The Athletics have added Ryan Cusick to their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 deadline, the team announced this afternoon. Cuisck, 25, was part of the return in the Matt Olson trade with the Atlanta Braves, along with Shea Langeliers, Joey Estes, and Cristian Pache.
The way the Rule 5 Draft works is that teams are only allowed to stash prospects in their organization for a certain length of time, and that amount of time is determined like so: “Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.”
Cucick spent most of his time in the minors in Double-A this past season, racking up 56 1/3 innings and posting a 4.47 ERA in 27 appearances (eight starts).
It seems as though the Athletics may have found a role for him moving forward out of the bullpen. After making nine starts through mid-July and holding a 6.82 ERA at the time, Cusick was moved to the arm barn and made 21 appearances spanning 30 1/3 innings and posted a 2.97 ERA. His command was slightly better, he was striking guys out at a slightly improved clip, and he didn’t allow any home runs as a reliever after giving up four as a starter in similar innings totals.