout the season, given that he has two options remaining and can hit 97 mph.