 In , Mahay moved from the outfield to the pitching mound where he spent the off-season with the Gold Coast Cougars in the Australian Baseball League perfecting his adaptation to pitcher.He returned to Boston for the latter half of , but was waived after the campaign.The Oakland Athletics claimed him off the waiver wire, and he appeared in six games for the A's in 1999 and 5 in 2000, including three games as a starter.