The Athletics announced today through a press release that they've acquired first baseman Kila Ka'aihue from the Royals in exchange for pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth. In order to free up 40-man roster space for him, they've called up pitcher Joey Devine and transferred him to the 60-day disabled list.
Ka'aihue, 27, spent most of this season with Triple-A Omaha, posting a decent .272/.379/.433 line. It's a far cry from his previous performances at the level, though; last year, Kila hit .322/.465/.601 in 94 games with Omaha. That earned him a long-awaited promotion to Kansas City, where he proceeded to underwhelm with a below-average 85 wRC+ (essentially, 15% below league average performance) over the course of 206 plate appearances.
He's still somewhat intriguing given the plate discipline, but he's often been described as lacking bat speed, and that appeared to hold him back at the MLB level. I find it somewhat curious that Oakland wants him, given that they're already trying to figure out a first base situation that includes Daric Barton, Brandon Allen and Chris Carter.