Bido aims to 'finish the season strong'
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This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
OAKLAND -- Osvaldo Bido entered A’s Spring Training as more of an afterthought who was expected to mostly provide organizational pitching depth in the Minor Leagues.
Beginning the season with Triple-A Las Vegas, Bido bided his time and kept himself on the big league radar by performing well. Now, he’s emerging as one of Oakland’s top starting pitchers in 2024.
Bido turned in one of the better months of August by any pitcher in baseball. The 28-year-old right-hander went 3-1 with a 1.55 ERA -- the third-lowest mark by a qualified starter in the American League behind only the Yankees' Gerrit Cole and the Blue Jays' Bowden Francis -- in five August starts. He also held opposing hitters to a .143 batting average, which surpassed Cory Lidle (.148 in 2002) for the lowest August opponents' batting average in A’s history (minimum 25 innings).
“It was an excellent month for me,” Bido said in Spanish. “A lot of good things. A good ERA. But that month has passed. I’m now focused on [September] to finish the season strong.”
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Following his start of four runs allowed with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in Monday’s A’s 5-4 victory over the Mariners, Bido holds a 3.52 ERA through 15 games (nine starts) with 60 strikeouts across 61 1/3 innings. Oakland pursued Bido as a free agent this offseason, believing it identified areas of his mechanics the club could tweak to help him improve from his showing in a limited big league stint with the Pirates in 2023. Sure enough, Bido has solidified himself as a member of this A’s rotation, and he has a chance over this final month to earn a role beyond 2024.
“Pretty unbelievable,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Bido’s August numbers. “He’s done a fantastic job of really acclimating to what [pitching coach Scott Emerson] and [bullpen coach Dan Hubbs] have done with his mechanics and getting him on line. His strike-throwing ability has improved, and I really see that as a big contributor to the success he’s having right now.”