End of an era as Laureano, A's part ways

OAKLAND -- Nearly five years to the day after he made his electric Major League debut, Ramón Laureano's tenure with the A's has come to an end. The veteran outfielder was designated for assignment ahead of Saturday's tilt against the Giants to clear space for rookie Esteury Ruiz's return from the injured list and ease Oakland's outfield logjam.

Along with Paul Blackburn, Seth Brown and Tony Kemp, Laureano was one of the few active holdovers from the A's last playoff team in 2020, when they won the American League West.

"With Esty coming back, and looking at playing time and at-bats going forward -- there's never a good time for something like this," A's general manager David Forst said. "Ramón's been here a long time, but this was the time to move on."

Best known for his cannon of an arm, Laureano was a spark plug as the A's made three straight postseason appearances from 2018-20. He had plenty of speed and pop in his bat, but his personality was perhaps his most valuable tool.

"You don't want Ramón to control his emotions, but at times you had to reel Ramón's emotions in a little bit," manager Mark Kotsay said. "My favorite memory is just him beelining for the whole Houston dugout. … He didn't care. He was going in, and he was going to fight 26 guys, plus the staff. And he went after the staff. He was going to take 'em all on."

Laureano's career hit a bump when he received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance on Aug. 6, 2021, a major blow to the A's as they battled for -- and ultimately missed out on -- a fourth consecutive playoff berth.

Once Laureano returned, he wasn't able to find his early-career form at the plate, slashing .212/.285/.371 between 2022-23. Injuries limited him to 158 games in that span.

"Ramón's battled some injuries, and he's had to go through stuff, especially with the suspension," Kemp said. "Mentally, I know that was tough for him, and draining, just because he knew how the world would view him. Now, just being able to get past that and get to a place to where he could have a fresh start with another team is going to be huge."

Though he only appeared in 64 games with the A's this season, Laureano's impact extended beyond the field. As a veteran anchoring an outfield that grew younger as the season progressed, Laureano was particularly influential for Ruiz.

Ruiz, 24, lived with Laureano for upward of four months earlier this year and said the veteran outfielder was a key source of support for him.

"He was really great with me," Ruiz said in Spanish through interpreter Sergio Almodovar. "He helped me a lot. … Unfortunately, that's baseball. But he will find somewhere else. He definitely will."

Forst said he would be "shocked" if another team doesn't pick up Laureano down the stretch.

"There's still a ton of ability there," Forst said. "I mean, Ramón has to stay healthy. He knows that. He's not any good to himself and he can't help a team if he doesn't stay healthy.

"I hope this is an opportunity for him. Look, it's an opportunity for us to get guys some at-bats and start looking ahead. I hope it's an opportunity for him to get right and help somebody out."

With Laureano removed from the outfield mix -- and Ruiz returning as the everyday center fielder -- JJ Bleday and Cody Thomas should continue to see extended playing time, with Brown and Kemp factoring in as well.

"They've got an opportunity to make impacts here for the future," Kotsay said of the A's young core, "to go out and be given this opportunity … to go perform and solidify themselves as Major League players."