Joey Estes makes return to the majors, will start for Athletics tonight

Joey Estes is set to make a return to the major leagues this evening, having been added to the active roster after the Athletics sent LHP Hogan Harris back to Triple-A earlier this week.

The A's are without Joe Boyle at the moment thanks to a lower back injury suffered in his most recent start. Boyle is currently on the 10-day IL and won't be back until later this month.

The Athletics had recalled RHP Osvaldo Bido to start the second half of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Rangers but Bido suffered a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand and was subsequently shuttled back to Triple-A.

Harris was called up for the Rangers series but ended up throwing 5.1 innings in relief after Boyle left his start early. Harris gave up 4 runs in the outing and was demoted after the series ended.

With just 4 pitchers currently in the rotation, there was some speculation that the Athletics might opt to put Kyle Muller back into a starting role, but that isn't the case for now.

Estes will get at least one start and it's fair to assume that the A's will evaluate the situation after tonight's matchup.

Estes made his major league debut with the A's last year. He started two games in September, giving up 9 runs on 12 hits and 2 walks in 10 innings of work.

He hasn't had much success in Triple-A this year either. Through his first 6 starts, Estes has a 6.04 ERA and has allowed 7 home runs in 28.1 innings.

His strikeout and walk numbers are fine but he's given up a couple moon shots and he's gotten a bit unlucky on the rest of his fly balls.

With Boyle out with the back injury and Bido dealing with the blister, the Athletics options are starting to run thin. Harris was just sent down and the only other starters on the 40-man are Brady Basso and Royber Salinas, neither of whom have pitched in the majors to this point.

If Estes pitches well, he'll have a chance to stick around. The A's need another competent starter in the rotation. If he doesn't, it'll create a mess of problems for this team.