Oakland Athletics Roundup: Jesse Hahn optioned to Triple-A, Josh Phegley takes the mound, and Chris Bassitt undergoes elbow surgery.
The Oakland Athletics are in the midst of a rough patch, and have struggled to win consistently. That pattern continued this weekend, as they dropped two of three to the Baltimore Orioles. The A’s split Saturday’s double-header with the O’s, after Friday night’s game was postponed, but dropped the rubber match on Sunday.
One of the key issues at the moment is starting pitching. Sonny Gray has had his fair share of struggles this year, but behind him, it’s been a bit of a mess. Rich Hill has been arguably quite consistent, but Kendall Graveman and Jesse Hahn both got rocked over the weekend.
After Saturday’s games, Hahn was optioned to Triple-A Nashville in order to make room for an additional reliever. Hahn only lasted 5.1 innings in the evening portion of the double-header, following a 5.2-inning outing from Hill earlier that day. The A’s called up reliever J.B. Wendelken, who gave up four runs on a grand slam to Manny Machado in the eighth inning. He also allowed four hits and a walk, although he did strike out a pair.
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Meanwhile, Danny Valencia returned to the lineup, playing in two of the three games. Valencia went 3-for-9 with an RBI and three strikeouts, and it’s a certainty that the Athletics are glad to have him back. Valencia had been on the 15-day disabled list since April 21, after suffering a strained left hamstring on a play at the plate against the New York Yankees. He was thrown out while sliding into home plate, on an outstanding throw by outfielder Aaron Hicks, and the resulting injury was too severe for Valencia to play through. Valencia served as the A’s cleanup hitter before his injury, and he adds some power and consistency to the heart of the Oakland Athletics’ lineup.
On Sunday, Graveman’s outing against the O’s was a rough one. The mood lightened considerably in the eight inning, however, when the team rallied around backup catcher Josh Phegley as he took the mound. Even in an 11-3 debacle, a position player pitching never fails to be a good moment. Phegley, for his part, went two-thirds of an inning and got both batters out, including notching a strikeout against Adam Jones. That’s pretty good, considering he only managed to throw five of his ten pitches for strikes (and he’s, you know, a catcher).
On a more serious note, Chris Bassitt underwent Tommy John surgery on Friday and will miss the rest of the 2016 season. The surgery was deemed a success, and Bassitt is expected to begin his rehab process this week. The operation was performed by Dr. Timothy Kremcheck at Beacon Orthopedics in Cincinnati. Bassitt left his April 28 start against the Detroit Tigers early after experiencing forearm pain, which he later said had been an issue all year.
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Finally, the Oakland Athletics are set to begin a three-game set with the Boston Red Sox on Monday. Sonny Gray and Sean Manaea will square off with the Red Sox on Monday and Tuesday, but the Athletics will need to call up a starter on Wednesday, to fill Hahn’s spot in the rotation. Due to the 10-day rule, Hahn will not be eligible to return (except in the event of an injury). Henderson Alvarez is not through with his rehab yet, so it seems likely that left-hander Eric Surkamp will get the call.