Athletics signed RHP Joel Kuhnel to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Kuhnel augments the Athletics’ relief depth heading into next spring where he’ll compete for one of the final spots in their season-opening bullpen. The well-traveled 30-year-old reliever didn’t appear in the big leagues this past season after making six appearances between the Astros and Rays the previous year. He compiled a respectable 3.53 ERA – 3.37 FIP – and 56/11 K/BB ratio across 63 2/3 innings over 50 appearances at the Triple-A level this past season.