Bob Melvin: Drew Pomeranz will return to rotation permanently, no Barry Zito call up imminent

Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin told beat reporters before Thursday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays that Drew Pomeranz will remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Chris Bassitt is expected to be called up Saturday to start in place of the injured Jesse Hahn.

The left-handed Pomeranz has pitched effectively since being moved to the bullpen at the start of June following a trip to the disabled list to deal with an issue in his AC joint. He has a 1.56 ERA in 20 relief appearances. In eight starts during the A's struggles in April and May, however, Pomeranz had a 4.40 ERA and struck out 32 while walking 16.

Putting Pomeranz into the rotation permanently, and calling up Arnold Leon to go to the bullpen, does move Barry Zito up and puts him in the mix to be the next starter out of Triple-A after Bassitt:

Zito could potentially join the rotation. Melvin said his chances are better than they were before this move.

— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) July 23, 2015

Bob Melvin had some words to beat writers about Scott Kazmir, too:

Melvin on Kazmir: "I don't know how he could have performed any better than he did."

— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) July 23, 2015

Melvin on Kazmir: "He was really instrumental in being a resource. He'll be missed, definitely."

— Trevor Hass (@TrevorHass) July 23, 2015