Elephant Rumblings: The force will be with Jed. Always.

It’s a bittersweet Friday, AN.

On Wednesday, Jed Lowrie was designated for assignment. On Thursday, he was released.

I think most of us would agree that the time was ripe for Lowrie to depart. The 38-year-old veteran of 14 seasons—seven of them in Oakland—was looking worse for wear this season. He missed all of July due to a shoulder injury, and his offensive production over 184 plate appearances has been abysmal:

Lowrie, 2022: .180/.245/.263, 49 wRC+, 3 HR, 8.2% BB, 21.2% Ks

But Lowrie has been a clubhouse leader and fan favorite over the years and he was a key contributor during much of his time in Oakland—especially in 2018, when he made the AL All-Star team and hit 23 home runs and 99 RBIs…