A's lose switch-pitcher Venditte to Blue Jays on waiver claim

Pat Venditte #29 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the game against the Texas Rangers at O.co Coliseum on June 10, 2015 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Rangers 5-4. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) Pat Venditte #29 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the game against the Texas Rangers at O.co Coliseum on June 10, 2015 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Rangers 5-4. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)

The 2015 Oakland Athletics didn't have very many good stories, but the tale of ambidextrous relief pitcher Pat Venditte was one of them. On Monday, the club announced he was claimed on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays, one of a number of announcements made regarding the waiver wire:

The 30-year-old finally made his big-league debut this past season with the A's after eight seasons in the minors, bringing with him a bit of a frenzy of attention due to the quirky reality of a switch-pitcher coming in and throwing from both sides of the mound in the same appearance. He wasn't necessarily 'lights-out', though, posting a 4.40 ERA and a 1.186 WHIP in just over 28 innings of work, which might be part of what made him expendable to the A's as they seek ways to fill their 40-man roster heading into the offseason.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted quote from newly-promoted GM David Forst pertaining to Venditte:

In addition to Venditte, the A's also lost pitcher Cody Martin, while catcher Bryan Anderson was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville and outfielder Jason Pridie was released:

These are just minor roster moves as the A's sort out their personnel heading into what should be another busy few months of retooling and reshaping next year's roster.