On Sunday, the Oakland Athletics placed Kendall Graveman on the 60-day disabled list and selected the contract of catcher Bryan Anderson. Anderson, who bats left-handed, hit just .202/.273/.288 in 82 games with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds this season. This was his second year in the A’s organization, after having just one at-bat with the major league club in 2014.
The A's select C Bryan Anderson from Nashville and place RHP Kendall Graveman on the 60-day disabled list.
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) September 20, 2015
Anderson was added to the roster to replace catcher Josh Phegley, who was injured during batting practice before Saturday’s game.
A's news: C Josh Phegley, scratched yesterday, got hit in the back of the head with a bat during BP. Concussion. Carson Blair's in today
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) September 19, 2015
Phegley had already been filling in for injured everyday-catcher Stephen Vogt, who was hurt when he a took a foul ball to the groin on September 6th. Vogt has missed 12 games so far, and Phegley has become the everyday catcher in his absence. The A’s have not released an exact timetable for Phegley’s return, but typically concussions take a few days to come back from, so it will likely be later this week at the earliest.
The Oakland Athletics already have a third catcher on their roster in Carson Blair, so the addition of Anderson as another backup would imply that there are still doubts about Vogt’s ability to return to regular action behind the plate in an emergency. Vogt is in the lineup as the designated hitter for Sunday’s game, which is a positive sign, but the A’s will likely rely heavily on Blair behind the plate over the next several days.
Here's the lineup for today's series and road trip finale. pic.twitter.com/DEclpvun7S
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) September 20, 2015
The addition of Graveman to the 60-man roster means that the A’s rookie starter is done for the season. In his first season with Oakland, Graveman posted a 4.05 ERA and struck out 77 batters over the course of 115.2 innings. He finished with a 6-9 record in 21 starts, including a complete game. Graveman, who was acquired in the Josh Donaldson trade over the off-season, was a surprisingly reliable part of the rotation for such an inexperienced starter.